'About A Boy' star for new teen TV series

About A Boy's Nicholas Hoult is to headline a major new comedy drama series for E4.

Skins - a 9-part series airing early in 2007 - promises to reveal "what young people are really up to", following a group of kids who "grab life by the balls and give it a twirl".

The characters include Tony (Hoult), the best-looking boy in town; his girlfriend Michelle (April Pearson), the most beautiful girl in town; Tony’s unconfident side-kick Sid (Mike Bailey) who will eventually steal the show; Cassie (Hannah Murray), the kooky girl with issues; Chris (Joe Dempsie), the cheekiest party animal ever; Jal (Larissa Wilson), a super-intelligent young black lady; Maxxie (Mitch Hewer), the cutest and most tender guy around; and Anwar(Dev Patel), who coolly manages to keep his faith and still be part of the in-crowd.

All of the gang are "sunny, optimistic kids" who "drop pills, pass exams, have sex, manage their parents, interface with their teachers and push boundaries like only teenagers can".

The writing team includes Simon Amstell (Popworld), The Dawson brothers, Steve, Andrew and Tim (Balls of Steel, Dirty Tricks) and Jack Thorne (Shameless).