Skins/Characters
Skins introduces a new cast of characters every two seasons. The US cast section could use some work.
First Generation
The Kids
Anthony "Tony" Stonem
Played by: Nicholas Hoult
- Affably Evil
- Ambiguously Bi: It's never made clear whether his dalliance with Maxxie is just an experiment or if he's actually bisexual. Michelle's comment below only came after the fact.
- Anti-Hero: Initially Type V, arguably a Type III or IV post-Character Development.
- Anything That Moves: As Michelle says, "He sleeps with everyone, even boys!"
- Big Brother Instinct
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Mainly to adults.
- Blue Eyes: Of the second type.
- Break the Haughty
- Byronic Hero
- Character Development: In Series 2.
- Draco in Leather Pants: In-universe, even.
- Even the Guys Want Him: Subverted in that when Tony actually gets round to sleeping with Maxxie, it turns out that some guys don't want him after all.
- The Friend Nobody Likes
- Genius Book Club
- Heel Face Turn: Almost resulted in Redemption Equals Death in the Series 1 finale, but he recovered.
- Heel Realization
- Heterosexual Life Partners: With Sid.
- Insufferable Genius: With one exception; see Small Name, Big Ego below.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Eventually
- Lack of Empathy: In Series 1.
- Look Both Ways
- Manipulative Bastard
- The Masochism Tango: With Michelle.
- Mr. Fanservice
- Nietzsche Wannabe: Lampshaded in Sid's Series 1 episode, where Tony is actually seen reading Thus Spake Zarathustra.
- Pretty Boy
- Really Gets Around
- Screw Yourself: Arguably, combined with Intimate Psychotherapy, Tony has sex with himself when he has sex with Beth in Series 2 Episode 6.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Mostly averted, as Tony truly is an Insufferable Genius, but it is implied that his sexual prowess is not what he believes it to be. According to Maxxie, giving head is the "one thing [Tony's] not actually good at," and in Series 2, Michelle says that Sid is the first person to make her come, meaning that Tony never has. So while he may be good at getting people into his bed, he's apparently not so great at satisfying them once they're there.
- Smug Snake
- Sociopathic Hero
- Toxic Friend Influence
- The Vamp: Male example.
- Villain Protagonist: Series 1.
- Wicked Cultured
Michelle Richardson
Played by: April Pearson
- Embarrassing Nickname: "Nips," Tony's less-than-flattering nickname for her.
- Genius Ditz: Though she's easily dismissed by many of the characters - and even by herself - as a vapid pretty girl, Michelle is actually a pretty good student, especially when it comes to languages. In the generation finale, this is solidified by Michelle tying with Tony for the best A-level grades in their group of friends, surpassing even Jal.
- Green Eyes
- Heterosexual Life Partners: With Jal.
- The Masochism Tango: With Tony.
- Ojou
- Romantic False Lead: For Sid.
- Shallow Love Interest: Finally subverted towards the end of Series 1.
- The Three Faces of Eve: The seductress.
- Woman Scorned: In her Series 1 episode.
Sidney "Sid" Jenkins
Played by: Mike Bailey
- Anti-Hero: Type I.
- Big Eater
- Butt Monkey
- Cordon Bleugh Chef
- Fun T-Shirt: He has one with a talking dog on it, that tends to go off at inappropriate times.
- Heterosexual Life Partners: With Tony.
- Love Hurts: With Cassie.
- A Man Is Not a Virgin: Plot of the very first episode.
Tony: It's embarrassing.
Sid: It's common and quite normal for someone of sixteen--
Tony: --No. It's embarrassing, Sid.
Sid: ...Shit.
- Nature Abhors a Virgin
- Nerd Glasses: But of course.
- Not a Morning Person
- The Pig Pen: A minor example.
- Romantic False Lead: For Michelle.
- Slap Slap Kiss: With Cassie, in Series 2.
- Slobs Versus Snobs: With Tony.
- Theme Naming: Sid's father's side of the family are all variants of Alexander (Alex, Sandy, Lex, and Ally). Sid spots that his he and his father (Mark) are the Odd Names Out, marking them for black sheep and outcast status.
- This Loser Is You
- The Unfavourite: Despite the fact that he hasn't got any siblings, Sid is constantly overshadowed by Tony. Mr. Jenkins' voice becomes completely different when he's talking to Tony, as opposed to yelling at Sid. And in his Series 2 episode, Sid and his dad are both unfavorites, to his uncle and cousins.
Cassandra "Cassie" Ainsworth
Played by: Hannah Murray
- Anything That Moves/Really Gets Around: An Informed Attribute until Series 2.
- Beneath the Mask: In Series 2.
- Bi the Way
- Cloudcuckoolander
- Cool Shades
- Ditzy Genius: Mainly in Series 2. In her episode, she spends most of her philosophy exam chatting to her teacher and dancing to "Funkytown". She sits down to write for the last hour and seemingly aces the test. On top of that, Cassie is a genius at reading people (almost telepathic in her accuracy) as well as reading heavy books.
- Driven to Suicide/Spurned Into Suicide
- Interrupted Suicide: Thanks to Jal.
- Dull Surprise: Occasionally, such as when she catches Jal and Chris having sex.
- The First Cut Is the Deepest: While she's not in a relationship with him, the death of Chris definitely affects her this way.
- Forgets to Eat: As part of her anorexia, Cassie refuses to eat.
- Genius Book Club
- Genki Girl: Appears that way at first.
- Hair of Gold
- He's Dead, Jim: Has this reaction when Chris dies.
- I Just Want to Be Beautiful
- Love Hurts: With Sid.
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Of the "deconstructed" variety. She isn't just quirky, she has multiple legitimate psychological problems which are depicted with all the seriousness they require. Also, said problems are just as, if not more, integral to her storyline as her relationship with Sid.
- The Messiah: Appears that way at times during Series 1, especially in her "Unseen Skins" episode. She definitely isn't one in Series 2, however.
- Mistaken for Cheating
- Motor Mouth
- Obfuscating Insanity: Despite having real mental health issues, she does this at times, sometimes combined with Obfuscating Stupidity.
- The Ophelia: Played with throughout the two series. It can whiplash between funny ("I'm thinking of leaving school, growing a beard, and joining the circus") to just plain disturbing (Effy's Series 2 episode).
- Parental Substitute: For her brother.
- Platonic Life Partners: With Chris.
- Quirky Curls
- The Runaway: When she returns from Scotland.
- Slap Slap Kiss: With Sid in Series 2.
- Stepford Smiler
- Sticky Fingers
- Super OCD: A mild example.
- The Three Faces of Eve: The child.
- Through the Eyes of Madness: In her Series 1 episode, she keeps getting texts telling her to EAT! on her phone, and seeing the word spelled out elsewhere. Nobody is texting her. They are all just hallucinations.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: In Series 2, when she becomes a Jerkass Woobie for a time.
