Papers from London episode should have been destroyed

Original scripts from Friends are going under the hammer – after they were rescued from a London bin 25 years ago.

They are from the two-part episode The One With Ross’s Wedding, which were shot in the London capital in 1998.

Now they are to be sold off by by Hertfordshire auction house Hanson Ross.

Amanda Butler, head of operations there, said: ‘They were bought along to our saleroom for valuation and we were amazed. Friends fans will absolutely love these.

‘The two scripts were found at a TV studio which is no longer there. Apparently, the cast and crew were ordered to destroy their copies so the ending wouldn’t be leaked. However, these two slipped through the net.

‘We’re guiding them at £600 to £800, but thanks to the show’s huge global appeal, who knows where the hammer may fall. Friends’ final show aired 20 years ago in 2004 but it’s still watched and enjoyed by millions.’

The scripts were discovered by chance in 1998 by a former staff member at Fountain Studios, Wembley, where the two Friends episodes were filmed.

The 60-year-old, who wanted to remain anonymous,  said: ‘I used to work in admin support at the studios. I never saw any of the Friends cast but I remember it was madly busy. There was a real buzz about the place and I did my best to help.

‘They needed a studio audience and I helped to distribute tickets to people who won a London radio station competition to watch Friends being filmed. Only recently, I discovered a ticket inside one of the scripts.

‘I found them in a bin a couple of weeks after filming had finished. It was part of my job to ensure everything was tidy and no rubbish was left around. I wasn’t sure what to do with them so just put them in my office drawer. I remember wondering which member of the cast they might have belonged to.

‘I left Fountain Studios in 1999 and when I came to clear my desk I just swept everything  into a big cardboard box. I forget the scripts were there. They were mixed up in a pile of paperwork. It wasn’t until I checked through the box a few months later that I found them. They ended up in a bedside drawer and they’ve been there ever since. I could have quite easily have thrown them out. Recently I’ve been clearing my house ahead of a move and I came across them again.

‘I was visiting family in Hertfordshire and decided to take them for valuation at  Hanson Ross. It will be exciting to see what they make at auction. Funnily enough, I’m not a big Friends fan. I don’t dislike the show but I only recently watched the episodes I have the scripts for. American humour is different to ours. These scripts deserve to be owned by a big Friends fan.’

The storyline of the London episode involved Monica, Joey, Chandler and Rachel travelling to England to see Ross (David Schwimmer) marry his fiancée Emily (Helen Baxendale). The Duchess of York, Hugh  Laurie  and Richard Branson made cameos.

The scripts go under the hammer on Friday.  Bid here

Published: 9 Jan 2024