James Buckley's favourite line from The Inbetweeners isn't even one of his own
The Inbetweeners’ star James Buckley once revealed his favourite joke from the hit sitcom and the line didn’t come from his own character.
Buckley played the tall-tale-telling Jay Cartwright in the popular show, alongside Simon Bird, who played Will McKenzie; Joe Thomas, as Simon Cooper; and Blake Harrison as Neil Sutherland.
Almost two decades on from its original release, Netflix has announced that a third movie is currently in the works, which will see the four pals joining together once more.
Initially released on Channel 4 all the way back in 2008, The Inbetweeners became such a cultural phenomenon it’s easy to forget that it only had 18 episodes across three seasons - and the two spin-off movies, of course.
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The show had more quotable lines than you can shake a stick at, and years on poor old Simon Bird says he still gets ‘briefcase w***er’ shouted at him when he’s out and about.
Meanwhile, during an appearance on The Therapy Crouch in late 2023, Buckley revealed that his favourite line from the whole show didn’t come from him but was actually said by his on-screen dad Terry, played by David Schaal.
Sitting beside his wife, Clair Buckley, the star explained: “There’s a line from The Inbetweeners, this is one of my favourite lines and it is Jay talking to his dad.
“And his dad just goes, ‘Jay, women are like fairground rides, f**king mental.’
“That’s it, that’s all it is – that’s the pearls of wisdom.
“And I’m just like ‘oh thanks dad.’”
While Buckley has his favourite line, Bird has previously revealed that one of his favourite bits from the show was actually a behind-the-scenes moment from the first movie.
Speaking to The National Youth Film in 2021, he shared: “There was a scene in the film, where Joe had to be airlifted out of the ocean by a helicopter. That was a big health and safety nightmare.
“Joe was really left alone out in the sea for quite a long time. It was actually being saved from drowning. Totally unnecessary for it to be Joe. Could have been a stuntman. Should have been a stuntman. And we’re all on sunloungers on the beach, watching this unfold.”
With friends like that, who needs enemies, eh?
But fans don't agree with Buckley
Of course, choosing a favourite line from The Inbetweeners’ short but sweet sitcom run was never going to be easy.
But back in 2022, a Reddit user attempted to get to the bottom of it by asking: “What is your favourite ever line/scene from The Inbetweeners?”
As you might have guessed, fans came out in their droves to share their best bits and there were some absolute gems.
For starters, someone went with:
Neil: How about this one?
Jay: Championship manager? Completed it.
Neil: But you can’t complete it.
Jay: Err, I know. But I got so good at it they offered me in a role in the England set-up.
Neil: Did they?
Jay: I took Woking from the Conference to the Champions League in 6 seasons, that kind of stuff doesn’t go unnoticed.
Another person went for the time when the lads found themselves stuck on a boat while on a field trip to the Dorset coast and reeled in a huge fish:
Jay: I’m not eating that, it’s come out the f**king sea.
Of course, the more obvious ‘Bus W**kers’ also got several mentions, while someone else said they were surprised there wasn't more mentions of 'ooo friend'.
A fellow fan highlighted this exchanged:
Tara: Her dad just died last month.
Will: It’s not really relevant is it?
However, the winner - as decided by Reddit upvotes - was:
Simon: No-one brings a bag of s**t to a pub.
Jay: Your dad does.
Simon: Does he?
Jay: Yeah. Your mum.
A worthy winner, if you ask me.
Topics: TV and Film, The Inbetweeners, James Buckley, Celebrity
Claire Reid