Series One In the pilot episode “First Day”, Jay is introduced to the new kid Will McKenzie through his friend Simon Cooper as he is forced to show Will around the school. Jay instantly dislikes Will calling him “Briefcase Mong”. In the episode “Bunk Off“, Jay, Simon, Will and Jay’s other friend Neil Sutherland decide to skip school and they get Will to purchase alcohol for them and persuade Simon to ask out his crush Carli D’Amato by spray painting her driveway. The group are confronted by the Head of Sixth Form, Mr Gilbert, where he tells Jay and Neil that they have no obligation to stay in school however he sends Will and Simon to the Headteacher’s office for phoning the school as their parents. In the episode “Thorpe Park”, Simon drives Jay and Will to Thorpe Park to meet up with Neil who got them free tickets. While parking, Jay opens the passenger door into a pole which ripped the door off with Simon demanding he pay for it to be fixed which Jay refuses. Inside the park, Jay shoves Simon into a child and tells everyone that Simon is a pedophile causing him to get beat up by the child’s father. In the episode “Will Gets a Girlfriend” Jay, Simon and Neil are shocked to see Will chatting with an attractive older student and attempts to convince her that he is much funnier by doing a Crazy Frog impression which doesn’t impress her. The group tease Jay for having a friend outside of their group which causes him to angrily stomp on his friend’s car and his parents having to pay to get it fixed. In the episode “Caravan Club”, Jay persuades the group to come to a caravan site promising that each of them will hook up with a girl. They meet Jay’s father who verbally bullies him and constantly belittles him. At a disco, Jay hooks Simon up with a girl telling him she’s after sex however this is not the case and she is horrified when Simon starts getting undressed in front of her leading to them leaving early before Simon can get in trouble. In the episode “Xmas Party”, Jay agrees to help Will out with the school’s Christmas party as long as he can be DJ to which Will agrees. At the party, Jay stops the music so Simon can ask out Carli but he is unable to speak and the plan backfires. When everyone has left, the group play fight on trampolines.
Reception
The actor of Jay, James Buckley hated the fame that came with his character stating “I’m getting closer and closer to never leaving the house again” Despite this, he is well received by fans and is ranked 3 best character in the show behind Neil and Mr Gilbert. James Buckley was a nominee for the BAFTA for Best Male Performance in a Comedy Role, a nominee for British Comedy Award for best comedy actor and a nominee for the Royal Television Society for best comedy performance
