'Inbetweeners' star James Buckley: Struggles with anxiety make me scared to leave house

The Inbetweeners star James Buckley has revealed he is struggling with fame to the point he is considering becoming a recluse.

The 31-year-old actor and father-of-two is due to appear in an upcoming episode of Doctor Who, told The Daily Star: “really, really” struggles with being recognised in public and it makes him “anxious”, “self-conscious” and “uncomfortable”.

Buckley said: “I think I’m getting closer and closer to never leaving my house again.

“If someone said to me: ‘I would really like to be famous,’ I would say to them: ‘You really don’t.’

Read more: Emily Atack: Inbetweeners co-star got erection filming sex scene

“Because I’m struggling with it and I’m not even that famous.

“I’m not anywhere near Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt or someone like that and I really, really struggle with it. It’s something I find really difficult.

“Having people take secret pictures of me, it just fries my brain.

“I’m just a bloke – just come talk to me. I’d love to talk to you.”

Buckley - who rose to fame at the age of 19 as class clown Jay Cartwright in the hit E4 sitcom - went on: “The price of fame, which we’re finding out more as there’s more people killing themselves, is your mental health.

“And you cannot put a price on that.”

The Inbetweeners two-hour reunion special, Fwends Reunited, aired in January this year, marking 10 years since the show began, but was not well received by fans, despite the tw movie spin-off being box office smash-hits.

Buckley admitted he felt “pretty hated”, by the reaction the reunion episode and vowed not to take part in any more.

Read more: James Buckley says Inbetweeners reunion made him look an idiot

The White Gold star previously admitted that even he had struggled to watch the episode in which he and co-stars Simon Bird, Joe Thomas and Blake Harrison were interviewed by Jimmy Carr about their memories of making the show.

Buckley explained: “It became a thing that wasn’t a celebration of this good thing I did in my life, it was me being taken the p*** out of for hours on end.

“I got caught where I was acting up as Jay because there was an audience there of Inbetweeners fans and I got caught in this spot between Jay and myself where myself was going, ‘You’re acting like a f***ing idiot, you’re being a moron, you’re being a d***.’”

If you’ve been affected by this story and want to talk to someone, you can call the Samaritans free on 116 123 or at jo@samaritans.org