Rivals star Luca Pasqualino reveals how filming sex scenes has changed nearly 20 years on from Skins

After landing his first acting gig in Skins before going on to star in the likes of Our Girl and Snatch, Luca Pasqualino is currently on our screens in Rivals.

Playing the role of Bas Baddingham, his character has taken on more of a central role in season two.

And with the second part of that set to release on Disney+ on Wednesday (11 November), LADbible spoke to Pasqualino about how ‘unapologetic’ Skins was as he reflects on how the industry has ‘changed a lot’.

In this exciting season two of Rivals, we certainly see a whole load more of Bas. And by that I mean there’s some nudity of course (I mean, it’s to be expected with the show at this point), his will-they-won’t-they with Taggie (Bella Maclean) and a huge spicy party. And it’s fair to say that party scene in series two shares some similar themes to the days of Skins.

Bas becomes more of a central character in season two. (Robert Viglasky Photography/Disney Plus)

When Bas is having a big seemingly drug, sex and drink-filled gathering with mask-wearing attendees (you can imagine the vibe), it’s hard not to draw these comparisons.

Pasqualino played Freddie McCliar (RIP) in the ‘second generation’ of the E4 show, his ‘very first acting job’.

He points out that the shows are ‘very different’, set in ‘totally different sort of times’ of course with decades between the eras.

“Skins sort of did something that was sort of almost, brand new in that sense,” he says.

“We showed every detail - you know, they showed the drugs being done, they showed needles going into arms - and it was very unapologetic about how truthful it was.”

While he says Skins was ‘close to the bone and a lot more hard-hitting’, Rivals ‘explores’ it but ‘leaves a lot more to the imagination’. And to be fair, that’s exactly why the Disney+ show grips us all.

Now, nearly 20 years since the hit teen drama first aired, Pasqualino says he was ‘thrown in at the deep end’ with his ‘very first sex scene’ at one week in.

Describing that experience as ‘nerve-wracking’, he praises the work of intimacy co-ordinators on the set of Rivals.

“It helps you go in with a much more relaxed attitude to it,” the star explains, “because a lot of the work is done before you even get onto set.

“Everything’s in private and everyone’s made to feel very comfortable before it’s even a discussion on set. You’re given a very safe space to work in.”

RIP Freddie. (E4)

So, compared to back in the noughties and early 2010s when Skins was on, the way these scenes are handled now has ‘changed a lot’.

“I think it’s changed for the better in many ways,” Pasqualino adds.

And while the Bas actor has had this experience in his career, Alex Hassell (who plays Rupert Campbell-Black) admits he hadn’t done any kind of intimate scenes like this until Rivals.

So, he’s ‘very glad’ that the intimacy co-ordinators are around now.

But with Bas starting to enter a yearning triangle with Taggie and Rupert, Pasqualino is looking forward to fans getting to see the ‘new developments’ and testing of relationships. Get ready to lock in, LADs.

Rivals Season Two returns with a three-episode premiere on Wednesday 11 November on Disney+ in the UK .