Watch The Inbetweeners Online

Interview: A suburban comedy revolving around the trials and tribulations of sixth form friends might conjure up the thought of Skins, but comparing The Inbetweeners to its E4 stablemate doesn't really do it justice. The show takes the traditional sitcom format and gives it a youthful twist. It follows dorky new kid Will and his new mates Jay, Simon and Neil as they rebound from one calamity to another. We caught up with Simon Bird (Will) and James Buckley (Jay) to get the lowdown on the show.

Did you base your characters on anyone you knew at school? Simon: "Not really, I based him on myself. I'm a bit nerdy. Geeky characters are quite in vogue at the moment, there's a lot of them about." James: "I don't know anyone as rude as Jay but it was a lot of fun getting to say the things he does. Jay stretches the truth a bit, he lies a lot and makes himself out to be something he's not. He does get to say a lot of expletives."

Who do you think the show will appeal to? Simon: "Hopefully everyone. Obviously teenage boys, but then I think older guys who remember their teenage years will like it as well. A lot of girls will be interested to see an insight into teenage boys' minds and how we work." James: "I think the banter and the way they behave with each other is the way school is now - and was 20 years ago. There'll always be young boys mucking about. Everyone can relate to trying to get served alcohol when you're underaged and knowing that you'll look uncool if you fail."

This is the first sitcom commissioned directly for E4. Is there pressure on the show to do well? Simon: "I guess so. We never felt any pressure; everyone was really nice to us and helped us through the process. A lot of us were doing TV for the first time. There's a bit of pressure on it being as its the first one they've done, but E4's pretty popular now so it should do well."

The show's been dubbed the 'Anti-Skins'. Is that a tag you'd agree with? James: "Yes! I think Skins is nice because it's very glamorous. A teenager would love to have that lifestyle of rolling into a party, pulling some amazing looking girl and getting into trouble. Maybe life is like that but mine certainly wasn't! When I was at school it felt like girls were on another planet. They were clued up but me and my mates were still mucking about, thinking 'maybe if I push that girl over, she'll fancy me!'"

Would you be up for doing more of the show? It would be interesting to see them move on to University or go and get jobs. Simon: "I think that would be really interesting. It could definitely go on because this first series finishes at the end of the first term at the school. There's a lot of potential there."