Updated 10:03 7 Sep 2024 GMT+1Published 09:59 7 Sep 2024 GMT+1
Inbetweeners star Emily Atack hits out at ‘perverts’ after revealing huge detail about schoolgirl role in show
The actress and comedian talked about landing the role of Charlotte Hinchcliffe
Brenna Cooper
The Inbetweeners star Emily Atack called out 'perverts' as she reflected on landing the role of Charlotte Hinchcliffe in the E4 sitcom.
Atack, 34, may have spent the past couple of years focusing on her work as a comedian and TV personality, featuring on Celebrity Gogglebox, I'm a Celebrity... and starring in her own series The Emily Atack Show, but the actress was originally known for playing a love interest in The Inbetweeners.
Nicknamed 'Big Jugs' by the other characters on the show, Charlotte was the popular and lusted after foil to blundering schoolboy Will McKenzie (Simon Bird). The role gave Atack a reputation as a 'sex symbol' amongst viewers at the time.
However, the actress has since revealed that this wasn't originally the intention behind the character.
Since starring on the E4 sitcom, Atack has enjoyed a career in acting and comedy (Karwai Tang/WireImage)Speaking to Mo Gilligan on his podcast Beginning, Middle & End Best Bits, Atack reflected on landing the role of Charlotte and the job changed her life.
One of the bigger revelations from the interview was that Charlotte wasn't meant to be seen as a 'sexy schoolgirl' and this was something which viewers later projected onto the character.
"The character of it being this sexy schoolgirl, that wasn't originally meant to be that," she explained.
"They wanted me to just be a schoolgirl because I was a schoolgirl and I was playing a schoolgirl, so there were actually no sexual connotations to it.
"That all just came because the world is full of perverts," she added.
"They see the blonde hair, the school uniform and they go 'oh wow, seductive, what a seductive role', but I was just a schoolgirl playing a schoolgirl."
Emily Atack and Simon Bird in The Inbetweeners. (Channel 4)Atack then went on to reflect on how landing the role of Charlotte at just 17-years-old, revealing that it changed the trajectory of her life.
"[It was] very different then as social media hadn't taken off then really. We had MySpace and, you know, all of that, MSN," she said.
The actress then went on to add that people have often tried to 'blame' The Inbetweeners and her role for the 'abuse' she received later on in her life.
"People try and say, very much about that being linked to The Inbetweeners. [They say] 'Yeah but you played a sexy pin-up school girl.'
"But I really try and split the two because I was just doing my job... I was such a young girl and I was playing a school girl."
Despite the backlash, Atack added that she doesn't 'get upset' if people still refer to her as 'Big Jugs' or quote Inbetweeners lines to her as 'it's fiction'.
"It's a role, it's not me," she added.
Atack is set to make her return to acting in upcoming Disney+ Rivals. An adaption of an 1988 Jilly Cooper novel of the same name, she will star alongside David Tennant, Aidan Turner, Katherine Parkinson, Lisa McGrillis, Alex Hassell, and Danny Dyer.
Meanwhile, she has also welcomed her first child with partner Alistair Garner, a baby boy named Barney James.Featured Image Credit: (Mo Gillian/YouTube Mike Marsland/WireImage)
Topics: Emily Atack, The Inbetweeners, Podcast, YouTube, TV and Film
Brenna Cooper
Published 16:29 4 Dec 2023 GMT
Inbetweeners star's students recognised her as 'Neil's sister' when she took up teaching job after show
Bet they couldn't believe it
Dominic Smithers
Once you hit the big time, it's pretty much par for the course that you're gonna get recognised by people.
I mean, some actors can't step one foot outside their homes without being chased by paps or hounded by autograph hunters.
But while that's kind of expected, usually celebs aren't in the middle of their day job when they get spotted.
Well, that's exactly what happened to Kacey Clarke when she was working a shift as a teacher. You may remember her for playing Neil's sister in The Inbetweeners.
Inbetweeners pilot episode shows Jay originally playing Neil
Credit: Channel 4
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Despite starring in one of the biggest sitcoms of all time, the 35-year-old was also working as a supply teacher.
And while covering for one class, Clarke said she was recognised by a few of her students.
"Even though I was only in a couple of episodes my character became iconic because the show is iconic so people always remember it," she said back in 2016.
"The funniest experience was about four years ago when I was a substitute teacher covering for my mum's partner.
E4"Everything was normal until one of the boys put his arm up and said 'are you Neil's sister', which was pretty funny.
"Then, of course, the whole class knew so they kept going on about it. So a lot of people do remember me from the show."
Another star plenty of lads will remember from the series is Will McKenzie's mum, who was lusted after by many a teenager back in the day.