- Verbal Tic/Catch Phrase: "Oh. Wow. Lovely."
- Woman in White
- Woman Scorned: Throughout Series 2.
Chris Miles
Played by: Joe Dempsie
- Anti-Hero: Type I.
- Blood From the Mouth
- Can't Get Away with Nuthin'
- Catch Phrase: "Fuck it".
- Died in Your Arms Tonight
- Fun T-Shirt
- Go Out with a Smile
- Killed Off for Real
- Life of the Party: Well, they all are, but Chris more than anyone.
- Male Frontal Nudity
- The Messiah: He loves everyone and everything as Jal lampshades in her speech at his funeral.
- New Job Episode: His Series 2 episode.
- Nice Guy
- Obi-Wan Moment
- Opposites Attract: With Jal. Admittedly, though, it was only after each of them brought out a little of each other - Chris getting Jal to show her wilder side, and Jal getting Chris to make responsible decisions.
- Parental Abandonment
- Platonic Life Partners: With Cassie.
- Second Love: When he chooses Jal over Angie.
- The Stoner: Perhaps also the Erudite Stoner.
- Teacher-Student Romance: With Angie.
- Too Good for This Sinful Earth
- Trauma Conga Line: His backstory.
- The Unfavorite: How his parents treat him. His dad even goes so far as to only have photos of Peter.
- Uptight Loves Wild: Gender Flipped with Jal.
- Wrong Girl First
Jalander "Jal" Fazer
Played by: Larissa Wilson
- Broken Bird: In Series 2.
- Closer to Earth
- Deadpan Snarker
- Elegant Classical Musician
- The First Cut Is the Deepest
- Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Averted when Jal gets an abortion in Series 2, so she can continue on with her music studies at Uni.
- Heterosexual Life Partners: With Michelle.
- Only Sane Woman: Tends to play the voice of reason among the characters.
- Opposites Attract: With Chris.
- The Smart Guy: She tends to play this role, even though Tony and Cassie are arguably smarter.
- Team Mom
- Teen Pregnancy
- The Three Faces of Eve: The mother. Literally, when she gets pregnant toward the end of Season 2.
- Token Minority
- Uptight Loves Wild: Gender Flipped with Chris.
- You Are a Credit to Your Race: Gets a speech like this from the school administration when she's being interviewed for being a BBC Young Musician Of The Year finalist. They go on and on about how Jal is from a "disadvantaged background" when, actually, her father is a famous musician and she's probably the most well-off of the group.
Maxxie Oliver
Played by: Mitch Hewer
- All Gays Love Theater: Dancing is more his thing, but he does love the theater.
- Billy Elliot Plot
- Camp Gay: A mild example, but he loves dancing and theater.
- Club Kid: Although he's one of the most balanced characters of the show and is one of the few characters who isn't seen using drugs.
- Heterosexual Life Partners: With Anwar, although obviously minus the "heterosexual" as far as Maxxie goes.
- Mr. Fanservice: Ironically enough.
- Only Sane Man: More or less. Still has his issues, but handles them a lot better than most of his friends.
- Pretty Boy: Maybe even more so than Tony.
- Into Musical Theatre
- Shirtless Scene: With nudity.
- Those Two Guys: With Anwar, particularly in the first series.
- White-Haired Pretty Boy: Well, fairly light blonde.
Anwar Kharral
Played by: Dev Patel
- Heterosexual Life Partners: With Maxxie.
- Plucky Comic Relief: Especially true in Series 2, where Anwar's storyline seemed to exist to provide a bit of a fun Mood Whiplash in the midst of the Darker and Edgier arcs surrounding the other characters.
- Straw Hypocrite: Anwar is perfectly fine breaking Islam's rules regarding drugs, drinking and premarital sex, but suddenly clings to his religion as an excuse for his homophobia. Maxxie calls him out on it in their episode.
- Those Two Guys: With Maxxie, particularly in the first series.
- Twofer Token Minority
Elizabeth "Effy" Stonem
Played by: Kaya Scodelario
- Big Brother Worship
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Mostly to her parents.
- Brother-Sister Incest: YMMV, but Tony and Effy give off... vibes... at times.
- The Chessmaster
- Emotionless Girl
- Genius Book Club
- Kuudere
- Odd Friendship: With Pandora.
- Parental Favoritism: Her mother definitely prefers her over Tony.
- Silent Bob: In Series 1.
- Stepford Smiler: Gets hinted at in her Series 2 episode, when Tony says her reserve and stoicness don't fool him; however, it's not really fully explored until Generation 2.
- The Stoic
Sketch (Lucy)
Played by: Aimee-Ffion Edwards
- Abhorrent Admirer: Creepy and completely ignores...
- Incompatible Orientation
- Stalker with a Crush: Towards Maxxie.
- Yandere: She's not violent like this trope usually implies, but she's definitely unstable and doesn't really care who she has to hurt to get to Maxxie.
Family
Anthea Stonem
Played by: Morwenna Banks
- Adults Are Useless: Useless. Ignores Tony and Effy.
- Parental Favoritism: In Effy's favor.
Jim Stonem
Played by: Harry Enfield
Anna Richardson
Played by: Arabella Weir
Scarlett
Played by: Sia Berkeley
Mark Jenkins
Played by: Peter Capaldi
- Calling the Old Man Out: Both the receiver and giver.
- Jerkass: He gets better though.
- Killed Off for Real
- Peaceful in Death
- The Unfavourite
Elizabeth Jenkins
Played by: Josie Lawrence
Marcus and Margeritte Ainsworth
Played by: Neil Morrissey and Naomi Allisstone
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome
- Hands-Off Parenting
- Parental Obliviousness
- What Happened to the Mouse?: It's never explained what happened to them, although we assume they are still in Elgin.
Graham Miles
- Dramatic Irony: Graham's decision to not invite Chris's friends to his funeral, because they were the ones who "screwed him up". The audience, however, knows the opposite is true: his friends were the ones who cared about and looked after Chris after his parents both abandoned him. If not for his friends, he probably would have died a lot sooner.
- I Have No Son: Not quite, but he doesn't acknowledge Chris as his son, going to the extreme of only having baby pictures of Peter. That is, until Chris dies.
- Parental Abandonment
Chris's mother
Peter Miles
Ronnie Fazer
Played by: Mark Monero
Jal's Mother
Played by Josette Simon
Ace and Lyton Fazer
Played by Troy Glasgow and Adrian Fergus Fuller
Istiak Kharral
Played by Inder Manocha
- Good Parents
- Happily Married: Lets his wife have her way in everything because of his love for her.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: One of the few on the show.
Bibi Kharral
Played by Nina Wadia
- Doting Parent
- Happily Married
- Hidden Depths: Her masturbation joke in the generation finale suggests she's maybe a bit looser than she initially seems.
