News

Hiya! Quick update to let you know what's going on. Skins is on holiday at the moment, and we're just about to start filming series 3 part 2.

My episode, ep 2, was the first to be filmed, and so is the first to be edited. I'm hopefully going to see it today, looking forward to seeing what they've done with it.

We've got some great guest stars all the way through the first half of series 3, plus some familiar faces. Ep 5 in particular has a couple of great actors and personalities in it, and I look forward to seeing what they can do. Scott Mills was great, apparently!

I'm not too tuned into Skins at the moment, because I've been working on this BBC3 show, Phoo Action. Some of you might have seen the pilot broadcast earlier this year - it's been picked up and they're making a series of it, which I'm very happy to be involved in. I'm writing episode 4. It's the first non-Skins script I've ever written, and it's absolutely insane! I get to write complicated fight scenes, mad as trousers dream sequences and come up with loopy as fuck monsters. All in all, good fun. A challenge, though. If I want to write on other shows, I have to prove that I can do so, and this is my chance. Wish me luck!

The other thing that's going on is that me and Bryan are developing another show, this time for a younger audience. He announced it at a festival the other day (Alex at Skinsnation, diligent, meek Alex, picked it up like the hawk he is). I'm following Bryan's lead and not saying anything till it's set in stone and we know we're going to make it, but I will say this; I am very, very excited. If I get my way, it'll be something really different, that all ages can enjoy.

ANOTHER thing that's going on is that I'm involved with a film. I don't know how much I can say, but it's an adaptation of a story by Mancunian sci-fi writer, a massive hero of mine, and the director is brilliant, responsible in some manner for some of the best documentaries of the past few years.

Other than that, make sure those of you in London go and see Lucy Kirkwood's new play, Hedda, at the Gate. Looks really good to me - Lucy is possibly one of the most talented young writers in the country, and anything she does is worth seeing (including ep 9 of series 3 of Skins).

Stay cool, dudes.

Jx.

Gig

Robin Ince just emailed me the following, for all you in London:

"THIS SUNDAY
Jo Brand, Jo Neary, Jo Enright, Tim Minchin, Ed Byrne, Milton Jones,
Steve Merchant, Mark Steel, Mat Holness, Dan Antopolski and Robin Ince
will be performing at the Bloomsbury in a special benefit night for
William's Fund."

I'll be going. Will you?

Series 3

Hello all. Sorry it has been so long since I last updated, I've been alternately busy and lazy and that's why. As I type, filming on Skins will begin in about four hours (although they did shoot a scene last week for some reason). Last week was spent in Bristol fine tuning my script for series 3, episode 2 following the readthrough. The readthrough was thought by some of those attending to have been one of the best anyone has ever seen, and while I'm not sure of that, there were certainly plenty of laughs. I couldn't be more pleased with the actor I have got for my episode, for a character I originated. He's nothing like I imagined he would be; he's much, much better.

My script is something I'm dead chuffed with - I think it's the best out of the three I've written. The script I wrote last year (Tony) I was very happy with, but it was quite strange and difficult. This one is much more fun, much more energetic, much more classic Skins. I've got a great guest actor in it too, though I can't say who it is yet, nor can I think of a good clue that wouldn't give him away. Er. He played a beloved character in a sitcom a few years ago. That'll do till I think of something better.

The other scripts are in good shape too - we've got some really good young writers working with us this year. Returning is Daniel Kaluuya, writing ep 3, Ben Schiffer, writing ep 5 and ep 10, Lucy Kirkwood, writing 7, I think. New people are Georgia Lester and Athia Sen Gupta, both only 19 (!) writing 4 and 6 respectively. The great Robin Ince is doing one, and fresh from Shameless, is the lovely Malcolm who completes the writing team along with me Daddy, B Elsley. Josie Long is still helping out, and also the terribly nice and terribly funny Isy Suttie, last seen playing Dobby on Peep Show, is along for the ride.

I got to meet some cool people at the Skins party in London, which was great fun. I can't remember their names, but the very nice dudes who run Skinsnation and Skinsis interviewed me whilst I was pretty drunk. I'm eager to see what I said - and if I gave anything away that I shouldn't!

I finally got to meet most, but not all, of the new cast, who are all really nice people, in keeping with Skins hiring policy of only lovelies being allowed. A couple of them had exams so couldn't be there, but I'm sure I'll get to meet them soon.

I'm having a break now. I'll still attend the writers meetings, but my big job for this year is over. I'll try and update the blog a bit more than I have done recently. I'm about to start work writing for a show at the beeb, then after that another thing with Company that is very exciting - more later.

Oh, and I'll be on the skinslife website this week taking questions. If you've got anything to ask me, head over to skinslife.com and post away.

MGS4 rules.

Jx.

If you see me at Glastonbury, say hello.

Commentary

There's going to be a new Skins site launching in about a month - it's an independent thing, separate to the e4 one. Lots of exciting stuff. The commentaries are going to be among the first things posted on that, so there you go.

Jx.