'Skins': Freya Mavor previews 'Mini'

It's Mini's turn to take the spotlight in tonight's episode of Skins, and boy, is there a lot going on! Facing a bit of a rough patch, Mini ends up turning to her flaky father for support...

We needed some more gossip, so we gave the marvellous Freya Mavor a ring to chat about what we can expect from the instalment, Alo and Mini problems, and whether Franky and Mini will make up.

Read on, then make sure you're back here at 9am tomorrow morning for some vital post-show chat!

Can you give us a quick overview of what's going on in your episode?
"Up to the last episode, Mini's dealing with the whole grief of her friend dying. What we kind of see is what's going on in Mini's household and what's happening with her and Alo, and I think her episode is a great insight into how she's actually coping with all this stuff.

"Up to now you've seen her and she's been quite cold and quite confrontational and sort of shut out - quite distanced from it all. I think in her episode you see one specific thing that no-one knew she was having to deal with as well, and that comes out - this big secret. It is revealed and everything makes sense. So I think Mini's story is quite heavy, it's quite full on this year - it was last year as well! It was a massive challenge to do, definitely. It's a big kind of bundle, a rollercoaster of emotions."

We meet Mini's dad in the episode - what's their relationship like? Does she idolise him a bit?
"I think she needs someone. She needs a male role model, a rock that she can rely on. She puts a lot of hope and a lot of expectation in this relationship with her dad. She sees in her dad a lifestyle that she would like to have - her dad's very different to her mum. And you kind of get a sense that she really needs him.

"Her relationship with men has always been... I have the word in French but I don't bloody have the word in English! The word in French is éphémère, which I guess is like fleeting - it's not really the right word. But she hasn't known any really reliable men in her life. Her dad isn't home anymore, last year you saw her very, very dysfunctional relationship with her boyfriend and her kind of questioning her sexuality as a result of that.

"I think she's had a very turbulent past regarding her relationships with men. So I think idolise is the right word in this case - she really puts so much hope into this relationship with her dad, so much expectation, that it's quite heartbreaking to see how it all pans out."

Last week Franky and Mini had a bit of an argument - will we see them make up this time around?
"Yeah, I definitely think with the whole Franky and Mini storyline there's an idea that their relationship is quite intense. It's almost like a couple's relationship in that they argue a lot, they're very different, they have their disagreements but underneath it all they understand each other and there's a sense of unconditional love there - they forgive each other for everything, I suppose. In this episode there is a definite moment when they re-bond over a certain topic of conversation, which I cannot reveal unfortunately!"



Mini is hiding a very big secret in the episode - can you give us any hints?
"I think she's faced with a situation where she has to make a decision and she has to make a decision quite quickly. But as Skins characters do so well, she completely denies her situation, rejects all the things that are happening to her and goes into a complete sense of denial, basically. She completely shuts off all her problems.

"But I think all teenagers do! It's very much that she has to face what's happened but she doesn't want to let herself. So it's a lot about conflicting duties and conflicting emotions and she has this burden she hasn't told anyone. It's really quite a big one!"

There's a bit of tension between Alo and Mini this week - what can you tell us about that?
"I think in Mini's mind, especially at the beginning of this episode, Alo is just Alo. I think with Mini, when it comes to Alo she's happy to sleep with him - he's a form of escapism! But she always has in her mind this kind of ideal life where she thinks she can get better, basically.

"You know, Alo's a sweet guy and she doesn't realise that she actually does need him. In her mind she thinks that she can almost take advantage of him and take advantage of his emotions, simply because in her mind he's not who she imagined she'd end up with. So she has this alter-lifestyle which comes out a lot in this episode, especially with her dad.

"She envisages a whole different life for herself - a life where things are better and she's more well off and she's dating a gorgeous guy and all this stuff. She knows what she wants but she doesn't know what she needs - it's very much that sort of dilemma."

So why should people watch your episode?
"I've seen my episode - I watched it with my parents - and I think more than anything it's a brilliant piece of writing. The script is fantastic and it's got so much in it. It's got so much comedy in it and it's got fantastic actors as well - Alistair Mackenzie playing my dad and Jacob Anderson who plays my dad's assistant.

"It's got so much in the episode and it's so full - it's got a big party scene, it's got massively dramatic, emotional scenes. At the same time, I think it's just beautifully written. I think it really is. I was so proud to be able to have this episode, because I thought it was really, really wonderfully put together."

Skins airs tonight (February 20) at 10pm on E4.