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James Buckley, best known for playing outrageous teen Jay Cartwright in Channel 4’s cult hit The Inbetweeners, found himself in unexpected hot water recently, not for his onscreen antics, but for trying to smuggle… OXO cubes?
Yes, really.
The 36-year-old actor and podcaster revealed he was detained by U.S. airport security on suspicion of drug smuggling after bringing British gravy granules in his luggage. The issue arose when American customs agents became suspicious of the tiny foil-wrapped cubes in his suitcase, fearing they were something far more sinister.
As it turns out, Buckley was innocently attempting to deliver a taste of home to his wife Clair’s Scottish Auntie Dora. The incident, however, left a long-lasting impact on his travel status.
Speaking on the couple’s joint podcast The Buckleys, James said:
“Anytime I go to America I have to open my suitcase, not because I was smuggling drugs . . . it’s because I tried to get some OXO cubes into the country.”
Despite the harmless nature of the cubes, security didn’t see the funny side. The gravy-related confusion has earned James the dreaded SSSS status on his boarding pass, a designation for Secondary Security Screening Selection. It means he now undergoes enhanced security every time he flies into or within the United States.
He joked: “I’m not a criminal mastermind by any means.”
Fans of The Inbetweeners will no doubt see the humour in this real-life mix-up, considering Jay’s habit of stretching the truth and turning minor events into exaggerated epics. But for James, the ordeal was all too real, and it’s made future trips to America a little less convenient.
Buckley has successfully reinvented himself in recent years. Outside his classic role on The Inbetweeners, he’s made a name for himself as a YouTuber, podcaster, and Twitch streamer, amassing a large and loyal fanbase. The Buckleys podcast, co-hosted with his wife, offers fans candid and hilarious insights into their family life and day-to-day musings, and it’s quickly become a favourite among fans of British comedy.
This gravy debacle has now joined the archive of memorable Buckley stories, and it might just be one of his most “Jay-like” moments yet.
While OXO cubes are hardly classified as contraband in the UK, U.S. customs rules are strict about food products, especially meat-based items. So if you're heading across the pond with a suitcase full of British staples, maybe give the gravy a miss.
