Television Buckley made his television debut in 2001 in an episode of the
BBC sitcom ''
'Orrible. He played Ryan Orlov, the 12-year-old godson of Paul Clark, played by series writer and star Johnny Vaughan. Small roles followed in episodes of Teachers (2004), The Bill (2005, 2006, 2008), Holby City (2006), Skins (2007) and Sold'' (2007). He has played major roles in several television comedy and drama series. He is best known for his portrayal of
Jay Cartwright in the award-winning
E4 sitcom,
The Inbetweeners (2008–2010), which co-starred
Simon Bird,
Blake Harrison and
Joe Thomas. Buckley was the only cast member to appear in the pilot,
Baggy Trousers, in which he played the part of Neil rather than Jay. Buckley received three awards nominations for his role in
The Inbetweeners: Best TV Comedy Actor at the
British Comedy Awards in 2010; Comedy Performance at the
Royal Television Society (RTS) Awards in 2011; and, the same year, a
BAFTA nomination for Male Performance in a Comedy Programme. Buckley played the part of Fred in the
BBC sitcom
Off the Hook (2009), having appeared in the pilot,
Fresh! the previous year. He then played the young
Del Boy in the
BBC comedy-drama
Rock & Chips (2010–2011), a
prequel to the
sitcom Only Fools and Horses, created and written by
John Sullivan. Sullivan's untimely death at the age of 64 just five days before transmission of the third episode brought the series to a premature end. Between 2016 and 2018 he played the main character, Brian Weaver, in the comedy-fantasy series,
Zapped, which also starred
Paul Kaye. It was made by
Baby Cow Productions and ran for three series (15 episodes) on the channel
Dave. He worked again with the creators and writers of
The Inbetweeners, and was reunited with his former co-star,
Joe Thomas, for two series of the sitcom
White Gold, set in 1980s Essex, and broadcast on
BBC Two between 2017 and 2019. Buckley played the role of
double-glazing salesman Brian Fitzpatrick. In 2018 he played Chewey in the 13-episode US sitcom,
I Feel Bad, broadcast on
NBC, and in 2024 he played Ashley Taylor in the four-part
Channel 5 drama,
Finders Keepers, which co-starred
Neil Morrissey and
Fay Ripley. Buckley also took smaller roles in episodes of
Comedy Lab (2010),
The Comic Strip Presents... (2011, 2016), the TV film
The Boy in the Dress (2014),
Red Dwarf (2017) and
Doctor Who (2020), in which he played Nevi in the episode "
Orphan 55". In 2011 he narrated the series
Little Box of Horrors for E4. He has appeared as a guest on
Shooting Stars (2010),
This Morning (2010),
Alan Carr: Chatty Man (2010, 2011),
The Jonathan Ross Show (2011),
BBC Breakfast (2011, 2017),
The Big Fat Quiz of the Year (2014),
The Last Leg (2014, 2017),
Good Morning Britain (2014, 2018),
The Graham Norton Show (2017),
Sunday Brunch and
The Gadget Show (2019),
Never Mind the Buzzcocks (2022),
Lorraine and
The Hit List (2023), and
The One Show (2024). He has taken part as a contestant on a number of shows, including
The Great Celebrity Bake Off for SU2C (2020) (in which he was victorious, beating
Patsy Palmer,
Richard Dreyfuss and
Scarlett Moffatt),,
Celebrity Mastermind (2023),
Celebrity Masterchef (2023), ''
Richard Osman's House of Games (2023) and Celebrity Catchphrase (2024) (which he also won). In this capacity, he has raised money for the charity, Help for Heroes. For Red Nose Day 2011, Buckley and his Inbetweeners'' co-stars went on a "rude road trip" and visited the rudest street names in the United Kingdom in 50 hours.
Film Buckley appeared in two short films as a child, playing Russell in
Black Eyes (1996) and Hero Boy, the main character in Patrick Bergh's
Veronique (2002) which won the Film Four/Orange Short Film Competition by public vote. As an adult, he appeared as Jamie in the 2011 film,
Everywhere and Nowhere. The same year, he reprised his television role as Jay Cartwright in the film,
The Inbetweeners Movie, and again in 2014 for the sequel,
The Inbetweeners 2. Also in 2014, he co-starred in an American horror film,
The Pyramid, in which he played cameraman Fitzie. He played Luc in
Charlie Countryman (2013) and Sponge in
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016). In 2016 he took the lead role of James Mullinger in ''
The Comedian's Guide to Survival''. In October 2024, it was revealed that he would star alongside
Martin Clunes in the 2026 British comedy drama,
''Mother's Pride''.
Theatre Buckley's stage career began at the age of 11 when he played Clarence in the
West End musical,
Whistle Down the Wind (
Aldwych Theatre, 1998). The following year he played Gavroche in
Les Misérables (
Palace Theatre, 1999). From December 2021 to February 2022, Buckley played the role of Ben in the stage play
2:22 A Ghost Story, taking over from
Jake Wood on its move to the
Gielgud Theatre. He reprised the role, for another ten-week run at the Gielgud, from May to August 2024.
Music In 2005 Buckley appeared in the music video for the
Gravenhurst's track "I Turn My Face To The Forest Floor" directed by Ralitza Petrova. He starred in the music video for States of Emotion's track "The Unsung", and also featured on
Steve Cradock's album,
Peace City West (2011), playing guitar and providing backing vocals. In 2012, Buckley made his directorial debut with a music video for the track, "Every Time We Fight" (2012) for the Essex band, The Milk. A regular gig-goer, he has not infrequently introduced some of his musical heroes to the stage, notably
Paul Weller, and he has played guitar on stage with Steve Cradock. He has also spent time touring as an events
DJ.
Advertisements Buckley's first commercial was for
Hellmann's in 2004. He next made an advert with
Hannah Tointon for
Doritos. Among his
voice-over work was an explanatory animation for the website AllAboutCareers.com in 2011. He has provided voice-overs for Envirofone,
Trunki and
Hastings Direct, and has also appeared in commercials for
Orange (with the cast of
The Expendables 2),
Game and bookmaker
Ladbrokes. Buckley records video messages for fans and commercial clients on
Cameo. In 2020,
Oldham Council commissioned him to produce a Cameo video message outlining safety measures they had put in place to help stop the spread of
coronavirus. Buckley and wife, Clair, have received sponsorship for their YouTube channels and podcasts from companies including PerfectDraft and HelloFresh.
YouTube and podcasts In April 2016, Buckley began a
YouTube gaming channel called
Completed It Mate—a reference to
The Inbetweeners episode "
Will's Dilemma"—which has over 412,000 subscribers as of May 2025. He moved to
Twitch under the same name. Since beginning his channel, Buckley has collaborated with other YouTubers, most notably with the
Rooster Teeth group
Achievement Hunter, when he appeared on their
Off Topic Podcast and multiple episodes of their ''Let's Play
series. He has also appeared on Alternative Lifestyle'', a YouTube series created by
Sugar Pine 7, another Rooster Teeth subsidiary. In 2020, Buckley and wife Clair started the YouTube channel,
At Home With The Buckleys, providing insights into their family life. Adopting the catchphrase, "Stay Scummy", they also produced a range of associated merchandise. In late October 2024, it was announced that the couple would host a new weekly podcast,
The Buckleys, dropping on Thursdays from 7 November. == Personal life ==