Former Inbetweeners actor Simon Bird has admitted he doesn’t ever see himself returning to the hit comedy, as he thinks it would be too “depressing” an experience.
Simon is currently on the promo trail for Days Of The Bagnold Summer, a new film which marks his directorial debut, when the inevitable question about whether he and his co-stars would ever be up for making a new series of The Inbetweeners.
In an interview with Screen Daily, Simon was quick to nip the idea in the bud, insisting that revisiting the popular teen characters as men in their thirties was not something he was keen on.
“I don’t know how that would work,” he admitted. “I don’t think it would work with the characters grown up, which we now all are. No one is going to buy us as teenagers any more.
“And I think the idea of the four of us back together as 30-somethings is going to be a bit more depressing for everyone.”
Simon also discussed how the show, and the two films that it inspired, affected his career, leading to him taking a step behind the camera.
He said: “You do get typecast, and fair enough. It was so successful and our faces were everywhere. That’s especially true with comedy. The characters become real and very important to fans – it’s really difficult to see actors do other things.”
Of course, as Inbetweeners fans will remember, the cast did briefly reunite earlier this year, for a one-off show commemorating the hit comedy’s 10th anniversary.
Rather than a new scripted episode, the special – titled Fwends Reunited – took the form of a clip show interspersed with interviews, but it was not well-received at the time, prompting actor James Buckley himself to issue an apology shortly afterwards to those who felt “let down”.