THE Isle of Man has been chosen by a London-based film company for the filming of a feature film version of the E4 hit series ‘Skins’.

The producers - Company Pictures and Stormdog Films, feature film financiers and distributors CinemaNX, and Film4 - will jointly develop the film which will be made in both the Isle of Man and Bristol.

Scripted by 'Skins' writer Jack Thorne, working closely with 'Skins' creator Bryan Elsley, the film is scheduled to go into production later this year, and follows four hugely successful seasons on E4. The latest of these has just finished its run, with the highest ratings of any series so far.

Director of company, Charlie Pattinson, believes that bringing a film version to the big screen is the obvious next step for ‘Skins’. “Given the huge amount of support from the ever-expanding fan base of the series, we feel that we can go much further and produce yet another unique ‘Skins’ experience”, he said.

A number of familiar characters from the four series are expected to feature in the film, which will be directed by long-time ‘Skins’ director Charles Martin. The film is scheduled for a summer 2011 release.

Company Pictures have a long history of working with both Film4 and CinemaNX individually but this project will be the first collaboration between all three parties.

“The sheer depth in quality that ‘Skins’ has delivered over the years makes it perfect for the big screen and we are delighted to be back in business with Company Pictures,” said chairman of CinemaNX, Steve Christian.

Tessa Ross, Controller of Film4 and Channel 4 Drama, said, "It is very exciting to be migrating across from E4 to Film4 this extraordinarily talented team from ‘Skins’, who have successfully grown such a wonderfully loyal audience over the course of the last four series.”