Blake Harrison has said he worked at Madame Tussauds between the first two series of The Inbetweeners because nobody thought the series would do well.
The actor, who played Neil Sutherland in the Bafta-winning E4 comedy, said he was not earning enough to rely on his TV salary alone so got a job in the Scare Chamber at the attraction.
He told Radio Times magazine: “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.”
Harrison, 34, went on: “In between the first and second series, I worked in the Scare Chamber at Madame Tussaud’s because we weren’t paid well.”
The Inbetweeners aired from 2008 to 2010.
It was a huge success both critically and with audiences, winning a Bafta TV Award and a British Comedy Award.
It went on to spawn two spin-off films.
This week’s Radio Times is out on Tuesday.
There weren’t high hopes for The Inbetweeners – Blake Harrison