Two original TV scripts from the hit NBC show "Friends" will go under the hammer at an online sale run by the Hansons auction house in England, following its discovery in a London studio's trash can 25 years ago.
The screenplays were written for "The One With Ross's Wedding Part I and Part II" episodes of the famed sitcom that were set in London and are reportedly evaluated at £600 ($760) and £800 ($1,020), according to the auction house's release.
The Former Employee Who Found the 'Friends' Scripts
Both of these documents were supposed to be scrapped after the production was done with shooting at the now-defunct Fountain Studios in Wembley to prevent it from being leaked.
However, a man, who refused to be named, was working as admin support for the studio when he found the scripts by chance in 1988.
"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," recalled the man.
According to the now-retired 60-year-old London resident, "he never saw any of the Friends cast" personally but he does recall the place being "madly busy."
He said he helped in any way he could during those times, including giving out tickets to people who then got the chance to watch the famous sitcom being shot live at the studio.
The former employee added that he even found a piece of said ticket sandwiched between one of the scripts and is now part of the collectible set going up for sale in the online auction.
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How the 'Friends' TV Scripts Ended Up in a Hansons Auction Lot
After leaving the studio in 1999, the man took with him a couple of his belongings from the desk and had just blindly "swept everything into a cardboard box."
He added that he even forgot the scripts were there until he rummaged through the box and rediscovered them in the following few months, however, the documents found themselves returning to a drawer after that and staying there for a long time.
"I could have quite easily thrown them out. Recently I've been clearing my house ahead of a move and I came across them again," he shared.
Admittedly, the man said he wasn't a big fan of the show, saying, "American humor is different to ours. These scripts deserve to be owned by a big Friends fan."
So, when he was visiting some family members in Hertfordshire, he finally decided to get the "Friends" TV scripts evaluated at the nearby Hansons near their home. Regarding the sale, the man said: "It will be exciting to see what they make at auction"