Uncle Muneer
Played by Nish Nathwani
Walter Oliver
Played by: Bill Bailey
Jackie Oliver
Supporting Cast
Posh Kenneth
Played by: Daniel Kaluuya
- Jive Turkey: The joke being that his posh accent means he doesn't sound nearly as "ghetto" as he would like to.
- Token Minority Couple: His moment with Jal in the Series 1 finale.
- You Look Familiar: Daniel Kaluuya turned up playing a DJ in a Series 3 episode.
Abigail Stock
Played by: Georgina Moffet
Josh Stock
Played by: Ben Lloyd-Hughes
- Beware the Nice Ones: Though it's more that he turns out to not be so nice once Tony screws him over.
- Complete Monster: He drugs Effy and tries to force Tony to have sex with her while she's unconscious.
- Karma Houdini
- Romantic False Lead: For Michelle.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: In Effy's episode.
Pandora Moon
Played by: Lisa Backwell
Angie
Played by: Siwan Morris
Doug
Played by: Giles Thomas
- Cool Teacher: At least, he tries:
"Oggie oggie oggie!"
Josie
Played by: Josie Long
Madison "Mad" Twatter
Played by: Stephen Walters
- Badass Mustache
- Berserk Button: DON'T stare.
- Good Hair, Evil Hair: His handlebar mustache puts him in the latter category.
- Unfortunate Names: Though he seems to enjoy it.
Alan the Taxi Driver
Played by: Alan George
- Cool Old Guy
- The Mentor: To Cassie.
Second Generation
The Kids
Elizabeth "Effy" Stonem
Played by: Kaya Scodelario
- Beneath the Mask: It finally comes off in Series 4, but we get some peeks even before that - for example, with her "Unseen Skins" in Series 1, and with her speech to Katie in Pandora's Series 3 episode.
- Blue Eyes: Like her brother, the second type.
- Broken Bird: Gave off this impression from her earliest appearances, until Sanity Slippage ensued.
- Fallen Princess
- Fille Fatale: All three of the Musketeers fall for her.
- Heterosexual Life Partners: With Pandora.
- Ice Queen
- Love Makes You Crazy: Effy can't seem to handle being in a relationship with someone she genuinely loves which is why she loses it when she and Freddie get together in Series 4.
- The Ophelia
- Room Full of Crazy: In Freddie's Series 4 episode, Effy makes one in her mum's bedroom.
- Sanity Slippage: In Series 4.
- Stepford Smiler: Types A and C. Effy's complete personality shifts with each season turned out to just be different masks. Invoked by Anthea in Series 3, who says to JJ that nothing terrifies Effy more than "showing her cards".
- Unkempt Beauty
Pandora "Panda" Moon
Played by: Lisa Backwell
- Ascended Extra: Was a minor character in Series 2; now a part of the main cast.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Particularly at the beginning of Series 3.
- Corrupt the Cutie: Panda now wants to be corrupted even more.
- Genius Ditz
- Heterosexual Life Partners: With Effy.
- Ivy League for Everyone
- No Social Skills: JJ looks positively smooth in comparison.
- Slumber Party Ploy: How she keeps her mom from knowing about all the drugs and sex she partakes in.
- Your Cheating Heart: Continues having sex with Cook even after Thomas comes back to Britain and they consequently get back together.
Thomas Tomone
Played by: Merveille Lukeba
- Bilingual Bonus: When he speaks French. Most of his French dialogue is subtitled, of course, but some stand-alone words are not.
- Black and Nerdy: A mild case. He claims to be great at math and to have scored at the top of his class in his village high school.
- But Not Too Foreign: Averted. He's from Africa.
- Everything Sounds Sexier in French
- Foreign Cuss Word: "Merde" (meaning "shit") is a favorite of his.
- Ivy League for Everyone: A particularly egregious example.
- Magical Negro: Sometimes comes across as this; Katie even lampshades it.
- Naive Newcomer: Played straight until they get to Pandora's aunt's house. Then it's quickly subverted.
- Odd Friendship: With JJ.
- Token Minority
- Took a Level in Jerkass: His Series 4 episode, to some.
- You Fail Geography Forever: Is Thomas from the Republic of the Congo or the Democratic Republic of the Congo? Pandora's description of it being between Gabon and Cameroon suggests the former (the D.R.C. doesn't border either of those countries), dialogue suggests the latter. Do the writers not realize they are different countries?
- Your Cheating Heart: He cheats on Pandora in Series 4.
Jonah "JJ" Jeremiah Jones
Played by: Ollie Barbieri
- Absent-Minded Professor: Cook even calls him a "nutty professor".
- Adorkable: His interest in magic tricks and model planes, his trivia skills, and the repeated Star Trek references in his Series 4 episode.
- Alliteration
- Asperger's Syndrome: Provides the page quote, even. He also stands out as one of the few portrayals in the media that is both realistic and sympathetic.
- Beware the Nice Ones
- Bow Ties Are Cool
- Butt Monkey: In-universe, at least.
- Demoted to Extra: Essentially what happens after his Series 4 episode.
- Did I Just Say That Out Loud?: Has a lot of these moments, from telling Effy that Cook was sleeping with someone else to outing Emily to her sister.
- Freudian Trio: Usually the Ego, occasionally the Super-ego.
- Good with Numbers
- Incompatible Orientation: He and Emily have sex despite the fact that Emily is gay. He actually thought the two of them getting together was possible when Emily chose him as her Love Ball date - but that was only because of Emily's mother and sister's homophobia, and once Naomi showed up Emily happily went with her.
- A Man Is Not a Virgin: Subverted until the end of his Series 3 episode. Played with in Series 4 when Thomas points out that a pity-screw from a lesbian doesn't really mean much, and he needs to find a girl who is genuinely interested to have sex with him.
- Motor Mouth: When he gets "locked-on".
- Odd Friendship: With Emily and with Thomas. His friendship with Thomas in particular came out of nowhere.
- Serenade Your Lover: What he does to get Lara back after she dumps him because he beat up her baby daddy, with his adorable rendition of "True" by Spandau Ballet.
- TV Genius: Subverted - he has all the traits to fit the trope, but he's never made out to be any smarter than anyone else (except in terms of remembering lots of random facts). His social isolation is his defining factor. He does however excel in mathematics, as he clearly states in his form introduction.
James Cook
Played by: Jack O'Connell
- Anti-Hero: Initially appeared as a Type V, but was eventually revealed to be more of a Type I.
- Berserk Button: Don't mention his mum.
- Big Eater
- Freudian Trio: The Id.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: In Series 3.
- Hair-Trigger Temper
- Heterosexual Life Partners: With Freddie.
- Hypocrisy Nod: Everybody pisses on you? What goes around comes around.
- Incompatible Orientation: With Naomi. It's the reason that they don't go very far when they try to have sex.
