The Inbetweeners actor James Buckley on ‘disaster’ reunion: ‘I come across as a complete moron’

The Inbetweeners star has reflected on the New Year's Day special, which left many fans disappointed

Clémence Michallon

New York

Monday 28 January 2019 21:28

✕

Punching A Fish To Death scene from the The Inbetweeners

James Buckley has offered more comments on the ill-fated Inbetweeners reunion that aired on New Year’s Day to overall negative feedback.

The sitcom star previously apologised for the programme, during which he, Blake Harrison, Joe Thomas, and Simon Bird reunited on Channel 4 for a two-hour special hosted by Jimmy Carr, marking the 10th anniversary of the sitcom’s debut.

While Buckley thought an Inbetweeners reunion would be “impossible to f*** up”, many viewers complained about the special on social media.

Some seemed confused to realise the programme, titled Fwends Reunited, wasn’t a new episode but instead adhered to a chat show format, and some said it looked as though the four actors didn’t want to be there.

As it turns out, Buckley, who was in the US while the episode was in its infancy, says he didn’t become fully aware of the show’s format until he sat down in the studio with Carr and the audience.

10 most uplifting TV shows

Show all 10

1/1010 most uplifting TV shows

She dresses like a primary school teacher, smiles like the Cheshire cat, and sees the best in absolutely everybody: Kimmy Schmidt is an unusual heroine today. There’s no cynicism, sneering, or snark here – listening to her naive optimism is like seeing your twitter feed in negative. But the clever thing about Tina Fey’s fast-paced, wise-cracking show is that it isn’t, well, too fey. Kimmy’s zest for life comes from having been held captive in an underground bunker for years; rather than being broken by that, she emerges determined to get the most out of life. Four seasons in, there’s still something rather inspiring about that.

Eric Liebowitz/Netflix

If you’ve ever dreamt of sacking off the rat race and giving countryside self-sufficiency a try, why not live vicariously through this delightful, warm-hearted Seventies sitcom? Here, though, Tom (Richard Briers) and Barbara (an effortlessly cool Felicity Kendal) don’t quite make it to the countryside, instead attempting to raise goats, pigs, and chickens in their suburban back garden after Tom packs in his corporate job. Buoyed by its wonderful supporting characters, namely the Good’s painfully conventional next-door neighbours Margo and Jerry Leadbetter, The Good Life is an utter joy.

PA

The work of Jane Austen, as a whole, is a kind of the ultimate comfort blanket. She offers us a smart, witty view on the world, where love can be transformative, but should never be pursued at the cost of losing all your senses. The BBC’s 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice captures this feeling, and has dynamism to spare. It’s wistful and romantic without feeling naive, anchored by a relatable heroine in Jennifer Ehle’s Elizabeth Bennet, and (of course) features that swoon-worthy, brooding performance from Colin Firth as Mr Darcy. Then there’s the lake scene – need I say more?

Rex

Five gay American men do a makeover, and it’s fabulous. That’s the basic premise of Queer Eye, a Netflix reboot that introduced the world to the new Fab Five. Each has their area of expertise – Antoni Porowski teaches cooking, Tan France dives into wardrobes, Karamo Brown provides life coaching, Bobby Berk re-designs their homes, and Jonathan Van Ness is in charge of grooming – and each one makes the show that little bit special in their own way. Even when the person getting the makeover is at the other end of the political spectrum to our hosts, the show focuses on the positives and shows that everyone, whether they’re democrat or republican, can do with a little self-love.

Austin Hargrave/Netflix

Stars Hollow is excellent in all seasons, as demonstrated by Gilmore Girls: A Year in the LifeThis early Noughties comedy may be the product of its time, but it still makes for deeply unchallenging viewing. A single mother, Lorelai, and her teenaged daughter, Rory, have an upbeat and supportive relationship, speaking in snappy one-liners and rapid-fire dialogue. They live in Stars Hollow, a pastel picture of small town America at its most loveably eccentric. While it delivers poignant emotional truths galore, the focus is blessedly narrow, the stakes untroubingly low, and the outcome usually uplifting. Gilmore Girls has all the bite of a marshmallow – but soft and gooey is, sometimes, just what you need.

Netflix

Could there be a more quintessentially British TV show than The Great British Bake-Off? A batch of contestants try their hardest to impress two judges with their ornate cakes and pastries, all while cheering each other on and become the best of friends. There’s not a whiff of bitterness between them as they leave the tent – only sadness that Paul may never taste their grandma’s macaron recipe. And with the sardonic wit of Mel and Sue/Noel and Sandi keeping things fun – even when the pressures on – there’s never a mean-spirited moment.

Channel 4

Bewitched is absolutely the product of its time, but that’s also what makes it so delightfully subversive. Samantha Stephens (Elizabeth Montgomery) is, on the surface, the ideal housewife of the 1960s. Each episode ends with her household in perfect order, dinner on the table, and a martini ready for her husband the second he walks through the door. Yet the joy of Bewitched comes from the fact that Samantha does these things with a wry smirk. We know she’s a witch, after all, actively choosing to the wear the guise of housewife despite the option to live as an all-powerful, supernatural being. We also know that it’s often her pulling the strings behind-the-scenes on this idyllic marriage. Despite its mid-century suburban sheen, Bewitched is a rebel in disguise. And that’s always enlivening to watch.

Rex

Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a friendly embrace of a TV series, a sitcom in which all members of its diverse ensemble deliver on cheer and belly laughs in each and every episode. Its the endlessly likeable Andy Samberg who leads the charge, and his Peter Pan-style detective Jake Peralta is the kind of character that makes you feel any issue can be resolved. As such, the show offers more of a motivational boost than you might expect for a series about hapless members of a police precinct. After all, if they can do it, anyone can.

Fox

A staple on ITV3, Inspector Morse is the televisual equivalent of slipping on your favourite slippers: familiar and cosy. Sure, there are quite a few murders, but what about that beautiful Oxford setting, where dreaming spires tower above the grisliness? It's intelligent and has brilliant characterisation, with John Thaw's curmudgeonly, Wagner-loving, real-ale man its wonderful centre of gravity. The series ran from 1987 to 2000 and its legacy has lived on through spin-offs Lewis and Endeavour, but neither of which can quite match this series for charm.

Rex

Sure, the further away we get from the end of Friends’s decade long run, the more blatant its many problematic moments are – but this ensemble sit-com is also enduringly funny, brilliantly acted, and endlessly bingeable. It rightly made stars of its six cast members when it premiered in 1994, and managed to continually evolve through the course of its ten seasons without losing its warm, inimitable charm. Once you're hooked, you'll have 236 episodes to get your teeth into – which is enough that by the time you're done, you'll be ready to start again.

Getty

He had gone in thinking the reunion would consist of himself and three co-stars reminiscing about The Inbetweeners. Instead, the special alternated between studio bits, pre-taped segments, and excerpts from the series.

“It became a thing that wasn’t a celebration of this good thing I did in my life, it was me being taken the piss out of for hours on end,” he said in a video posted to his YouTube channel, Completed It Mate.

“I didn’t have the personality or the intelligence to cope with it, especially when you’re up against someone like Jimmy Carr, who’s super quick and super funny. So I come across as a complete moron through the whole thing.”

Buckley also says he got confused because he wasn’t sure whether or not he was expected to act like himself or his Inbetweeners character Jay.

✕

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

“So that was another one of the reasons why it was a disaster,” he said. “And I’m not saying that’s an excuse because I should have done my f****** job and been an entertainer and been funny and I sort of couldn’t get over it and couldn’t get my head around it. I just didn’t have what it takes to roll with that.”

Join our new commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies