In February 2006, Ayoade began playing the technically brilliant but socially awkward IT technician Maurice Moss in the sitcom "The IT Crowd" on Channel 4, appearing alongside Chris O'Dowd, Katherine Parkinson, Chris Morris, and later on, Matt Berry. The series' creator Graham Linehan wrote the part specifically for Ayoade to play. In 2008, he won the award for an outstanding actor in a television comedy series at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival for his performance. In 2009, Ayoade co-starred with Joel McHale in the pilot for an American remake, reprising his role with the same appearance and personality; no series was commissioned, and the pilot never aired. "The IT Crowd" ran for four seasons until 2010, with a special airing in 2013, for which Ayoade won a BAFTA for Best Male Comedy Performance. In 2007, Ayoade directed the music videos for the songs "Fluorescent Adolescent" by Arctic Monkeys and Super Furry Animals's "Run-Away", which starred Matt Berry. The former received a UK Music Video Award nomination, attributed by Ayoade only to the song being "so good". Ayoade has frequently appeared as a panelist on the quiz show "The Big Fat Quiz of the Year", often with Noel Fielding, making his first appearance in "The Big Fat Anniversary Quiz" in 2007, which marked Channel 4's 25th anniversary.