- Jerkass: And a particularly obnoxious one at that, though one scene would imply it's really a Jerkass Facade.
- Large Ham: It's part of his character.
- Last-Name Basis
- Odd Friendship: With Naomi, by Series 4.
Frederick "Freddie" Mclair
Played by: Luke Pasqualino
- Big Brother Instinct: He's not a fan of Karen's decision to exploit their mother's memory to help her win Search for a Sexxbomb, but he cheers for her at her final performance, comforts her when she loses and when Cook laughs about how he and JJ voted against her for stealing their shed, Freddie nearly punches his lights out.
- Freudian Trio: Usually the Super-ego (lampshaded by Cook when he calls him a "fun-sponge"), occasionally the Ego.
- Heterosexual Life Partners: With Cook.
- Killed Off for Real
- Missing Mom: Well, dead mom.
- Mr. Fanservice: The show likes to remind us of Freddie's nice chest.
- Shirtless Scene: Seems to enjoy leaving his shirt at home even in the non-sex scenes.
- The Stoner
- The Unfavourite: Karen comprehensively dumps on him - with their father's support and praise, most notably when Freddie loses his beloved shed.
Katherine "Katie" Fitch
Played by: Megan Prescott
- Alpha Bitch: At least, she aspires to be one. Particularly in Series 3.
- Broke Episode: Her Series 4 episode.
- Different As Night and Day
- Everybody Smokes: Averted, notably she's the only teenage character to outright state that they don't smoke Though she finally caves in her Series 4 episode.
- Foil: The show sets her up as Effy's foil, though they're eventually revealed to be Not So Different. She is more the foil to her sister. Having a twin that is, personality-wise, one's total opposite means those differing factors are highlighted.
- It's a Costume Party, I Swear: The maid of honor at the wedding Katie and her mom are planning pulls a version of this on Katie: she switches the theme, doesn't tell Katie, and doesn't make her a corresponding costume.
- Manipulative Bastard: Particularly during her and Emily's Series 3 episode.
- No Periods, Period: Katie is diagnosed with premature menopause in her Series 4 episode.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red oni to Emily's blue oni, especially in Series 3. Less so in Series 4, not because Katie stops being fierce, but because Emily stops being a shy doormat.
- Romantic False Lead: To both Freddie and Thomas.
- Tsundere
- Twincest: The writers basically went to town with Katie/Emily subtext in their Series 3 episode.
Emily Fitch
Played by: Kathryn Prescott
- Break the Cutie: Series Four.
- Different As Night and Day
- Every Girl Is Cuter With Hair Decs: Particularly in Series 3.
- Foil: To her sister as explained above, as well as to Naomi. Emily's close-knit family, and the fact that she's a twin, contrasts with Naomi's more independent life, with a mom who is not always around. This explains why Emily dives face-first into their relationship, going serious all at once, while Naomi is scared off by that and wants to ease into it slowly.
- Gayngst
- Lipstick Lesbian
- Odd Friendship: With JJ.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue oni to Katie's red oni, at least through most of Series 3. Less so after she starts to crawl out from Katie's shadow at the end of Series 3, though she's still more low-key and sensitive than her sister.
- Schoolgirl Lesbians
- Single-Target Sexuality: Naomi.
Naomi Campbell
Played by: Lily Loveless
- All Take and No Give: Arguably Naomi's fling with Sophia. At least from Sophia's point of view.
- Armored Closet Gay: At first.
- Disappeared Dad
- First Kiss: That middle school kiss with Emily. (All the boys she'd dated before then were too cowardly to go for it. And she didn't fancy any of them anyway.).
- Gayngst
- Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?: In Series 3. Naomi is very quick to remind Emily how very straight she is between lip-locking sessions.
- Informed Ability: Naomi is supposedly very political and hates injustice, but apart from her character video diary, unsuccessful run for student president, and her poster of Nelson Mandela on her bedroom wall, this is never really shown.
- The run for president was unsuccessful precisely because she hates injustice (she refused to let Harriet and Doug get away with trying to rig the election in her favor).
- Also, it's lampshaded earlier in the episode when she points out that Emily shouldn't know that about her, having said all of about three sentences to her, none of them political.
- The run for president was unsuccessful precisely because she hates injustice (she refused to let Harriet and Doug get away with trying to rig the election in her favor).
- Love At First Sight: "I think I was twelve."
- Messy Hair: Becomes her default hairstyle during Series 4.
- Odd Friendship: With Cook, by Series 4. Let's not forget she got him in trouble in the generation opener when he tried to show her his dick tattoos.
- And oddly enough, Effy as well, though the moments are fleeting. Evidenced in JJ's Series 3 episode, when they discuss Naomi's sexuality and Effy's love for Freddie, and Effy's Series 4 episode, when Naomi goes to visit Effy in the psychiatric hospital following her suicide attempt to discuss Naomi's failing relationship with Emily.
- Schoolgirl Lesbians
- Single-Target Sexuality: Emily.
- Stepford Snarker: "I learned how to become a sarcastic bitch just to make it feel normal."
- Tsundere: See above.
- Your Cheating Heart: Naomi cheats on Emily in Series 4 with Sophia, a storyline that was possibly hinted at with the song "It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry" that plays at the end of 309.
Family
Anthea Stonem
Played by: Morwenna Banks
- Your Cheating Heart: She's been cheating on her husband with his line manager.
Jim Stonem
Played by: Harry Enfield
- Put on a Bus: Partway through Series 3 (when he finds out about Anthea's cheating).
Angela Moon
Played by: Sally Phillips
- Adults Are Useless: Is easily dispatched by the MDMA brownies and Pandora's friends are able to have the party they wanted.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parent: Played with. Angela is one, but Pandora doesn't see her this way - and is more worried about how her hard-partying friends are going to embarrass her in front of her mom.
- Hidden Depths: Her sex tape with the cranky neighbor that Effy and Cook find when they fall into the house next door.
- My Beloved Smother: Angela doesn't want Pandora anywhere near boys. Oddly enough, Panda doesn't see her this way, even though she breaks all her rules.
- Only Sane Parent: Arguably. With the exception of her ideas about boyfriends, her rules for Pandora are actually pretty reasonable.
- Unsuspectingly Soused: After Katie puts MDMA in the brownies when Angela's back is turned.
Aunt Elizabeth
Played by: Maureen Lipman
- Unsuspectingly Soused: Doesn't realize tea plants are marijuana (or maybe she does, given the way she's happily smoking them at the end...)
Celia Jones
Played by: Juliet Cowan
- Did I Just Say That Out Loud?: When she accidentally calls Lara a "slut" in JJ's Series 4 episode.
Edward Jones
Played by: Douglas Hodge
- Hands-Off Parenting: He spends most of the time hiding behind a newspaper.
