Featured Image Credit: Channel 4
Topics: The Inbetweeners, James Buckley, TV and Film
Jess Battison
Some fans of The Inbetweeners probably know the show so well they’re able to quote much of it by heart, reciting the lines as they watch.
But there’s one episode they can’t quite do that with as it never actually aired after bosses didn’t want it to ‘see the light of day’.
Before The Inbetweeners became The Inbetweeners, it was named Baggy Trousers and set in the ‘80s. James Buckley was in it though, although he played Neil rather than Jay.
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And to be honest, it’s all pretty cringed with tvtropes.org saying the reason it’s so hard to find anything about the TV pilot is because it’s ‘so reviled by the creators they’ve sworn it will never see the light of day’.
Buckley owns one of the few complete copies of the episode and has been pretty vocal about it not being seen.
When a clip of it started going viral on social media, users simply called it ‘f**king dreadful’.
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One even said it looked ‘like something that would be on CBBC’ as another commented: “I guess this is what unaired pilots are for.”
Others also chimed in: “Well, it’s no surprise they recast and tweaked the show this would have flopped hard.”
Buckley previously discussed playing Neil in the ‘so bad people weren’t allowed to see it’ episode.
Speaking on an episode of the Big Fish with Spencer Matthews podcast, he recalled: "It was looking like it wasn't going to happen. Then I got some news that it was going to be made but they were going to recast it."
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The White Gold star went on: "I got a phone call from my then-agent. She literally said something like, 'I've got some good news and I've got some bad news.
"'The good news is that they're going ahead with The Inbetweeners, or Baggy Trousers as it was called.'
"Then I was like, 'Brilliant, I’m going to be in a sitcom. Absolutely amazing!'
"She went: 'Bad news is that they're recasting'. I said there's no good news here, it's just bad news. They're making the show, but you've got nothing to do with it."
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He continued: "I then got in touch with Damon Beesley, one of the co-creators of The Inbetweeners, and I said 'I heard that that is going ahead, congratulations... and you know, I know you guys are recasting, but if there's another part or if there's one of the parts that are featured in an episode or something like that, like I'd love to come in and do a job for you.'
"And he replied saying: 'No, we want you to be Jay. Did your agent not tell you this? We need to see you tomorrow to talk to you about this and we're going to audition a load of other kids at the time.'"