Long-lost scripts for the popular American sitcom Friends that were found in a bin are up for auction.
Two scripts for Friends, for parts one and two of The One With Ross’s Wedding, were discovered at the former Fountain Studios in Wembley Park, which closed in 2016.
They were found in 1998 by a former staff member at the studio, shortly after the two episodes were filmed in front of a live audience.
The two-part fourth series finale told the story of the wedding of Ross Gellar (David Schwimmer) to his fiancé Emily (Helen Baxendale) in London. It ended on a jaw-dropping cliff-hanger when Ross mistakenly said “I, Ross, take thee Rachel”, rather than Emily.
The 60-year-old retired Londoner who found the script, and has not been named, 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.”
After leaving Fountain Studios in 1999, the worker cleared their desk and forgot the scripts were there. They then ended up in a bedside drawer, where they’ve remained ever since.
The worker 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.”
The scripts will be up for auction at Hanson Ross Auction in Royston, Hertfordshire, on Friday (January 12), and are estimated to fetch £600 to £800.
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