Megan Prescott was 16 years old when she played Katie Fitch in gritty drama Skins, making her two years too young to watch the very show she was in. Thanks to its graphic depictions of sex, nudity, drug use and violence, the show was rated as an 18. Like Megan, most of the actors in the show were real teenagers when they filmed these scenes.
“Skins was heavily dramatised and glamourised a lot of things that I don’t know should have been glamourised,” Megan, now 35, tells us.
Katie Fitch storylines
As Katie, Megan was in series three and four of the show. Throughout her first season, Katie was constantly being touched up by her older boyfriend. She was then attacked by Kaya Scodelario’s Effy, who was high on magic mushrooms. During her second season, Katie faced an infertility storyline, homelessness and had to support Effy after the character tried to commit suicide.
This was only the second acting job Megan ever had, following one episode of Doctors. “I was thrown in at the deep end at a very early time in my life. I hadn’t even been to university.”
She adds: “We have to remember that it was pre-MeToo. So there was that idea of ‘You’re lucky to be here, and we can replace you in a heartbeat.’ I believed it at the time.
“I wish I had the balls to say ‘No, I am here for a reason’ and that we should all be valued and treated like we are part of what makes the show massive.”
Life after Skins
Megan appeared on Skins with plenty of actors who went on to become major stars. In her cohort, there was future Rivals star Luca Pasqualino and SAS: Rogue Heroes actor Josh O’Connell. The group that came before them also featured Dev Patel, Nicolas Hoult and Daniel Kaluuya.
Before being in Skins, Megan and her co-star twin Kathryn lived in Palmers Green, London. After filming the show, Megan returned home to work in a pub. Being one of the leads on a TV show did not set her up for life as fans might think.
“I do not come from money, I cannot rely on anybody else for financial stability,” she says. “The moment I finished filming Skins, I went right back to work in a pub. I don't think there's anything to be ashamed of doing a job like that, and working hard for your money. But a lot of people's reactions were very interesting.”
She previously told press that she only had £300 in her bank account before she joined OnlyFans in 2020, where she sometimes earns three times her Skins salary.
OnlyFans and new projects
Megan will shortly be appearing in Race of Wits, a Taskmaster-style series on OFTV, the subscriber platform’s “safe for work” streamer.
She also joined forces with Adam McKay, the creator of The Big Short, to make an OnlyFans series where she talks about the environment whilst removing her clothes. “Daddy is a giver,” she says as she explains that our global energy demands could be met with solar power.
Incredibly, she has managed to convince some of her fans to change their stance on the climate crisis. “People are opening their minds and actually listening. I’ve never experienced trolls changing their minds before.”
Skins star Megan Prescott and comedian Freya Mallard will join forces for Race of Wits, launching on OFTV on 25th August.
