12 January 2024 , 22:30
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Scripts from two episodes of Friends that had previously been rescued from a bin have sold for a whopping £22,000 at auction.
The scripts are of the iconic two-part, London-based, series four finale, The One With Ross’s Wedding, where Ross famously stumbles and says Rachel's name at the alter. Weeks after the show wrapped up filming, the works were found in a bin by a former admin assistant at Fountain Studios in Wembley. The now-retired staff member completely forgot about them for 25 years, and could not believe her eyes when she stumbled upon them in her bedside drawer while doing a recent clean-out.
The unnamed 60-year-old then decided to put the scripts up for auction, as she believed they "deserve to be owned by a huge Friends fan" and also admitted that she’s not crazy about the show herself, describing American humour as "different to ours". Neither the seller nor Hanson Ross, the auction house where the scripts were sold, anticipated the massive demand for the iconic scripts.
The seller wanted the scripts to go to a real fan of the hit TV show (NBCUniversal via Getty Images)The estimated going price, which was around the £600-£800 mark, was quickly eclipsed, with bidders going "crazy" for the scripts. In the end, the final hammer price ended up at a whopping £22,000, with fees taking the total paid by the buyer to £28,864.
Amanda Butler, head of operations at the auctioneer, told the BBC: "The global interest was just phenomenal," before going on to describe how surprised she was at the worldwide demand for the paper that had previously been binned. A massive 219 pre-sale bids were placed in advance of the sale on Friday, with interest shown from all around the world, including the US, Germany, Spain, Australia, Ukraine, Dubai and Switzerland - depicting just how universally loved the longrunning hit series was. "I just can't believe the result and the impact this find has had," she said. "Bidders went crazy for these scripts."
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Although it is unconfirmed who the scripts belonged to, it would have presumably been somebody within the cast or crew of the show. They have the name 'John Lanzer' written on them, suggesting they may have belonged to the British set designer, although that is yet to be confirmed.