Ranking the 15 best characters from The Inbetweeners

Ah, fwend!

To mark the 10th anniversary of The Inbetweeners, we decided to have a little fun and rank our favourite characters from the beloved comedy. We’ve already tested your knowledge of the show and some of its famous quotes, but this is the big one.

FYI, we’re basing this list solely on the TV show and we’re opting for those characters that made a memorable impact during their time on screen. FYI, settling on a top five was very tough and we’re probably going to change it but…

15) Carli

It’s not her fault that Simon was desperately in love with her and to be honest, she was always niceish- hell, would you kiss someone that puked all over your little brother? This being said, she did have a tendency to string Simon along and Carli also put the blame on him after the fashion show fiasco.

As we all know, “there’s nothing funny about testicles, Cooper, as you’ll discover tomorrow in my office.”

14) Donovan

An absolute bastard but the sweetest person imaginable when the adults are around – thus making him an even bigger bastard.

On the plus side, he did beat the living snot out of Patrice and he has something of a gentle side when he’s around Charlotte. An important antagonist for the lads.

13) Tara

Beep-di-di-beep-beep. Time for another Tara update! Unlike Carli, Tara was a far better fit for Simon until he mucked it up by repeatedly slapping his flaccid penis in front of her.

She’s also the catalyst behind the weed episode and introduced us to ‘Big Kerry’. Despite the fact she had puke running down her chin, Simon definitely made the right choice by kissing her.

12) Kevin Sutherland – Neil’s dad

Oi, my dad’s not bent! A running gag that never lost momentum throughout the entirety of the show because the writers were clever enough to never ‘overuse’ Neil’s dad. Truth be told, it’s the little suggestions about his private life and the fact that we never learn any more about Neil’s dad that makes his character so funny.

His delivery of the line “What must you think of me, racing around the house in my briefs like we’re at some sort of Roman orgy?!” is superb and the whole gag about him being in the closet is juvenile, ridiculous but exactly what you would expect to hear from teenage boys.

Clip via – Mitchell Wilson

11) Charlotte Hinchcliffe

A far more nuanced character than what we first expected.

All the lads boast about her sexual promiscuity – Jay famously said that “she once munched off the whole rugby team” – but most men are far too terrified to even talk to her. That’s a shame because she’s arguably the most friendly, compassionate, and genuine character in the show.

Will probably has a lot of regrets in his life, mucking things up with Charlotte is probably near the top. 

10) Big John

The perfect example of ‘bang for your buck’ because he’s not what you would call a regular in the show, but Christ is he memorable.

In a way, he’s sort of like a comedic lightning rod because he’s the focus of some truly memorable gags. After Jay opens up to him about his feelings, doubts and insecurities, Jay’s delivery of the line “Oh, fuck off, you fat wanker” is one of the most cutting and memorable gags in the show.

This being said, Big John did show that he’s more socially savvy than the lads because unlike Neil, Simon, Jay, or Neil, John did manage to get an invite to Louise Graham’s birthday party and he also managed to hook up. Mmm, he must have charmed that girl with some small talk about burgers.

9) Paedo Kennedy

Neil: Why did he have to do the thumbs up?
Jay: That’s what’ll go up your arse.

Brilliant.

8) Will’s Mom

Polly McKenzie did a good job raising Will on her own but she does have a tendency to embarrass the living hell out of her son. After all, she told everyone that she uses a suppository to cure Will’s migraines, he got drunk on shandy and was afraid of the Ghost Train at Thorpe Park.

It also doesn’t help that she’s completely oblivious to the fact that Will’s friends, teachers and practically everyone is lusting after her. This being said, she’s always there for her son and is even there to pick frogspawn out of his underpants. Awww.

7) Terry Cartwright – Jay’s Dad

We’re going to say something slightly controversial here. In terms of the laughs to minutes ratio, no character in The Inbetweeners delivers more memorable scenes than Jay’s hilariously abusive dad. Take for example this discussion.

Jay: I get plenty of girls.
Terry: No, you bloody don’t. And even if you did, what could you do with that thing? It’s like a McDonald’s chip! You definitely take after your mum in the cock-size department. She ain’t got one either!

Brutal.

All this without mentioning the fact that his dumps could probably knock out an elephant. My eyes are burning!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQpEJnni4nA

Clip via – DarthVader21

6) Alan Cooper – Simon’s dad

Jim’s dad from American Pie was bad. Simon’s dad is even worse and despite the fact that he once asked his own son for johnnies, there’s something endearingly lovable about Alan Cooper.

It’s clear that he has a rampant sex drive and has no filter, but he’s also a fairly strict disciplinarian that loves his family.

Then again, if you’re dad asked you for a lend of a laptop because the channels were a bit “too soft,” you would probably leave home forever.

FYI, although Jay’s dad gets the better laughs, we’re placing Alan higher because of his insatiable horniness.

5) Simon

His hissy fits are epic and despite the fact that he does turn into a little bit of a social weirdo around girls, he’s clearly the most ‘normal’ one of the gang. Without the iconic yellow Fiat Cinquecento Hawaii, the gang wouldn’t be able to go on their manic adventures and it’s hard not to feel sorry for him as he hopelessly pursues Carli.

He also gave us the greatest example of dirty talk by saying: “I’m gonna fuck your fucking fanny off you twat!”

4) Will

You might never openly admit this, but a large part of you would want to be like Will.

Ok, you don’t want to be Will when he shits himself during the exam or when he gets thrown into the river during work experience, but there’s something extremely admirable about his ability to stand up for what he believes – although he usually expresses it like a condescending and pompous idiot.

He’s clearly the wittiest and most level-headed of the group, but that’s not much to brag about!

Then again, he did introduce us to the word ‘bumder’ and the world has never been the same since.

He truly is “The Lion, the Witch and the specky kid who shit himself!”

3) Jay

It might be a popular pick but there’s no denying the appeal of Jay because simply put, we all knew someone like this on our school. We could spend hours chatting about the best bullshitter in the world but we’re just going to list off some of his lies ‘achievements;

He knocked-out a cow with one punch, he took a pedalo to Africa, his mate once “broke his knob in half” after going in too quickly for sex, he had trials with West Ham, his dad plays poker with Danny Dyer and the Krays and his girlfriend dumped him because his cock was too big.

This being said, we’re fairly certain that he’s actually completed Championship Manager.

Any character that goes into a psychotic rage after getting ‘mugged off’ by a squirrel is definitely iconic.

FYI, we’re very aware that plenty of people would rank Jay as their favourite Inbetweener but…

2) Mr.Gilbert

There’s a strong argument to be made that he’s the funniest character in the entire show. Read this and you’ll probably believe it. 

1) Neil

In every single episode, Neil looks like he’s having the time of his life because just like a dog that’s been let outside to play, he’s constantly happy. When he’s not sticking Lego up his bum, dancing or binging on toast, he’s probably flirting away because as we’ve frequently seen, he’s quite the charmer.

‘Saucy Asda’ Karen, Big Kerry, the girl at the Caravan Camp and countless others have all fallen for his charms.

We really hope that he lands his dream job as an “Aeroplane Driver” and while he might not get as many laughs as Jay, you would always want to be around Neil because he’s never on a downer.

Thick as a brick but good fun.

That tuxedo was too jazzy though.

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