Speaking to BBC News on Wednesday 11 March, Buckley said he wants to entertain people and make them laugh so usually avoids projects with specific messages behind them but that pubs are “important” to him.
“[Pubs are] sacred. I grew up in a working men’s club, it was the hub of our community”, he added.
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“Even to this day I can’t believe my luck when I get to go down the pub, I absolutely love it so much, and it’s a shame to see pubs closing down.
Back of Britain
“They’re necessary and so important… the backbone of Britain is the pub. That’s where we get all our stuff done, where all the ideas come from, where all the best conversations happen and where all the comedy comes from."
The Inbetweener’s actor appeared on the breakfast show to promote his new film about an ailing family-run pub, Mother’s Pride.
The film, which also stars Doc Martin and Men Behaving Badly star Martin Clunes, is set in Wiltshire and is centred on fictional pub ‘the Drovers Arms’.
It depicts landlord Mike Harley, played by Clunes, and his son Jake Harley, played by Buckley, attempting to save the community pub by brewing their own cask beer and competing in the ‘Great British Beer Awards’.
Buckley continued: “It is heart-breaking to see pubs struggling, and the whole hospitality industry. I don’t know what to do about that…but I know something needs to be done because they’re very important to the community.”
Continued contraction
Recent analysis from global tax firm Ryan showed an average of one pub a day closed permanently across England and Wales in 2025.
According to the figures, the number of pubs fell from 38,989 in December 2024 to 38,623 by December 2025, a loss of 366 pubs in the calendar year, as rising operational costs and tax hikes hammered the sector.
The data highlighted continued contraction of the UK’s pub estate, with almost 2,000 pubs having disappeared in the past five years.
Pubs across the sector are also increasingly turning to crowdfunding to raise the vital funds needed to keep their doors open, including Phoenix Arts Club in London, the Bread & Roses in Plymouth and the Bell in Somerset.
