The Inbetweeners: Where are they now including stars Joe Thomas, Simon Bird, James Buckley and Blake Harrison

The hit E4 comedy show became one of the biggest hits on UK television during its original run between 2008 and 2010. It even spawned two films, The Inbetweeners released in 2011 and The Inbetweeners 2 in 2014, which were hits at the UK box office.

Joe Thomas, who was part of the show’s main cast, has sparked rumours of a return to the world of The Inbetweeners after stating that the show’s actors talk regularly about rebooting the show for a new series or film. He told the Always Be Comedy podcast: “We're all still around, we're all still in each other's lives. We all still like each other. And if it was something that came up, I think we would want to do it.”

The show is considered to be one of the quintessential UK noughties series, inspiring a generation of fans to pick up catchphrases and hold a love for the show into their adulthood. It also helped to launch the careers of its main cast, as well as supporting cast members who went on to make big names for themselves.

Joe Thomas

Joe Thomas played bumbling and cringe-worthy Simon Cooper in the original series and the two films. After growing to fame on the show, his next big career moment came in 2011, when he joined the cast of Fresh Meat as Kingsley Owen.

Thomas, 40, went on to star alongside Gossip Girl’s Ed Westwick and his fellow Inbetweeners co-star James Buckley in the BBC comedy White Gold. Thomas has also featured at with his own show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and also gained a legion of fans with his memorable appearance on Taskmaster in 2019.

Thomas is engaged to Inbetweeners co-star Hannah Tointon, who played Simon’s girlfriend Tara, after meeting on the set. They couple share one child together.

Simon Bird

After portraying geeky school newbie Will McKenzie, Simon Bird went on to star in another hit Channel 4 comedy. He played Adam Goodman in the beloved sitcom Friday Night Dinner, starring alongside Tamsin Greig, Paul Ritter and Tom Rosenthal.

Bird also joined Thomas to co-write and star in the Sky comedy Chickens, which ran from 2011 until 2013. He has also performed on stage, including starring in the Simon Callow-director West End play The Philanthropist.

His latest television venture is Everyone Else Burns, a comedy following a hyper-religious community. It premiered in January 2023 to glowing reviews, with a second series commissioned by Channel 4. Bird married Lisa Owens in 2012. The couple have two children.

James Buckley

James Buckley became a household name as part of The Inbetweeners in the role of Jay Cartwright, the vulgar compulsive liar of the group. Before the show drew to an end in 2010, Buckley joined Only Fools & Horses prequel show Rock & Chips, in which he played a young Del Boy for three series.

He made a brief jump to Hollywood, starring in films such as supernatural horror flick The Pyramid and the Andy Samberg-led comedy mockumentary Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. He continued to work on TV in the UK, with credits including Doctor Who, The Great Celebrity Bake Off for SU2C and White Gold.

Buckley launched his ‘Completed It Mate’ gaming YouTube channel in 2016, with the name being a reference to a line from Jay Cartwright. He also launched a Twitch channel of the same name.

The actor currently hosts a podcast with wife Clair Buckley titled In Sickness and Health, in which the couple, who have been married since 2012, speak about love and relationships and their marriage.

Blake Harrison

After gaining fame on The Inbetweeners, Blake Harrison picked up acting credits in shows such as Him & Her, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret and later shows such as World On Fire and A Very English Scandal. Harrison landed the role of Private Pike in the 2016 film Dad’s Army, which was based on the iconic BBC comedy series of the same name.

Kids will be familiar with Harrison’s voice, with the actor voicing Scoop in Bob The Builder from 2015 until 2018. He also featured in a film based on the series in 2017 titled Bob the Builder: Mega Machines.

He also featured at Soccer Aid in 2018, and made a mark with a game-winning penalty to take the all-star charity match for England. Harrison married Kerry Ann Lynch in 2016. They have two children.

Other stars

The show didn’t just launch the careers of its main cast, but supporting actors also broke through with help from The Inbetweeners. Comedian Greg Davies became instantly recognisable as unenthused headteacher Phil Gilbert and went on to star in other hit shows such as The Cleaner and Cuckoo, as well as becoming the synonymous ‘Taskmaster’ on the hit series of the same name.

Emily Atack played popular student Charlotte Hinchcliffe. Atack went on to star alongside Keith Lemon in shows such as The Keith Lemon Sketch Show and The Keith & Paddy Picture Show. She also launched her own comedy series The Emily Atack Show in 2020, and appeared on reality shows such as Dancing on Ice and I’m A Celeb.

School bully Mark Donovan was played by actor Henry Lloyd-Hughes, who has gone on to launch an esteemed career on stage and screen. His credits include Parade’s End, Anna Karenina and is set to star in the upcoming adaptation of Richard Osman’s crime novel The Thursday Murder Club.