James Buckley reveals reason for showing The Inbetweeners to his eldest son
James Buckley showed The Inbetweeners to his son Harrison, who is in secondary school, because he felt like he was behaving inappropriately while with his pals, but the show reassured him that it was normal to act like that.
James Buckley showed The Inbetweeners to his eldest child Harrison to make him "feel better about being an idiot".
The 37-year-old actor - who also has a 12-year-old son called Jude with his wife Clair Buckley - played the sex-obsessed Jay Cartwright in the award-winning E4 coming-of-age sitcom - which followed him and his friends William McKenzie (Simon Bird), Simon Cooper (Joe Thomas) and Neil Sutherland (Blake Harrison) as they were eager to enter adulthood, whilst they navigated school life at the fictional Rudge Park Comprehensive.
Secondary school student Harrison, 14, feared he would get into trouble about not behaving well while with his pals, but James reassured him that this was normal for children his age to act like that by showing him how Jay, Will, Simon and Neil behaved around each other.
Speaking to reality TV stars Sam Thompson, 32, and Pete Wicks, 37, on the latest episode of the Staying Relevant podcast, James explained: "I've actually watched a couple of episodes with my oldest son, and he's been in secondary school for a couple of years now.
"He's left primary school and now there's a new load of language.
"The problem is, I feel like between me and Clair, that we kept our kids too innocent, and we sort of sheltered them.
"And he was like, 'Oh Dad, what does this mean?' Stuff like that.
"And I was like, 'By the way, if anyone says anything that you don't quite understand, that you're a bit worried about, or if you've said something a bit naughty.' - First of all, I've probably f****** created it anyway.
"'But just go and talk to me and I'll tell you what it means and stuff.'
"And he got to a point where he got a little bit stressed out, and he was trying to get in with the lads and have fun with his pals and stuff.
"And then he's come away and he was like, 'Oh, I'm not sure if that behaviour was - I feel like I'm in trouble.' I feel like it was sort of playing with his conscience a bit.
"And I was like, 'Mate, you need to watch The Inbetweeners. You need to see what idiot young boys are like when they are hanging out with each other.'
"He said it was really funny.
"And it did genuinely help him feel better about being an idiot."
And James encourages parents to do what he did because the star thinks it will help children behave when they leave school.
He said: "I'd also encourage that as well because [you can] get it out of your system now when you're in high school, or whatever, because a 35-year-old idiot Inbetweener is not a good look.
"So be an idiot now. Be an idiot now while you're 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and then by the time you come out of school and stuff like that, you might be able to get on in society."
