It was the sixth formers from the sitcom who sent Channel 4 audiences into hysterics with their crude antics and ill-fated attempts to lose their virginity.
And now, ten years after the stars of The Inbetweeners last appeared on set for the second film in the series, fans have been hoping that rumours of a lucrative new film deal would bring Simon, Jay, Neil and Will back together.
But I can reveal that despite playing such close friends on screen, actors Joe Thomas, James Buckley, Blake Harrison and Simon Bird are worlds apart from their real-life characters, with bitter rivalries stifling any hope of a reunion.
A source even said: ‘Oddly enough, they are both not real friends and haven’t been for a few years.
‘Fans all like to think they’re best friends in real life, but Simon Bird [who played briefcase-carrying geek Will] and Blake Harrison [nice-but-dim Neil] are mega conceited.’
Bird was forced to disappoint fans this week when he confirmed there was “no prospect” of the stars making a comeback.
The Inbetweeners followed [from left to right] Simon (Joe Thomas), Will (Simon Bird), Neil (Blake Harrison) and Jay (James Buckley) as they navigate their way through sixth form in the late noughties
In an interview following reports of a third film in the pipeline, the 40-year-old said: “I’m afraid I’m throwing a band-aid on this, but it’s not going to happen.”
But while the actor went on to explain that the busy schedules of the show’s lead actors were to blame, industry insiders believe scheduling is only part of the reason. One joked: “There’s just as much chance of a comeback for The Beatles.”
Because the actors, like many other groups of teenage friends, “grew apart over time,” the source said, out of jealousy over their respective careers in which some were more successful than others.
The source added: ‘Of course there have been some angry words between them over the years, but there has never been one big fight.
“The truth is they all have long-term partners. The boys are all fathers now and they’ve moved on with their lives.”
And there have been further clashes with other cast members, including rumours of a bad relationship between Emily Atack, who played Charlotte, the boys’ school crush, and Buckley, who played the foul-mouthed Jay.
The two are said to have had an affair behind the scenes, but the relationship deteriorated.
This is said to have led to Atack – who will star in Rivals, the highly anticipated Disney+ series based on the Jilly Cooper hit, next month – being axed from Channel 4 reunion show Fwends Reunited in 2019.
Emily Atack, who played Will’s love fixation Charlotte, was said to have had a brief fling with Buckley behind the scenes, leading to her being dropped from the show’s 2019 reunion.
According to a catchphrase from Inbetweeners, in which Jay is laughed at by the other boys for making a new ‘fwend’, Atack was not included in the series because Buckley reportedly told the producers: ‘It’s them or me.’
Sources say the brief romance was “nothing more than a joke” for Atack. He has always played it down to his friends and was disappointed when he discovered he may have used his influence to keep her out of the comeback.
An insider added: ‘She was devastated. She didn’t see it as a big deal, it was a bit of fun years ago and they’ve all moved on, but he clearly holds some kind of grudge.
“He made it very clear that he would never share a set with her again, in any form. It’s just another problem.”
The Inbetweeners took Britain by storm in the late 2000s as a coming-of-age comedy that followed the lives of four suburban teenagers as they navigated life at the fictional Rudge Park Comprehensive. A film followed in 2011 and a sequel in 2014.
It seems that ten years is a long time in show business, because I’m told that there is another major factor that is holding them back from getting back together: the four are ashamed of their childish behavior on the show, because it could be damaging to their future careers.
Buckley is said to be struggling with the association with his foul-mouthed, sex-obsessed character from the popular Channel 4 series
A source said: ‘James Buckley is the one who is struggling the most.
“He’s the one who most wants to stay on the show and is most up for a reunion, but he’s also the one who’s most embarrassed about what people think of him.”
That’s not surprising, given Jay’s graphic descriptions of his alleged sexual conquests, videos of which are still widely shared online.
The source added: ‘People still seem to talk to him like he’s Jay from The Inbetweeners. Sometimes he plays it off, but other times he has real crises of confidence and panics, making the public think he’s a real idiot.
“Either way, he hasn’t been able to shake it off and move on with the show like the others have.”
Buckley, who married former glamour model Clair Meek in 2012, still hosts a podcast called Completed It Mate – one of his character’s catchphrases – and has earned more than £1million on celebrity video website Cameo by recording swear-filled clips for his paying fans.
That is a big difference from his fellow actors, who did indeed achieve success outside the series.
Harrison later starred opposite Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw in the acclaimed drama A Very English Scandal, opposite Catherine Zeta-Jones in a film adaptation of the classic sitcom Dad’s Army and opposite Billie Piper in the Sky hit I Hate Suzie.
Bird has become a sought-after director and producer, having appeared in the hit sitcom Friday Night Dinner, while Thomas, who played Simon, has appeared in the comedy dramas Fresh Meat and White Gold, as well as stage appearances including his own show at the Edinburgh Festival.
The last time the four got together was for Fwends Reunited, the reunion show hosted by the cynical Jimmy Carr, who, according to Buckley, constantly teased them.
He explained: ‘It no longer became a celebration of the good things I had done in my life, but a moment where I was laughed at for hours.
“I didn’t have the personality or the intelligence to handle it, especially when you’re going up against someone like Jimmy Carr, who’s super fast and super funny. So I come across as a complete idiot during the whole thing.”
The beloved comedy ran for 18 episodes across three series and spawned two films, but fans’ hopes of a comeback have been dashed amid rumours of friction between the four stars
He admitted that he felt conflicted between living out his character and speaking as his real self: “I was stuck in a situation between Jay and I where I was like, ‘You’re acting like an idiot, you’re an idiot, you’re being made a fool of.'”
It was only the fear of being a “stick in the mud”, he said, that kept him going: “I didn’t want to go, ‘Can we just stop for a moment because I don’t know what the hell is going on here – you’re talking to me like I’m Jay from The Inbetweeners. I’m not.'”
It is therefore not surprising that the show was received so negatively. One viewer criticized the cast, who looked like they didn’t want to be there.
In short, the four boys have – as is often the case in real life – grown up and grown apart.
“They don’t want to keep going back to the past,” a source said. “They want to remember The Inbetweeners for what it was, a bit of fun when they were young.
‘Despite the large sums of money, there is no question of the four ever walking around in school uniforms again.’