She was dubbed 'TV's fittest mum' as her character Polly left such a lasting impression on viewers of the beloved sitcom.
But Belinda isn't that appreciative of how some people go about trying to get her attention - especially in the form of unsolicited d**k pics.
The IT Crowd star had a few choice words for one bloke who slid into her DMs with a message accompanied by a 'horrifying' image.
E4During an appearance on the Secret Artists with Annie McGrath podcast, she explained that although she appreciates the undying adoration, she isn't a fan of some 'very rude' approaches people take to getting her attention.
Belinda said 'of course' it was nice to be branded TV's fittest parent, but warding off weirdos sadly comes with the territory.
When asked how she navigates people still sliding in her DMs, the 52-year-old said: "Well, it's funny you should say that, actually. Because not long ago I had an absolutely horrifying one and I'd never had anything like that before.
"I was, well it took me back, lets say that, and it wasn't pleasant. So whoever you are out there, you know who you are - slap on the wrist, don't do that again - it's very rude."Featured Image Credit: E4
Topics: The Inbetweeners, TV and Film
Dominic Smithers
Updated 12:34 26 Sep 2023 GMT+1Published 19:22 25 Sep 2023 GMT+1
Inbetweeners’ James Buckley was ‘furious’ at doing one of Jay's most famous scenes
He wasn't happy having to do one particular joke on the show
Claire Reid
The Inbetweeners’ star James Buckley has revealed he was ‘furious’ after being asked to do one particular joke in the hit sitcom.
Buckley played pathological bulls**tter Jay Cartwright across all three seasons of the coming-of-age comedy show and reprised the role for the two spin-off movies.
James And Clair Buckley discuss growing up today versus The Inbetweener's era
Credit: LADbible
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As fans of the show will know, The Inbetweeners didn’t shy away from using colourful language and filthy jokes to get a laugh out of viewers.
However, it was a much more PG friendly gag that left Buckley ‘furious’ while filming.
Appearing on The Useless Hotline podcast, Buckley was asked to fill in the blanks for some classic Jay lines - and one of them was from an episode in which Charlotte Hinchcliffe (played by Emily Atack) asked Jay: “Go on then funny man, make me laugh.”
You can see the clip here - but it does have some adult language, so be warned:
In response, Jay does an impression of the Crazy Frog - except when it came to filling in the blank for that particular scene Buckley refused.
After realising what the blank was, he quickly told the hosts Max and George: “No way, mate. I didn’t even… I was furious about doing it at the time. I didn’t like doing it at the time.” Fair enough.
Buckley then added: “Imagine us talking about the Crazy Frog. I mean, that has dated The Inbetweeners. Out of all of those awful, disgusting jokes, the one thing that dates it the most is the Crazy Frog reference.” He’s not wrong, is he?
In a recent interview with LADbible, Buckley pointed out that comedy has ‘evolved’ since Channel 4 launched the show almost 15 years ago.
"Comedy will always evolve and it's always evolving,” Buckley said.
YouTube/The Useless Hotline“That's what's great about comedy. You can't just keep doing the same thing over and over again, because it doesn't stay funny.”
He went on: “My nan used to have VHS tapes of Love Thy Neighbour. And I saw an episode of that [...] when I was sort of 13, 14. And obviously, I found it shocking. And that was it. It was just put down to, 'Well, that's what people were like back then'. We're not anymore are we? That's good, isn't it?
“Yeah. So I think that's it really. [...] Taste and comedy. It all evolves, it's always changing. And whether or not The Inbetweeners would be considered controversial these days or whatever. I don't think that's important.
"I just think people will be bored of it. I just think people go, 'They've already done this. They did this 15 years ago'."Featured Image Credit: YouTube/The Useless Hotline/Channel 4
Topics: The Inbetweeners, James Buckley, TV and Film
Claire Reid
Published 10:28 6 Apr 2024 GMT+1
The Inbetweeners star reveals hilarious behind the scenes confession from iconic episode
It turns out he did his own stunts for that scene
Joe Harker
The cast of The Inbetweeners really put themselves through it for our entertainment, but Joe Thomas' heroic efforts really must be applauded.
Do try not to be too flabbergasted to learn that he's already 40 and cast your minds back a startlingly long time to the days of 2008 to 2010 when The Inbetweeners was actually on TV.
There are plenty of moments which probably weren't pleasant to perform, such as Simon puking in a child's face, Simon falling into water and shivering naked or Simon accidentally exposing himself to the entire school and his parents at a fashion show.
You might be noticing a pattern here, as while all of the boys had episodes of misfortune in the show, poor old Simon had it worse than most.
