INBETWEENERS star Alex Macqueen revealed that his infamous “Oh Neil” catchphrase originated from his friend’s granny.
Macqueen played Kevin Sutherland, dad of happy-go-luck main character Neil, in the E4 series and appeared on the Brydon & podcast with Rob Brydon to discuss his career earlier this month.
The 50-year-old explained during the conversation of how his catchphrase – uttered several times in the programme – actually came from a friend’s granny during a family holiday.
A clip from the podcast shows Macqueen sitting across from his host, mid-description of where “Oh Neil” comes from.
The actor leans into a microphone, saying: “I went on holiday just after A-Levels with a really good friend.
“We brought his granny on holiday and there was a cards evening -.”
Welsh funnyman Brydon interjects, holding back a cheeky grin as he comments: “It sounds like a wild holiday, just after A-Levels and your mate’s granny comes and there’s a cards evening.”
Despite the interruption from his host, Macqueen continues to tell the story, adding: “My mate has his brother with him, and he’s called Neil.
“Neil said something unsavoury/unkind about his girlfriend who was sitting opposite him, and granny just said, ‘Oh Neil’.”
The incident left the real Neil’s granny shocked to the point that she felt she had to reprimand him, unaware that she would ultimately create British television history years down the line.
Macqueen explained: “She was so disgusted and shocked, so when I was on the set of Inbetweeners and bored stiff I thought I’m just going to mess about for a minute.
“So, when Neil comes in and says something daft, I went ‘Oh Neil’ and it sort of stuck unnecessarily, and that is what is shouted at me the most.”
The post was shared to social media earlier this month with the caption: “Ohhhhh Neil.”
The clip received over 27,000 likes with hundreds of comments from fans of The Inbetweeners quick to offer their views.
One said: “Oh Neil, I really think you should be revising.”
Another added: “The mind boggles.”
A third replied: “I will never get bored of people saying, ‘Oh Neil’ to me.”
The Inbetweeners ran from 2008 until 2010 on E4 before returning with two films in 2011 and 2014 respectively.