Ruth Cook
Played by: Tanya Franks
- Hands-Off Parenting: Hasn't seen her son since she kicked him out for selling her wedding rings for dope - until he's under house arrest in Series 4.
- Mrs. Robinson: Has sex with Freddie.
- Really Gets Around
James Cook, Sr
Played by: Matt King
Leo Mclair
Played by: Simon Day
Karen Mclair
Played by: Klariza Clayton
- Bratty Teenage Daughter
- Idol Singer: Her dream is to be the English equivalent of this.
Jenna Fitch
Played by: Ronnie Ancona
- Break the Haughty: In Katie's Series 4 episode when the Fitches lose their house.
- Smug Snake
Rob Fitch
Played by: John Bishop
- Bumbling Dad
- Overprotective Dad: "If they're not still virgins tomorrow, I'll hunt you down like dogs."
- Stepford Smiler: Series 4. Manages to seem optimistic about how his fitness machine will "take off" even as he's hiding foreclosure notices from his wife and kids.
- Your Cheating Heart: Cheated on Jenna once with her sister; he explains it to Emily to help her deal with Naomi's cheating.
James Fitch
Played by: Redd Smith
- Annoying Younger Sibling: From Katie and Emily's perspectives.
- Kidanova: Fancies himself as one.
- Mouthy Kid
Gina Campbell
Played by: Olivia Colman
- Hands-Off Parenting: Also could be lumped in with Missing Mom. Gina apparently left Naomi on her own for a year to do... well, something (she'd stated that she wanted to "fuck on every beach in India" before she ended up pregnant; that's the most likely explanation). Strange because for the most part of Series 3, she was a good parent.
- New Age Retro Hippie
Supporting Cast
Johnny White
Played by: Mackenzie Crook
- Expy: Plenty of people saw his character as a clone of Mad Twatter.
Lara Lloyd
Played by: Georgia Henshaw
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: A mild case, but she does basically exist just to be JJ's girlfriend.
- Teen Pregnancy
Sophia Moore
Played by: Amberley Gridley
- Driven to Suicide: Way to start a season!
- Military Brat: Her dad died fighting in battle and she's also part of the Army Cadet Force.
- Posthumous Character
- Room Full of Crazy: Cadet locker, rather.
- Stalker with a Crush: Taken to the extreme. Sophia has a whole locker shrine dedicated to Naomi. Items include covertly taken snapshots of Naomi, Naomi's bracelet, an old toothbrush of Naomi's, and a Garibaldi wrapper Naomi had thrown out.
- Tragic Dream: Naomi. Art school.
Matt Moore
Played by: Richard Southgate
Dr. John Foster
Played by: Hugo Speer
- Ax Crazy
- Complete Monster
- If I Can't Have You
- Mind Rape: Attempts this on Effy. Almost succeeds.
- The Shrink: A particularly extreme Type 1.
- Stalker with a Crush
- Yandere
Sam
Played by: Ben Evans
- Berserk Button: Unknowingly presses Katie's in her Series 4 episode. Gets dumped for it.
- Biggus Dickus: What Katie claims him to be.
Andrea Babajide
Played by: Adelayo Adedayo
- Betty and Veronica: The show plays with this trope. The pressure Thomas is feeling from his parents and church to "stick with his culture" makes him see Andrea as the Betty to Pandora's Veronica (yes, we are talking about Panda here). By the end of the episode he realizes it's more reversed.
- Preacher's Kid: Mostly Type 1, though her dalliance with Thomas could slide her toward Type 3.
- Small Name, Big Ego: While she's not entirely without musical talents, she does have an inflated sense of her abilities, as her speech about Lady Gaga, Beyonce, etc indicates.
Kieran Macfoeinaiugh
Played by: Ardal O'Hanlon
Kieran: Would you believe it only cost me £2.50? And three tokens from the top of Weetabix packets.
Naomi: Yeah, I really would believe that.
- Apathetic Teacher: "Hi, I'm Kieran and I hate being a fucking teacher."
- Hot for Student: For Naomi, after he misreads the signals.
Harriet Lawes
Played by: Victoria Wicks
- Put on a Bus: After Series 3.
David Blood
Played by: Chris Addison
- Sadist Teacher: Seems to take pleasure in expelling people.
- Tyrant Takes the Helm: Sweeps in at the beginning of Series 4 with plans to improve the school - mostly by expelling anyone who steps a toe out of line.
T. Love
Played by: Will Young
- Waxing Lyrical: Most of his advice is derived from the work of Michael Jackson.
Third Generation
The Kids
Francesca "Franky" Fitzgerald
Played by: Dakota Blue Richards
- Aborted Arc: The reasons behind her Freak-Out in the Series 5 finale when Matty tries to have sex with her. As of the Series 6 premiere, Matty and Franky are an Official Couple and Franky tells her friends she's "been losing her virginity lots of times."
- All of the Other Reindeer
- Ambiguously Lesbian: She is referred to as a lesbian by some character early in the season, but Grace, Mini, and Liv eventually question her about her sexuality, and she's says she's "into people" (which would one would probably call "pansexual").
- Badass Longcoat
- Beautiful All Along: In her first episode after her makeover.
- Bifauxnen: She has a very butch/androgynous way of dressing.
- Bi the Way: While she doesn't identify as bisexual she is attracted to people regardless of gender, specifically stating that she's "into people".
- Broken Bird: Implied specifically by her Freak-Out in the finale.
- Cool Loser
- Damsel in Distress: Combined with Literal Cliff Hanger in the Series 5 finale.
- The Dandy: Has the appearance of one but lacks the obvious vanity and she apparently makes some of her own clothes.
- Dark and Troubled Past
- Eating Lunch Alone
- Expository Hairstyle Change: In the novel, she cuts her hair short like in the series.
- Freaky Is Cool
- Friendship Moment: "You got a lighter?"
- Girliness Upgrade: In Series 6.
- Has Two Daddies
- Hates Being Touched
- Headphones Equal Isolation
- The Heart
- Hidden Depths: She's a skilled animator, DJ, photographer and tailor.
- And as of Series 6, fluent in French.
- I Just Want to Be Normal: Lampshaded almost word-for-word after her Freak-Out and subsequent near-death in Series 5 Episode 8.
- I Just Want to Have Friends
- In-Series Nickname: She seems to be called "Headfuck" by the other characters quite a lot...
- Internalized Categorism
- Kuudere
- Ms Imagination
- Naive Newcomer
- No Social Skills: At first due to her being shy.
- Parental Abandonment
- The Rival: How Mini sees her, until they become friends.
- Shrinking Violet
- Suppressed Mammaries: Many were surprised to see that Dakota Blue Richards has actually got not inconsiderable breasts, when she's not dressed as Franky. This is also supposedly the reason for Franky's Girliness Upgrade in Series 6; Dakota had had to bind her breasts to play the androgynous Franky, and it became too uncomfortable for her.
