Skins

Our gang are back after the summer break, in a seemingly protective bubble – their hedonism. There are no consequences, no tomorrow and everyone will live forever. Then Thomas experiences a life changing event, causing him to question everything - his faith, his family and even his choice of friends. The reverberations will reach far beyond Thomas's story, affecting the lives of all those we know around him...

Emily and Naomi are loved up and enjoying their extended summer of love together. The thorn in Emily's side is her family. Her mother is unable to accept Naomi as anything other than a bad influence, and is keen for Emily to go travelling alone without her girlfriend, offering her money as a cash incentive. Emily is intent on standing by her woman and showing her mother they're stronger than that. When the police return to College to speak to Emily and Naomi, Naomi lies in the interview and Emily is forced to go along with it. Emily is keen to discover why the police knew their names and thought they were friends with a girl they'd never met. Naomi tells Emily to leave it, admitting she dealt the drugs to Sophia the night she died. Emily can't leave it and turns detective. At the same time the Fitch home is in disarray - dad Rob makes a shock announcement and the tension between Emily and her mother pushes the family to breaking point.

Cook is in prison. After beating someone up at the party (episode 2) in front of a room full of witnesses, he's told by his lawyer that he has no choice but to plead guilty. But Cook isn't willing to accept responsibility and pleads not guilty, and is released on bail. Cook is told he must return for his trial at a later date. He's fitted with an electronic tag and is told he must to stay at a fixed address between the hours of 7pm and 7am. Unfortunately for Cook, that fixed address is his mother's home. Cook's mum is a super successful artist, and their home is a mansion and his former home with his little brother. But it's no holiday, as Cook and his mother Ruth clash again and again. Cook is trapped at home. With Sophia's death playing on his mind, and few people to turn to, Cook is helped by an unlikely ally, and he starts to question his actions. Will Cook do the right thing and escape a prison term?

Katie Fitch has a problem. Katie's family's bankrupt, and they've got nowhere to live. And under the strain of it all, Jenna and Rob seem to be headed for splitsville and James Fitch is scared. At the same time, Jenna's new company 'Let's Get Fitched' has its first client: Bristol Rovers wag Brandy, a friend of Katie's through her Guillermo WAG phase. And Katie's got to make sure the hen night goes with a swing. So Katie's got to do what she does best: hold it all together under a mask of make up and a fixed smile. As well as this, Emily's spinning out of control – angry with her family, Naomi and everyone else. During 24 hours of Katie's life she tries to fix her family, her home and everything else. Katie strives for perfection, but her 24 hours are tinged with a sadness she's coming to terms with all alone as she learns the perfect life may not exist after all.

Freddie is loved up. Completely. He and Effy are enjoying their time together and carrying on their hedonistic ways with no thought of tomorrow. His father and sister never see him and neither do the rest of the gang. At College, he's been threatened with expulsion if he doesn't get his work in. He's given a final warning by new teacher Mr T Love and the pressures on to fix things. Only thing is, Effy's not on the same page and it's Freddie she takes it out on. Freddie's left to work out whether Effy's worth fighting for this time. As everything starts to unravel, he's in a race against time to fix what's most important to him.

JJ is in love. Lara Lloyd is sweet perfection and he's smitten. But JJ thinks she's way out of his league and lacks the courage to ask her out. Thomas tells him he should make a move, and if he doesn't, he will. So JJ plucks up the courage… With the date from hell behind them, JJ's concerned Lara will run a mile when she learns he's the way he is. Plus there's an ex boyfriend who's still in love with her who will always be on the scene. But it's JJ's friends and family who are really messing things up. His confidante is an escaped Cookie, his mum and his psychiatrist Doctor Felly are concerned about his new attitude, and Emily's worried that Lara will break his heart, and tells him so. Everything conspires to mess up JJ's pursuit of Lara, so JJ realises he's got to do this all by himself. And that's what he does. Almost all by himself anyway.

Effy has been in a psychiatric hospital recovering since she tried to take her own life. After lots of sessions with her counsellor John Foster, he tells her she is ready to go back home. Effy is worried she could slip back into her previous state, but John assures her that as long as she is disciplined she will be ok, and she will still visit him for sessions. Effy becomes clear headed, focussed and hopeful for the future, taking each day at a time. As all of her friends receive their A-level results, Effy seems to have moved on completely from the Effy Stonem she used to be. Freddie and Anthea become concerned; Effy's stronger and more self-assured than she's ever been, but something isn't right.

With their A-level results in for most of the gang, thoughts about the past and the future are on their minds. Thomas is running fast, Katie is doing her best to match make, JJ is baby sitting, Cookie's up to his old tricks, Emily's confused and Naomi's had enough. Effy is released and pining for Freddie. But no-one knows where he is. And Pandora has news of her own, but is anybody around to listen? As most of our gang congregate at Naomi's they're all trying to get along and make sense of recent events to a backdrop of chaos and 80's music. Slowly the gang end up in the one place that makes sense. In their final moments they are reunited once more and anything could happen: make-ups, break-ups, punch-ups. But one thing's for sure, it will be eventful, and for some, there's no going back.