lake Harrison says Channel 4 bosses didn\'t have "high hopes" for \'The Inbetweeners\'.
The 34-year-old actor played Neil Sutherland in the hit coming-of-age sitcom - which enjoyed a hugely successful run of three seasons between 2008 and 2010 and two feature films - but he admitted he had to work a second summer job for extra money.
Speaking to Radio Times magazine, he said: "When it was first delivered, a Channel 4 exec said, \'This is like the worst episode ever of \'Grange Hill\'.\'
"There weren\'t high hopes. In between the first and second series, I worked in the \'Scare Chamber\' at Madame Tussaud\'s because we weren\'t paid well."
Emily Head - who played Carli D\'Amato on the show - recently insisted a potential third film "wouldn\'t be the same".
The 30-year-old actress explained: "I think everyone sort of secretly hopes there will [be], I think we all probably secretly hope there would be, but I think it was such a special thing in the moment that you wouldn\'t want to do it and get it wrong [or make something that] wasn\'t what people were expecting.
"I think, to look back on something ... It\'s like if they do \'Friends\' again now, it wouldn\'t be the same. I think it was really of the moment."
However, James Buckley - who played Jay Cartwright alongside Blake, Simon Bird (Will McKenzie) and Joe Thomas (Simon Cooper) - has previously admitted he would be up for revisiting his outrageous character.
Speaking on Channel 4\'s special \'The Inbetweeners: Fwends Reunited\' programme - which marked 10 years since the hit comedy came out - in January, host Jimmy Carr asked James if he\'d agree to another edition of the series, to which he quickly responded with an authoritative "yes".