- Tomboy
- Tomboyish Nickname
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Sometime between Series 5 and Series 6 she went up a level.
- Trauma Conga Line: Happens in the novel, when we see the extent of the bullying at her previous school.
- Unresolved Sexual Tension: With Mini and Nick.
Aloysius "Alo" Creevey
Played by: Will Merrick
- Aerith and Bob
- Antiquated Linguistics: Prone to speaking in incredibly outdated parlance.
- Book Dumb
- Calling the Old Man Out: Tries to do this, only it doesn't go well.
- Canine Companion: Rags the dog, it's pretty much his breaking point when his mother threatens to take his dog away.
- A Date with Rosie Palms: Or Ultra-Wanking.
- Friendship Moment: He has this with Mini in his Series 5 episode, as she comforts him after his father ends up in the hospital.
- Friends with Benefits: With Mini, starting in the first episode of Series Six.
- Secret Relationship: Again, with Mini.
- Growing Up Sucks: The theme of his Series 5 episode, combined with All Work vs. All Play.
- Heterosexual Life Partners: With Rich. As of the Series 5 finale, he and Nick appear to be heading this way.
- The Internet Is for Porn
- Life of the Party
- Momma's Boy
- Odd Friendship: With Mini.
- Redheaded Hero
- Scarily Competent Tracker: Well sort of.
- The Slacker
- Slobs Versus Snobs: As a slob, he has this dynamic with Rich and Mini.
- Snap Back: He was pulled out of college in his Series 5 episode and in the next episode, he is seen performing in the School Play like nothing happened.
- The Stoner
- The West Country: Has a strong West Country accent and lives on a farm.
Richard "Rich" Hardbeck
Played by: Alexander Arnold
- Beta Couple: With Grace.
- Cannot Spit It Out
- The Cynic
- Deadpan Snarker
- Drunken Song
- Expository Hairstyle Change: In the Series 5 finale.
- The First Cut Is the Deepest: In his Series 6 episode.
- Fool for Love
- Headphones Equal Isolation
- In Vino Veritas
- Jerkass/Jerkass Facade: His musical snobbery towards anything that isn't metal is extremely grating.
- Particularly in his Series 5 episode to Grace, who is only trying to help hook him up with a crush.
- He does get a little better though after a few Break the Haughty moments.
- He's gotten more likeable since then due to his relationship with Grace.
- Particularly in his Series 5 episode to Grace, who is only trying to help hook him up with a crush.
- Odd Couple: With Grace.
- Opposites Attract: Grace even name-drops the trope.
- Prince Charming: He becomes one in Grace's Series 5 episode.
- Real Men Wear Pink
- Relationship Upgrade: With Grace after a very brief and awkward First Kiss.
- Sensory Abuse: Temporarily loses his hearing after listening to the "heaviest" record ever made.
- Shirtless Scene: Complete with body moisturizer.
- The Snark Knight
- Team Chef
- Wacky Marriage Proposal: To Grace while quoting Romeo and Juliet referencing Fourth Date Marriage. She accepts while quoting The Tempest.
Mini McGuinness
Played by: Freya Mavor
- Aborted Arc: Mini's sexuality is arguably a case of this.
- All Love Is Unrequited: First there is her one-sided love for Nick, and then her unrequited "girl crush" on Franky.
- Alpha Bitch: Possibly a deconstruction of the trope.
- Bad Bad Acting: She goes into a Narmy Large Ham mode during the rehearsal of the production of Twelfth Night.
- Bait and Switch Lesbians/No Bisexuals: The Word of God insistence going into Series 6 that Mini is actually straight, in spite of her "girl crushes" on Franky and Liv in Series 5 and the novel, is arguably one of these.
- Blondes Are Evil
- Blue Eyes: The first type.
- Break the Haughty
- City Mouse
- Clingy Jealous Girl: She takes this to Determinator levels at times, first to Nick until they break up, and then to Franky.
- Compensated Dating: In the novel, a guy she's with turns out to be a registered sex offender.
- Control Freak
- Dark Secret: She's actually a virgin, and she invents an Urban Legend Love Life to cover this fact up.
- Deadpan Snarker
- Defrosting Ice Queen
- Disappeared Dad
- Easily Forgiven: By Franky, considering the bullying she put her through.
- Faking Amnesia
- Fallen Princess
- Fan Disservice: Any of her sex scenes with Nick, due to how downright-painful it looks for her.
- Forgets to Eat: She possibly has an eating disorder.
- Friends with Benefits: With Alo, starting in the first episode of Series Six.
- Secret Relationship: She doesn't want anyone to find out about her and Alo.
- Freudian Trio: The ego.
- Girl Posse: Well, to start with anyway. Not anymore.
- Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?
- Have I Mentioned I Am Sexually Active Today?
- I Just Want to Be Beautiful
- If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: Says this to Matty, about Franky.
- In Love with Love
- Inferiority Superiority Complex
- Internalized Categorism
- Kick the Dog: Making Liv drink a bottle of vodka after she's already had far too much to drink.
- Let's Wait a While: Atypical for a show where Everybody Has Lots of Sex.
- Lovable Alpha Bitch: Eventually.
- Make Way for the Princess
- The Matchmaker: Tries to do this with Franky and Matty, presumably to get back at Liv.
- No Sense of Personal Space: Mainly towards Franky.
- Odd Couple: With Franky
- Passive-Aggressive Kombat: Her specialty.
- Pet the Dog: Her interactions with Alo in his episode.
- Rich Bitch: Not exactly rich, but she does throw pretty extravagant parties for someone her age.
- Actually, she and her mother live in a low-income neighborhood, so she is far from being actually rich. Nick tells Liv in Mini's Series 5 episode that he hasn't been to Mini's home even if they've been going out for over a month, so it's possible that Mini tries to maintain a Rich Bitch image.
- Sleep Mask
- Small Name, Big Ego
- Stepford Smiler
- Suddenly Sexuality: How some fans see her "girl crush" on Franky, arising as it does toward the end of the season, after all her drama with Nick. And then reversed in Series 6, when after those feelings for Franky were developed at the end of Series 5, she's confirmed as straight going into Series 6.
- Teen Pregnancy: And Alo is more than likely the father.
- Tell Me About My Father: In the novel.
- The Three Faces of Eve: The child.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: She is the girly girl to Franky's Tomboy.
- Tragic Heroine: At least in her Series 5 episode.
- Tsundere: Although some see her as more of a Yandere.
- What the Hell Is That Accent?: To many, it seems to be a mix of an English accent, the actress's natural Scottish Accent and possibly something else (apparently the actress lived in France a lot, although it could be mistaken for Irish).
- When She Smiles: You gotta admit, whenever she smiles is an instantly adorable moment.
Olivia "Liv" Malone
Played by: Laya Lewis
- Bottle Fairy
- Closer to Earth: To begin with, anyway.
