Joe Thomas shares health diagnosis for first time after ‘breakdown’ during The Inbetweeners

Joe Thomas has opened up on a health condition he struggled with while filming The Inbetweeners, revealing that he felt 'loads of pressure' on the sitcom.

You'll best remember Thomas as Simon on the hit Channel 4 show, alongside James Buckley, Simon Bird, and Blake Harrison in what was one of the most iconic British TV shows of the late 2000s.

All four of the young actors shot to fame following its success, and fans are eager to see what the show's creators have in store after it was confirmed that the show would be making a comeback in 2026.

While Thomas has previously spoken about loving any 'opportunity to spend more time with them in any capacity', he has now opened up about some of his mental health struggles while on the show.

Thomas opened up on his struggles with OCD (Channel 4)

Speaking with Buckley, who plays Jay, on their own podcast Joe And James Fact Up, Thomas spoke more about how it was to shoot the show while suffering with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

"There was loads of pressure. I felt tons of pressure. I also just had crippling OCD and I kept thinking I’d f***** up the continuity," Thomas admitted.

He went on: "I kept turning up to sound being like ‘I’m so sorry just worried that I might have made a noise with my chair,’ and they were like, ‘Joe, it’s fine, we’ll let you know'.

“It was just generally astonishing OCD… I had it when I left university and when I was on the Inbetweeners it was really, really bad to the extent where they paid for a therapist to come on set and she thought it was a joke," he admitted, saying that the specialist even thought it was a 'stitch up' as part of a candid camera show.

Now 42, Thomas said that he felt 'completely insane' at the time as he had to deal with the issue in private in 'little nine second breaks' while filming, adding: "I felt seen, that is what it is… There were times I was just annoyed I was making the show because I wanted to get back to my own private worries."

Buckley added that he noticed he had gone through 'a handful of twitches' over the year, before revealing that there was an outtake on The Inbetweeners film DVD where Thomas is having a break down.

"It was on the first Inbetweeners film, there’s an outtake where Joe’s having a break down… He says can I just have 10 seconds and then he goes, ‘Well, that did absolutely nothing.’"

While the show birthed hilarious lines such as 'ooh friend' and 'bus w*****s', the actors said they felt a lot of pressure while it was being made.

Thomas said that he needed to take a lot of breaks while filming (Film4)

Thomas said he would try to take these 'short breaks' which weren't particularly effective, explaining: "I’d be like: ‘It’ll take about six or nine seconds… Can I just… I can’t do it.’"

Buckley admitted that they 'put so much pressure' on themselves, though he thinks that it was 'ironic' as the actors were feeling an 'immense pressure' to be 'funny'.

“There was always funny stuff in the script, but even when you’re not saying lines I was like 'well I’ve got to be doing something funny right now,'" he said.

If you're experiencing similar thoughts and feelings, a confidential helpline is available with OCD Action UK from Monday to Friday, 9:30 am to 8:00 pm at 0300 636 5478. Alternatively, you can email the helpline on [email protected].

You can also contact OCD-UK on their helpline at 01332 588112, available 10am-2pm.