FROM Charlotte “Big Jugs” Hinchcliffe to Jay’s liberal use of the W-word, there was much to love about The Inbetweeners.
Which is why it is great that, as I exclusively revealed on Sunday, a reboot is on the cards.
Simon Bird and Emily Atack as Will and Charlotte[/caption]
Inbetweeners characters Simon, Will, Neil and Jay at ‘Rudge Park Comprehensive’[/caption]
But I am genuinely worried that the woke Gen Zers are going to instantly hate it.
Of course, they won’t actually see it. They’ll just fleetingly consult the social media hive and decide it’s ripe for cancelling.
It’s tragic really because it makes you realise just how much this uncompromising mob of keyboard warriors has invaded our world view over the last 17 years — which is when The Inbetweeners first launched.
Hard to believe, isn’t it? Somehow things have changed to the extent that we are made to feel like the much-loved show is a relic of a degenerate age.
But it is just a remnant of a much simpler, happier time.
It was also one of the last, great modern sitcoms — and that’s why we must fight to ensure it doesn’t just return, but comes back unravaged by meddling millennials.
Crude yet clever
Simon, Will, Jay and Neil — who were played by Joe Thomas, Simon Bird, James Buckley and Blake Harrison — were four cleverly crafted characters, each just different enough to create the required friction that every comedy needs.
Emily Atack as Charlotte was also sensational.
The Inbetweeners was crude yet clever, frivolous but with hidden depths, and a nostalgia trip into high school life that feels quintessentially British.
The fact a new deal has been struck between creators Iain Morris and Damon Beesley and production giants Banijay UK gives us hope they’ll all get back together — even as early as next year — and maybe do a TV show, or more movies or even a stage show.
But I fear someone might decide a series on terrestrial TV (which is what we want, right?) is just too risky in this day and age.
Instead, they may opt for a film or musical, or just putting it on a streamer, because it means it has to be actively selected, rather than stumbled upon.
But I think we should expect nothing less than a return to Channel 4 without any censoring of the swearing, smutty gags and obscenity we loved.
Banish any thoughts of a woke whitewash, we want the full TV sitcom — and nothing in between.
Here we look at six of the best moments.
1
Will soils himself during exams after a few too many energy drinks[/caption]
Will is so desperate to calm his frayed nerves during exams that he turns to energy drinks. But, it literally backfires and he soils himself.
2
Working in a care home, Jay sees a photo of an elderly resident in her 20s and is caught getting a little “overexcited” by the image.
3
Simon, dressed in an S&M outfit, doesn’t realise his testicle is showing[/caption]
Simon shocks students at the school fashion show by strutting down the runway in an S&M outfit, not knowing his testicle is hanging out.
4
Will brands queue jumpers at Thorpe Park “a**eholes” before discovering they have Down syndrome and have priority access.
5
Neil punches a fish to death on a school trip[/caption]
Jay rents a boat on a school trip and decides to go fishing, which ends with the bizarre sight of numpty Neil punching a fish to death.
6
Cocky Jay says he doesn’t need any advice before driving Neil’s motorbike from the shop. He travels 15 feet and crashes into a door.
