When writer Bryan Elsley asked his teenage son what he'd like to see on TV, he was told: “You should do something for kids; but not the usual crap. Get rid of the moralising, the fantasy sequences, the flashbacks, the wobbly camera work…” So he gathered an extraordinary group of young writers - average age 22 - and produced Skins, about 17-year-olds in Bristol. The result was E4's first landmark drama and the most talked-about series of the year: “This show may just capture some of the chutzpah and peril of being young in Britain today - which makes it something akin to public service” (The Independent); “It's official: we're addicted to Skins!” (Heat). An innovative marketing campaign using online previews targeted older teens and attracted an audience of 1.4m - E4's second highest ever. What makes Skins different? “I think it's that it reflects the nuances of teenagers' lives,” says Elsley, “which are as complex and emotionally rich as any adult's.”

Channel 4's youth credentials go back to the beginning. From The Tube and Network 7 in the 1980s, The Word, TFI Friday and Don't Forget Your Toothbrush in the 1990s, to Big Brother and Bo' Selecta!, risk-taking, inventiveness and humour have helped make Channel 4 the broadcaster of choice for 16 to 34-year-olds for 25 years. With E4 and youth-targeted content now available on all the platforms young adults use, that distinctive appeal is set to continue into a more crowded media world.