William 'Will' McKenzie

Newly arrived at Rudge Park Comprehensive after his parents' divorce forces him out of private school, Will McKenzie turns up in blazer and tie, briefcase in hand, sure that his intellect will win him respect. Instead he lands among three misfits, delivers pompous asides to anyone who'll listen, and insists loudly that he's above it all.

Simon Bird plays him with a rigid, unblinking earnestness that turns every put-down into comedy — Will genuinely believes his own superiority even as the evidence piles up against him. The writing lets his narration expose the gap between how he sees himself and how everyone else does, and that gap never stops being funny.