More recently, Hugh Skinner has been on a few different TV series, including the period dramas Harlots and Little Birds, both of which explore sex in history through a lens other than a straight man's eyes. The Hulu series Harlots dives into the complicated world of sex work in the 1700s with brothel owner Margaret Wells (Samantha Morton). Skinner plays Sir George Howard, a ridiculous man of high society who's possessive over Margaret's eldest daughter, Charlotte (Jessica Brown Findlay). The 2020 limited series Little Birds, meanwhile, follows American rich girl Lucy Savage (Juno Temple) to Morocco in 1955; Skinner is her gay husband Hugo Cavendish-Smyth.
Between Little Birds, Fleabag, Harlots, and even Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, the unapologetic sex lives of women seem to be something of a uniting factor among many of Skinners projects. With the Little Birds character Hugo, however, he got to explore new territory: a gay man himself, Skinner talked about the role in an interview with inews.co.uk, saying, "This is definitely the first time I've played a gay person in any depth and that definitely fascinated me. Particularly in that period in the 50s when it was an absolutely horrific time. I was reading Peter Ackroyd's book about gay London [Queer City] and he was writing about how, post-war, the ideals of marriage and family were held in higher esteem than ever, the arrest of homosexuals was often front-page news. A truly terrifying time to be gay. Which is why Hugo's in Tangier, really." It seems Little Birds let him find some new depth to that idiotic white man.
