Simon Bird says ‘The Inbetweeners’ bosses thought he was "too camp" to play Will McKenzie.
The 34-year-old actor has revealed the sitcom’s writers Iain Morris and Damon Beesley didn’t think there was a part for him or Joe Thomas (Simon Cooper) when they were putting the show together.
He said: "Well I remember not being allowed to audition for about a year because Iain and Damon said I was a) too old and b) too camp.
"They said there wasn’t a part in the show for me or Joe. This was around the time when ‘Skins’ had just come out and that was obviously a huge success.
"They’d cast fifteen and sixteen year olds to play fifteen and sixteen year olds which makes sense. So Iain and Damon were trying to do that."
The characters of Will and Simon are based on the writing pair themselves, and it meant they struggled to settle on who should play them alongside Blake Harrison’s Neil Sutherland and James Buckley’s Jay Cartwright.
Simon added: "I think they were just very protective and didn’t really like the idea of giving those parts up to anyone.
"But Joe and I hung on in there and eventually Iain and Damon ran out of time, as we knew they would.
"They realised about three days before filming that they had to cast someone. I think it was out of desperation really that me and Joe got cast."
The four stars still stay in touch, and they will be reuniting for a special one-off comeback show, which will be the first time they have all appeared on the small screen together since the sitcom’s final episode, ‘The Camping Trip’, in 2010.
Tom Beck, Channel 4’s head of live events and commissioning editor for entertainment, said: "Will, Jay, Simon and Neil spent years failing to sneak into the best parties, so I’m very pleased to throw one that they’re definitely invited to.
"I just hope Will brings his Mum."
‘The Inbetweeners: Fwends Reunited’ airs New Years Day at 9pm on Channel 4.
Inbetweeners bosses thought Simon Bird was ‘too camp’ for Will role
