For a generation of British teens, E4's Skins was the gritty, hedonistic blueprint for cool in the late 2000s. But behind the scenes, the reality for its young cast was starkly different from the glamour on screen.
From TV Fame to Financial Struggle
Megan Prescott, who shot to fame at age 16 playing the abrasive Katie Fitch, has spoken out about the show's challenging legacy. Now 34, she told Cosmopolitan that despite the series launching Hollywood careers for stars like Nicholas Hoult and Dev Patel, the regular cast saw little financial reward.
"We worked it out by the hour once, and it was minimum wage," Prescott revealed. While £400 a week felt substantial to a teenager in the mid-2000s, the long-term outlook was bleak. Due to their contracts, the actors receive no residuals from the show's ongoing success on streaming platforms like Netflix.
The Hypocrisy of Sexualisation and Safeguarding
Prescott's most pointed criticism centres on the industry's "hypocrisy" in sexualising child stars. She reflected on filming explicit scenes as a teenager with older actors, a practice other Skins alumni have also questioned.
"If we are collectively ok with me having sex scenes on TV as a child... why can't I, as a grown woman, take ownership of my image and sexuality back and earn three times as much?" she asked. Prescott argues the industry profits from sexualised teens but judges them for capitalising on their own image as adults.
Reclaiming Control on OnlyFans
After Skins ended in 2013, Prescott struggled to find consistent acting work, taking small roles in Silent Witness and Holby City. In her early twenties, she secretly worked in strip clubs to pay bills, fearing industry blacklisting.
Her turning point came during the pandemic. After being refused furlough, she launched an OnlyFans account. "I'm treated better on OnlyFans than I was on Skins," she stated. The platform allowed her to become the "main benefactor" of her brand, removing production company middlemen.
Prescott, who starred alongside her twin sister Kathryn, says this move has been transformative, granting her both financial stability and emotional autonomy over the sexuality she was once asked to perform for others.
