Jay's dad from The Inbetweeners says there was a strong hidden message behind the show

The actor who played Jay’s dad Terry Cartwright in The Inbetweeners has said the popular show actually had a ‘powerful message’ in the end.

David Schaal starred as Jay’s loud and brash dad, who could regularly be seen putting his teenage son down in front of his pals.

I mean, who can forget the time he told the serial-bull-s***er that he had a ‘c**k like a McDonald’s chip’?

Although it first aired 15-years ago The Inbetweeners, which spanned three series and had two spin-off movies, still has a legion of loyal fans and if you go into pretty much any British pub on any given day it’s fairly likely you’ll overhear someone uttering a line from the show at some point.

Schaal, 59, has admitted that he had no idea the show would be as big as it was and revealed that he’s still regularly asked for selfies when he’s out and about and has even got an account on Cameo where he’s asked to recount lines from the programme - much like his on-screen son James Buckley.

Channel 4

In an interview with the Sun, he said: “I remember finding The Inbetweeners funny but who would have guessed it would become such a phenomenon? I didn’t that’s for sure."

He went on: "On Cameo I have to be a bit careful and have vetoed some of the lines that I think are offensive.

“Often they want a roasting, but in a fun way. I won’t do anything sexist.

"Normally it’s a video for blokes, which I’m more comfortable with, but you still have to be careful in this day and age.

“People often ask me, ‘Can you say my mate John has a c**k like a McDonald’s chip?’ and also want the line about the dog being ‘a s***ting machine’.” Lovely.

Channel 4

However, lewd jokes and offensive gags aside, Schaal believes the show actually had a powerful message at its core for its audience.

“I think everybody understood The Inbetweeners was a comedy and the characters were deliberately d**kheads, but it has good strong messages beneath it,” he said.

“The thing I love the most is when The Inbetweeners are young, none of them get any girls because they are so rubbish and inept.

“The only time they do get girls is when they stop treating women like sex objects, which happens in the movies, and I think that’s a powerful message in the end."

Topics: TV and Film, The Inbetweeners

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]