- Fashionable Asymmetry
- Five-Finger Discount
- Freudian Trio: The id.
- Informed Ability: All the stuff on her E4 profile picture about her being obsessed with dancing.
- Parental Abandonment: Has a Disappeared Dad and a distant mother who goes away on New Age retreats and leaves her in charge.
- Really Gets Around
- Ruptured Appendix: Liv spends her Series 6 episode thinking she has a lump on her uterus and is scared to have it medically looked at, but she later finds out that it was all in her head, and a psychological manifestation of her grief over Grace's death.
- The Three Faces of Eve: The seductress.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: In Grace's Series 5 episode.
- Toxic Friend Influence: Noticeably after her Series 5 episode. Her offering the girls cocaine is a prime example.
- With Friends Like These...: Mini.
Grace Violet Blood
Played by: Jessica Sula
- Ambiguously Brown: She has interracial parents.
- The Ballerina
- Beta Couple: With Rich.
- Break the Cutie: The novel seems to be an exercise in seeing how often Grace can cry.
- It gets to a point where Mini considers her The Eeyore.
- The Cutie
- Daddy's Girl
- Dark Secret: She's actually Professor David Blood's daughter.
- The Ditz: Appears that way in Franky's episode, with several Shutting Up Now moments.
- Double Agent: Something of this during the first few episodes, being a member of both Mini's gang (with Liv and Nick) and Franky's (with Alo and Rich). As of Mini's episode, though, she and Mini are no longer friends and after that the group stops being as divided.
- Extreme Doormat: Played with.
- Fairy Tale Motifs
- For Happiness
- Killed Off for Real: As it seems.
- Kill the Cutie
- Freudian Trio: The superego.
- Longing for Fictionland
- Nice Girl
- Odd Couple: With Richard.
- Ojou
- Opposites Attract: Grace mentions the trope by name, as it appears to be the case between her and Rich.
- Playing Cyrano: To Rich in the second episode of Series 5.
- Preppy Name: Also a Names to Trust Immediately.
- Princess Classic: She's not actually a princess, but this trope gets referenced and deconstructed with regard to her character.
- Spoiled Sweet
- Stepford Smiler
- Team Mom
- The Three Faces of Eve: The mother.
- Too Good for This Sinful Earth
- Too Happy to Live
Nicholas "Nick" Levan
Played by: Sean Teale
- Adorkable: Post-Character Development.
- Always Someone Better: How he sees his brother.
- Ambiguously Bisexual: How a lot of fans are interpreting the picture of him kissing new gay character Alex from the latter's upcoming episode.
- Analogy Backfire:
Nick: "Isn’t this wicked. The Bloods and Cripples together at last. You get me?"
Grace: "What’s he talking about?"
Rich: "Nick’s suggesting that were a bunch of cripples and that he and Mini, are similar to a black violent LA street gang... obviously."
- Book Dumb
- Broken Ace
- Calling the Old Man Out
- Friendship Moment: With Franky, their conversation on the swing set, and when he stands up for Franky after a guy threatens her.
- How the Mighty Have Fallen
- In-Universe Catharsis: Smashing his father's kitchen with a golf club.
- I Want to Be a Real Man: Due to the influence of his father.
- Jerk Jock: Before the onset of Character Development.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold
- A Man Is Not a Virgin/A Man Is Always Eager
- The Masochism Tango: With Mini, they first appear to be Birds of a Feather but it becomes painfully obvious that they don't work as a couple.
- As of his Series 5 episode, he and Mini are no longer a couple.
- Missing Mom
- Mr. Fanservice
- Shallow Love Interest: Both he and Mini are shallow love interests to each other, at least initially.
- Your Cheating Heart
Matthew "Matty" Levan
Played by: Sebastian De Souza
- Ambiguously Bisexual: Mainly due to Word of God indicating the character the character was originally supposed to be bisexual, that and the character profile that lists Shortbus and My Own Private Idaho as his favorite movies.
- Black Sheep
- Birds of a Feather: Arguably with either Liv or Franky.
- Dull Surprise
- Five-Finger Discount
- Genius Book Club: He can be seen reading Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time in Grace's Series 5 episode.
- Plus his profile on the E4 website.
- Master of the Mixed Message
- Missing Mom
- Mysterious Past
- Only One Name: Until Liv's episode.
- Perma-Stubble
- Playing Gertrude: Sebastian de Souza is younger than Sean Teale by a year, but on the show, Matty is older than Nick.
- The Quiet One
- Rebellious Spirit
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The sensitive one in contrast to his Jerk Jock brother Nick.
- Sibling Rivalry: With Nick.
- The Stoic
- Toxic Friend Influence
- The Tramp: Until Nick's Series 5 episode.
- Troubled but Cute
Alex Henley
Played by: Sam Jackson
- All Gays Are Promiscuous
- The Gambling Addict
- Invisible to Gaydar
- Mistaken For Prostitute
- Nice Guy
- Put on a Bus: Literally, in the Series 6 finale.
- Sixth Ranger: Was announced as a new "main cast" character who would be introduced in Series 6.
Family
Geoff Cumber and Jeff Woodburn
Played by: John Sessions and Gareth Farr
- Good Parents: At least initially, they appear to be a rare case of caring parents on the show.
- Happily Married
- Home Guard: Both former members of the Territorial Army.
- One Steve Limit: Averted, but not as quite their names are very similar.
Kevin Hardbeck
Played by: Daniel Ryan
- First-Name Basis: Rich always refers to his dad by his first name (barring the end of the episode when Rich calls him "dad" as a Pet the Dog moment).
- Nice Guy
Shelley McGuinness
Played by: Clare Grogan
- All Men Are Perverts: Her views on men boils down to this.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parent
- Hot Mom: What she considers herself to be.
- Really Gets Around: In sharp contrast to her daughter who is a virgin.
Maude Malone
- Annoying Younger Sibling: To Liv, at times.
- Black and Nerdy
- Bookworm
- Genius Book Club: Is shown reading Infinite Jest.
Bella Malone
- Cool Big Sis: To Liv, at times.
- Mama Didn't Raise No Criminal
Leon Levan
Played by Dorian Lough
- Break the Motivational Speaker
- Catch Phrase: 'Man Up' and bizarrely 'Peace Out'.
- The Cobbler's Children Have No Shoes
- Education Papa
- Jerkass
- Never My Fault
- Porn Stache
- The Shrink: A life coach and motivational speaker but still counts as an unintentional type 1.
- Tough Love
- Waxing Lyrical: "Every Breath You Take" by The Police.
Catherine Creevey
Played by Ingrid Lacey
- All Take and No Give: Her relationship with Alo is pretty much defined by the fact that neither side wishes to compromise, making them both "takers".
- Apron Matron
- Family Business: Her main goal is to have Alo work full time on the Crevvey family farm, something that doesn't sit well with Alo.
