'Skins': Sam Jackson previews Alex's episode

You must know by now that we're meeting a brand new character in tonight's episode of Skins! It's time for us to be introduced to Alex, the new kid at Roundview College...

We decided we needed to find out a bit more about Alex, so we gave Sam Jackson a ring for a quick chat!

Read on to find out what he had to say about Alex below (there's "so much tension" in one scene!) then pop back here tomorrow morning for some post-episode chat...

First of all, what was it like joining such a big show and such an established cast?
"Obviously it was a bit daunting at first. I had to hit the ground running a little bit because the first filming I did was filming for episode three, which is Alex's episode - my episode. So I was straight into it. I just had to take people's advice on board and do the best I could, really. But after the first week I felt a lot more comfortable and everyone was really kind and helped me out. And Laya [Lewis, who plays Liv], who's in episode three a bit, looked after me a lot, so that was really good."

Tell us a bit about Alex and his dice.
"He likes to live his life almost by chance, really. He writes down six options on these cards and he picks a new card every day. Then just at random points during the day, when he gets a bit bored or whatever, he rolls the dice and sees what comes up."

Do you think it's a really smart idea or a really stupid idea? It gets Alex into trouble sometimes, doesn't it?
"Yeah! I don't think he really thinks about whether it's a smart or stupid idea. It's kind of what he does for fun. He doesn't really do a lot of drugs, compared to characters like Nick. He gets his kick out of an adrenaline rush. There's a gambling scene. He's just a bit of an adrenaline junkie."

He has a bit of a troubled home life, doesn't he?
"Yeah. He hasn't got a very good relationship with his dad, and there's no mention of his mum throughout the whole series. His home life is basically just him at home with his grandma. His grandma isn't very well, and he has to look after her. His dad just turns up, gives him money and then leaves, basically. That's what he does."



We see him join Roundview and he soon starts hanging out with Liv. What is it that he likes about her?
"That's a good question, actually! I think he's quite intrigued by her because she's almost the first person who's challenged him, I think. He does all this crazy stuff but he's been to a lot of schools and I think he likes Liv's attitude. She just walks up to him and goes, 'What the hell are you doing, who are you?' I think he's quite intrigued by her attitude and I think equally she is as well. She always goes for the mysterious, quirky kind of guy - she was with Matty last year. And Alex is kind of an outlet for what happened in episode one and two."

I was going to ask you about that - do you think Alex is what the group needs after Grace's death?
"I think he's definitely what Liv needs - I'm not sure it's what the whole group needs! But Liv uses Alex as a shoulder to cry on, really. And Alex is a big distraction for her and she can kind of forget about it, which is good. But Alex doesn't really connect with anyone else properly in the group, barring Nick maybe. I think definitely for Liv but I can't say for the whole group he provides something because I don't think he does."

Would you say there's quite a lot of tension there?
"Yeah, definitely. When Liv befriends Alex and introduces him to the group, there's so much tension. They're not having any of it. Mini says something to Liv - Mini is the least happy about there being a new person in the gang. She has a go at Liv for having a good time with Alex because she shouldn't be - she should be upset like everyone else."

If someone came up to you and asked why they should watch your episode, what would you say?
"I think Alex is an interesting character, and I hope that people are intrigued by him and want to understand him. Getting the script for episode three was really exciting because I got a big overview of his character - I was interested to see how he interacted with the gang. So I'm interested in him and hopefully watchers will be interested in him as well."

Do you think he's a character we haven't seen before?
"Yeah, definitely. Saying that, I think every Skins character has their own unique traits. But Alex is almost a bit of a fairytale character in episode three. I think the script is based on a book called The Dice Man but I've never really come across anyone like Alex before in real life, whereas some of the other characters probably could have been. I think he's very unique."

Skins airs tonight (Monday, February 6) at 10pm on E4.