Among these scenes of misfortune the most infamous one might be when Simon showed his testicle to basically everyone he knew in the first episode of the third season.
Channel 4Thomas addressed the moment in a new episode of Rob Beckett's Smart TV, and according to the Metro, he confirmed that he used his own testicle for the moment.
Beckett asked whether what we'd all seen on The Inbetweeners was a prosthetic bollock and Thomas explained that he'd been offered the option but decided to do his own stunt work, as it were.
He said: "No it wasn’t. They said, 'Do you want a prosthetic testicle?'
"But I thought, 'That’s not exactly dignified'. I mean, the show is what it is. That’s my genuine testicle.
"By the end of the day, I was so broken that I didn’t really care whether it was out or not. I was like, 'It’s out'."
It's not the first time the actor has discussed letting it hang out on the set of The Inbetweeners.
Dave Benett/Getty ImagesBack in 2020, Thomas told The Guardian: "For some reason Iain and Damon thought I was a soft touch and would be up for anything."
He said he felt sorry for the kid he had to puke over in the first season as the scene took four hours and 'he’d get hit in the face with some cold vegetable soup'.
"I thought: 'What’s the point of that?' I was hardly going to claw back any dignity," of the offer to don a prosthetic testicle.
Meanwhile he's been in a relationship with Inbetweeners co-star Hannah Tointon, who played his character's girlfriend, Tara (beepity beep beep) for over a decade and in 2022 the couple welcomed a daughter into their family.Featured Image Credit: Channel 4
Topics: Celebrity, TV and Film, The Inbetweeners, James Buckley
Joe Harker
Published 11:12 16 Dec 2023 GMT
Inbetweeners star James Buckley stands by road with his wife before the inevitable happens
Some fans of The Inbetweeners spotted James Buckley out on a family excursion and took the opportunity to do the funniest thing.
Ella Scott
Actors like Taylor Lautner and Tom Felton just can’t seem to shake off the shackles of their iconic teen roles.
Another actor seemingly tethered to their character forever is James Buckley.
Of course, the star is best known for portraying the loveable liar Jay Cartwright on The Inbetweeners and for bringing the ‘Ooh, friend’ meme into our daily vocabulary.
The Inbetweeners Deleted Scene
The uncomfortable scene was deleted from the show. Credit: Channel 4
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Unbelievably, it’s been 15 years since Buckley, now 37, first popped onto our screens as Jay.
For fans of the Channel 4 show, this also means it’s been more than a decade since you started calling public transport takers ‘bus wa***rs’.
And if that doesn’t make you feel old, I’m not sure what will.
Despite the passage of time, Buckley is still subjected to the classic heckles and amazingly, he’s caught a couple on camera.
The White Gold actor was recently attempting to enjoy a day out at the beach with his wife, Clair Meek and children Harrison, 11, and nine-year-old Jude.
However, while the celeb had his arm around his At Home with the Buckleys co-star, a fan could be heard shouting ‘bus w****r’ in the background.
Channel 4Elsewhere in the video - shared with his 88,200 TikTok followers - Buckley can be heard being addressed by the legendary sentiment again.
This time, the star turned around and shouted back at the fan: “How’s it going mate, alright?”, before smiling and laughing with his wife.
In the caption of the video, the father-of-two wrote: “You want to take your family to the seaside.
“But you’re Jay from The Inbetweeners.”
Since the clip was posted to social media on Friday, fans have come out in their droves to debate the content.
One TikTok user wrote: “I like to believe that The Inbetweeners was a documentary.”
A second said: “I’m sorry, but I shouted ‘ooooh friends’ at you once. Legend mate.”
“Such a nice guy,” said a third. “Sat with him for about 15 minutes in (sic) Bluewater shopping centre while our mrs were in New Look. Both had enough wanted to go home.”
Another commented: “Unfortunately just too iconic. (sic) You’re never going to get away from it!
“My son’s watching the series and films so even next generation.”
“Absolute legend, such a good guy,” wrote a fourth. “Made the nation laugh, and carrying on making us laugh.”
TikTok/@jamesbuxtagramEarlier this year, the actor opened up about why he, Simon Bird, Blake Harrison and Joe Thomas will never revive the cringeworthy coming-of-age series.
Chatting about his and his wife’s podcast, In Sickness And In Health, with the Daily Mail, Buckley said: "It was all justified because they were never the heroes.
“They were idiots and they got what they deserved. That's why it can't come back - you can't have men in their late thirties acting like they're in sixth form and getting away with that stuff.”
He added: "I always get asked if I'd ever do more and I said, 'for no amount of money' and that quote got run away.
"I didn't mean about money - it means more to me than money."