- In-Series Nickname: Mumgabe.
- My Beloved Smother
- Parental Obliviousness
- Tough Love
David Blood
Played by: Chris Addison
- Being Personal Isn't Professional:Why he insists on keeping his relationship with his daughter Grace a secret so it doesn't compromise his position.
- The "B" Grade: Invokes this trope by threatening to send Grace to Mayberry's College for Young Ladies against her will if she gets less than A on her drama exam, She succeeds despite his attempts at blackmailing Rich into throwing it only for him to try and send her anyway.
- Camp Straight
- Control Freak
- Dean Bitterman
- Death Glare: Gives quite a formidable one to Rich while they are having dinner.
- Education Papa: Considering he's the principal of a school this is hardly surprising.
- Evilly Affable
- Happily Married: Not so much in the Series 5 finale.
- To the point of Sickeningly Sweethearts with the dancing and the pea song.
- Kick the Dog: On a regular basis. But expelling all of Grace's friends from college stands out.
- Knight Templar Parent: Putting a tracking device on his daughter pushes him firmly into this category.
- Large Ham
- Luke, I Am Your Father: Reveal to audience only.
- Meddling Parents
- Names to Run Away From Really Fast
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Is based on David Cameron, there's even a photo of him with David Cameron in one episode which he vomits his sandwich onto.
- Older Than They Look: The actor is nearly 40 but he doesn't look older than thirty and the character has to be older than that because he has a seventeen year old daughter.
- Overprotective Dad
- Parental Marriage Veto
- Sadist Teacher: As he put it, education is war against inefficiency, ignorance, idleness, and chewing gum.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections
- Sharp-Dressed Man
Gregory
Played by: Alastair Mackenzie
Eric
Played By: Justin Edwards
- Paternal Substitute: Eric is probably a better father figure to Mini than her biological one, especially since he tracks down a heavily-pregnant Mini before she runs away with Franky.
- You're Not My Father: Mini's initial attitude towards him.
U.S. Cast
The Kids
Tony Schneider
Played by: James Newman
British Counterpart: Tony Stonem
- All Guys Want Cheerleaders: Has a thing for Tea.
- Anti-Hero: Type V.
- Incompatible Orientation: With Tea.
- Jerkass
Michelle Reinhart
Played by: Rachel Thevenard
British Counterpart: Michelle Richardson
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: How she sees her mother.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: As the principal points out during Michelle's episode, Michelle is very intelligent and gifted, but dumbs herself down to attract boys and hard-partying friends.
- Selective Obliviousness: She's pretty much the only one who doesn't know Tony's been cheating on her.
Stanley Lucerne
Played by: Daniel Flaherty
British Counterpart: Sid Jenkins
- Anti-Hero: Type I.
- A Date with Rosie Palms: In Tony's episode and again in Cadie's episode, this time on Michelle's bed while holding her teddy bear.
- The Precious Precious Car: Steals his father's car only for it to blow up after being caught driving without a license, although it's actually The Alleged Car and it was precious for sentimental reason.
- The Stoner
Chris Collins
Played by: Jesse Carere
British Counterpart: Chris Miles
- Expy: While the other Skins US characters have been developed beyond their British inspirations somewhat, he remains essentially a direct copy of the original Chris, if a bit meaner.
- Hot For Teacher
- Life of the Party: Relative to the other characters, that is. Though at least one person thinks it's an Informed Attribute.
- The Stoner
Cadie Campbell
Played by: Britne Oldford
British Counterpart: Cassie Ainsworth
- But Not Too Black
- Cloudcuckoolander
- Dull Surprise
- Knife Nut
- No Medication for Me
- Race Lift: Cassie was White, while Cadie is biracial (Black and White).
- Room Full of Crazy: What her mom thinks of her room. Your mileage may vary.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: She is terrified of birds (pigeons in particular).
Tea Marvelli
Played by: Sofia Black D'elia
British Counterpart: Maxxie Oliver
- All Gays Are Promiscuous: Tea isn't interested in a relationship; she just wants sex.
- All Guys Want Cheerleaders: Much to her dismay.
- The Cheerleader
- A Date with Rosie Palms: In her episode.
- Gayngst
- Gender Flip
- In the Blood: Turns out her grandmother is also a lesbian, or at least bisexual.
- It Is Pronounced "Tro-PAY": Her name is pronounced TAY-uh, not like the drink.
- Lipstick Lesbian
- The Mafia: It's implied that her dad is a member.
- No Bisexuals: Many have pointed out that having Tea come out as bisexual would be a great solution to the Tony/Tea/Betty triangle, appeasing both Tea/Tony shippers and queer fans upset about the show resorting to an offensive cliche. However, Word of God has confirmed that she is a lesbian, not bisexual, and her interest in Tony is strictly friendly and she's just confused. Um, okay...
- Twofer Token Minority: Lesbian and (half-)Jewish.
Daisy Valero
Played by: Camille Crescencia-Mills
British Counterpart: Jal Fazer
- Buxom Is Better
- Elegant Classical Musician: Like Jal, although Daisy plays the trumpet.
- Friends with Benefits: With Abbud, though the moment slightly hints at something more.
- Mistaken for Gay: By Tea's family.
- Only Sane Woman: Like her British counterpart, Daisy tends to play this role - though she is a bit wilder than Jal was.
- Race Lift: Jal was Black; Daisy is Latina (though she looks more Filipina than she does Latina, as Camille is half-Filipina).
- Team Mom: Even more so than Jal.
- Their First Time: She and Abbud lose their virginity to each other in her Season 1 episode.
Abbud Siddiky
Played by: Ron Mustafaa
British Counterpart: Anwar Kharral
- All Guys Want Cheerleaders: Has a thing for Tea.
- Friends with Benefits: How his relationship with Daisy starts out.
- Girl-On-Girl Is Hot: Why he went to Tea's "Big Gay Night Out". Was disappointed when they turned out to be much more interested in each other than in the dudes like him looking on.
- Incompatible Orientation: With Tea.
- Nature Abhors a Virgin: Not anymore apparently, as of Daisy's Season 1 episode.
Eura Schneider
Played by: Eleanor Zichy
British Counterpart: Effy Stonem
Family
Michelle's Mom
Nana Marvelli
- Bi the Way
- In the Blood: Likes the ladies, just like her granddaughter.
Supporting Cast
Tabitha
- Blondes Are Evil
- Expy: Of Abigail Stock.
- Rich Bitch
Mad Mao Le Dong
- Ax Crazy
- Badass Grandpa: Not in a good way.
- Expy: Of Mad Twatter.
- Unfortunate Names
Betty
- The Beard: Her boyfriend.
- Gayngst
- Lipstick Lesbian
Tina
- A Day in the Limelight: Her episode.
- Expy: Of Angie from the original.
- Hot for Student