"Friends" scripts that were thrown in the garbage decades ago in London now up for auction
Two original "Friends" scripts, parts one and two of "The One With Ross's Wedding," have quite a story of their own to tell.
After being dumped in a London trash can 25 years ago, the scripts are headed to auction, Hansons Auctioneers announced this week. The 1998 episodes made up the season four finale, and follow the comedic quintet of Ross, Monica, Joey, Chandler and Rachel as they travel to England to attend Ross' wedding.
After they were done filming, the cast and crew were ordered to destroy their copies of the scripts so the storyline wouldn't get leaked before the episodes aired, according to the auction house. But it appears a pair of scripts were found by a now-retired staff member at the TV studio where the shows were filmed, Hansons explained.
"I found them in a bin a couple of weeks after filming had finished," the unnamed former staff member told Hansons. "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 I just put them in my office drawer."
Fortunately for the "Friends" cast and crew, the studio staffer never leaked the plot details. They left their job the next year and forgot about the scripts entirely. After rediscovering them in their bedside table years later, they decided to get the scripts evaluated by Hansons.
"Funnily enough, I'm not a big Friends fan," the former staffer told the auction house. "I don't dislike the show but I only recently watched the episodes I have the scripts for. American humor is different to ours. These scripts deserve to be owned by a big 'Friends' fan."
Amanda Butler, the head of operations at the auction house, said she isn't sure how much the scripts will go for.
"We're guiding them at £600-£800 [roughly $765-$1,022], but thanks to the show's huge global appeal, who knows where the hammer may fall," Butler said. "'Friends'' final show aired 20 years ago in 2004 but it's still watched and enjoyed by millions."
The scripts will be available for bidding on Friday.
Fans of the beloved show are still mourning the death of Matthew Perry, who played Chandler Bing in the show. Perry died suddenly last fall from "acute effects of ketamine."