Skins star Kaya Scodelario has spoken about gaining the courage to reject sex scenes in the hit 00s show.
The Gentlemen star, 32, played Effy Stonem, the sister of Nicholas Hoult’s Tony Stonem, in the Channel 4 teen drama.
Kaya was 14 when she was first cast in Skins and remained on the show for three years before being given her own spin-off series Skins: Fire.
The show follows Effy as she starts working for a City hedge fund and Kaya said because both she and the character were older, the original script was heavy on sex scenes.
However, she said she pushed back as there was no narrative ‘need’ for the intimate scenes and the producers obliged.
Speaking about the show, Kaya told The Guardian: ‘I felt much more confident in saying what I felt during that series.
‘When the first draft came through, there were a lot of sex scenes in it, and I could tell it was because I turned 18, and that meant that they could show more. And I went back and said: “No, there’s no need to do that”.’
Kaya explained that ‘nothing too awful’ happened on Skins but welcomes additional safeguarding measures, including intimacy co-ordinators, that are now standard practice in the industry.
Reflecting on her experience on Skins, she said: ‘Nothing too awful ever happened [on the set of Skins], thank God, but it could have, and I think that’s what’s scary about it. What’s wonderful now is that every production is aware that a sex scene is essentially a stunt, and it should be choreographed.
Kaya added: ‘[We] were so grateful and happy to be there that we did as we were told most of the time. But this was a show that was created by older grownups, and it would have been cool to have more conversations as actors about what we were doing.
She continued: ‘[We] were treated like teenagers that were there to make a teenage show. It was nice that we felt free, and didn’t understand the politics of the business – we weren’t worrying about whose face was going to be on the poster, or who was earning more than who. But at the same time, it’s important to treat actors like actors.’
Kaya previously expressed her shock over the ‘crazy’ antics of the teens, played by the likes of, Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney, in HBO drama Euphoria before recalling her scenes on Skins.
In a new video shared on TikTok, Kaya filmed herself ‘reacting’ with shock to Euphoria before reassessing her judgement, as a voiceover states: ‘Watching Euphoria for the first time thinking this is crazy for 17 year olds then remembering what I was doing on TV at 14.’
In the caption she wrote: ‘Will always be greatful [sic]. But yeah safeguarding really wasn’t a thing back then…’
A Channel 4 spokesperson previously told Metro.co.uk: ‘The welfare of all those involved in our programmes is our highest priority.
‘We have a confidential “Speak Up” facility and encourage those with concerns – past or present – to contact us.’
Since Skins, Kaya has starred in films including The Maze Runner and Pirates of the Caribbean and recent Netflix hit The Gentlemen alongside Theo James.
She previously told Metro her attention was now on Portuguese language projects and she wanted to explore her Brazilian heritage on screen.
Kaya said: ‘I’m very fortunate that Ive had the career I’ve had and worked in England a lot, but I’m making really active choices now to work more in my Brazilian Portuguese language, which is a huge part of me and a part that I’m really proud of.
‘I’ve recently just shot a TV show for Netflix called Senna that’s about the life of Ayrton Senna and I speak Brazilian Portuguese in. That’s my next step – and [I want to keep] trying something new and pushing myself.’
Skins star reveals she refused sex scenes in popular 00s teen series