The Inbetweeners star Jay Buckley has defended the sitcom after comments from former co-star Simon Bird that seemed to write off a potential reunion.
Buckley, 37, rose to fame for playing the hilarious and vulgar Jay Cartwright on the E4 comedy classic, alongside the likes of Joe Thomas, Blake Harrison and Simon Bird in the late 2000s.
Though he is proud of his involvement in the show, he has previously admitted that he would never let his children watch it, and if you’ve ever seen a scene with Jay in it, you’d understand why.
Buckley spoke about how much love he still has for the show (Karwai Tang/WireImage)
Buckley revealed in an interview with MailOnline that he ‘loves’ the show and enjoys meeting fans to this day, explaining how ‘proud’ he is to be part of something that is still very much a part of British culture.
When asked about being stopped or having quotes thrown at him in public, he explained: “I don’t mind it – it just makes people happy and you stop there and have a little chat about what it was like to do and people’s eyes light up.
“That’s the best part of the job, meeting people who really like what you do. I hope it doesn’t stop, I love it. It’s a two way thing – I enjoy it as much as them.”
He insisted that none of his fan interactions have been negative, and even said that he was the show’s biggest fan and still looks back fondly on the show as it ‘still makes me laugh,’ he admitted.
“From the first time I read it to now, I still think its really funny – we were constantly laughing all the way through it,” Buckley added.
Fans are still longing for a reunion of the iconic group though, whether it be a third movie, some new episodes or even a one-off.
The Inbetweeners might be one of Britain’s most popular sitcoms (Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images for Sky)
Buckley has previously shut these rumours down due to the advanced ages of the actors, while Simon Bird has also commented on the likelihood of a reunion in the past.
Bird admitted to MailOnline that he doesn’t have the same level of fondness for the show, saying: “People come up to me in the street and quote lines from the show and I have no idea what they’re talking about.
“I don’t watch myself back, I can’t remember the show – I don’t think I’ve even watched it back since I made it in 2008.”
He then damningly said that ‘there are no prospects of a reunion,’ breaking fans’ hearts all over the nation.
“We’d be happy to but it’s not up to us, it’s up to the writers, Iain and Damon, and I know they’re both very busy these days.
“It’s not more likely to happen now than it was ten years ago I’m afraid,” Bird admitted, adding that there has been ‘no discussion’ of a film or show.
However, Buckley said being a part of it fulfilled a dream, going on to say: “My whole thing really was I wanted to be in a British sitcom and I did that in my early 20s.”
The foursome were last part of an Inbetweeners project in 2014 (Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
Nowadays, Buckley makes a fair few pennies from his time on Cameo, where he was said to be earning £10,000 a week from his requests.
He was even reported to become the first non-American celebrity to make a million dollars on the app, and though he had doubts that anyone would want a personalised video from him, Buckley was proved wrong.
The actor explained on Spencer Matthew’s Big Fish Podcast: “I have done tens of thousands. Tens and tens of thousands, maybe thirty, forty thousand, something like that.
“It was a godsend financially. But I never wanted to take the piss. I’m in the business of making people happy. I don’t want to rip people off.”
