The Inbetweeners' original pilot episode, then called Baggy Trousers, is reportedly such a source of humiliation to its creators that they're hoping it "never" sees the light of day.
Short clips exist online, with only James Buckley owning the entire episode. However, as far as he's concerned, the less said about it, the better.
He has previously revealed that he will never publicly post or stream the full episode, and according to fans who unearthed a 58-second clip on Reddit, that was "the right choice." One even branded it "f*****g dreadful."
However, another reasoned: "I guess this is what unaired pilots are for. Everything from Star Trek to Game of Thrones tweaked their casts to make the chemistry and characters work." A third chimed in: "To this pilot: You are grim, mate. At least the concept was reused and improved on."
Fans also had a lot to say about the original cast, with one gasping: "Mysti from The Mysti Show was going to play Carly?!" Another, seeing James very briefly attempt to channel Neil, admitted he was "glad" that he hadn't continued in that role.
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Comparing the early pilot to the current Channel 4 version, someone else exclaimed: "Crazy how good the actual cast is chemistry-wise."
Out of the seven characters seen in the pilot, only James Buckley and Greg Davies made it through to the show which ended up being screened on TV.
A few clips of that original pilot also appeared in the 10th anniversary episode, "Fwends Reunited".
James was so embarrassed about those scenes that he even took to Twitter (X) to publicly apologise.
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He argued that the filming had been rushed and that they were unprepared to take on the tone of the show, having previously thought they'd merely be returning to famous shoot locations and sharing jokes.
The cast were also unprepared for the moment when they had to go inside a suitcase, meaning their reactions and shock were genuine.
Meanwhile, when it comes to the full episode of the pilot, there are only two people who are known for sure to still have the full 25 minute long recording.
A mix of the show's first episode, First Day, and the second episode, Bunk Off, is owned by James and an animator for the title cards, who believes it is on a hard drive in his attic.
