Friends script from 1998 found in trash, now up for auction
These scripts, which were to be destroyed after their production in London, were later discovered. They are now going up for an auction at Hanson Ross.
Are you a fan of the sitcom Friends? You now have the chance to get your hands on the original scripts from the popular American show. The auction house Hanson Ross has uncovered two Friends scripts- The One With Ross's Wedding Part I and Part II. These scripts, which were to be destroyed immediately after their production in London decades ago, were now brought to light.
In 1998, a former Fountain Studios employee, where the two Friends episodes were filmed, accidentally found the scripts in a bin. He shared with Hanson Ross that when he left the studios in 1999, he returned one last time to clean out his desk. While packing things into a cardboard box, he accidentally took the scripts and only rediscovered them later. For years, these scripts were kept in his bedside drawer. Now, as he was clearing his house ahead of a move, he found them again. (Also Read: Matthew Perry was the heart and soul of ‘Friends’, his magical moments)
He also added, "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.”
Amanda Butler, head of operations at the Royston firm, a legal company, told Hanson Ross, “They (the scripts) were bought along to our saleroom for valuation, and we were amazed. Friends fans will absolutely love these. They sweep us back to 1998 when Ross, Monica, Joey, Chandler and Rachel travelled to England to see Ross (David Schwimmer) marry his fiancée Emily (Helen Baxendale) in London." (The one where they switched Rachel! How an eagle eyed Friends fan find the switcharoo a decade later?
She further added, "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-£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.”
