'Skins' series six filming begins

Filming has started on the sixth series of Skins, E4 has announced.

The new episodes will feature the third generation of characters who were introduced to viewers earlier this year.

Dakota Blue Richards, Will Merrick, Freya Mavor, Alex Arnold, Laya Lewis, Sean Teale, Jessica Sula and Sebastian De Souza will all return to the show.

E4 revealed that the sixth series of Skins will feature "new friendships, secret relationships and sexual awakening" and suggested that the bonds between the characters will be "tested".

"I am delighted that the sixth series of Skins is now underway," Channel 4's head of drama Camilla Campbell said. "Having set up this new set of characters in the previous series, we can now go into more depth as to where their stories take us. With moral ambiguity, high drama, as well as a strong dose of comedy, Skins six will not disappoint."

Richards has previously confirmed that new characters will be joining the series.

The show has hired new writers Danny Brocklehurst, who has worked on Shameless and Exile, and Ashes to Ashes scribe Jack Lothian. Skins novelist Jess Brittain and newcomer Laura Hunter will also join the writing team.

The show's executive producer John Griffin said: "We're hugely excited about the fantastic mix of writers we have for Skins this year, some of whom are first-time screenwriters. They've spent the past few months developing exciting and challenging stories for our characters and as filming gets underway we're all very excited to see them realised onto the screen."

Filming for Skins will continue until December and the show will air on E4 early next year.

Watch Dakota Blue Richards talking to Digital Spy about the new series of Skins below: