'Skins' "orgy" poster deemed indecent

A billboard poster for Skins, which featured Michelle in her underwear and other characters "in various stages of undress", was indecent and should not have been used, advertising regulators have decided.

In the advert, Michelle, the character played by April Pearson in the teen drama, is sitting on the edge of a bed with dishevelled hair and smudged eye make-up. Sid (Mike Bailey) is in the background, sitting up in the bed naked, with a pillow over his crotch.

Several other couples are embracing at Michelle's feet, also naked or in their underwear.

About ten people complained to the Advertising Standards Agency about the poster - most saying it was offensive and unsuitable to be seen by children. Others said it could be seen as condoning underage sex.

Channel 4 defended the posters saying that Skins "clearly depicted the consequences of hedonistic and irresponsible behaviour". The relationship between Michelle and Sid was "ultimately empty", said the broadcaster, while it took care not to place the adverts near schools. It added that all the characters involved were over 18.

Though it rejected the complaints about underage sex, the ASA said the poster breached its code. "We considered that the image, showing characters from the programme embracing in varying states of undress, implied that an orgy was taking place," said the regulator in a statement today.

"We concluded that the poster could cause serious or widespread offence to those who saw it and was unsuitable to be used in a medium where it could be seen by children."

The ASA rejected complaints about another poster that showed character Tony (Nicholas Hoult) lying under the water in a bath, leaving it "unclear whether he was dead or alive". Some were concerned the image was offensive, distressing and could be copied by children.