Do you honestly know which cast member was afraid of the duck? (Picture: Comedy Central)

If you are anything like us here at Metro HQ then you know every single episode of Friends inside out and upside down.

You are one of those genius (some may read: irritating) people who can and will mouth all the words to The One with Ross’s Wedding parts one and two, you know who Chandler’s TV guide is addressed to and the collective number of sexual partners the six Friends had throughout the show’s 10-year stint on telly. It’s 135 FYI.

But this isn’t just any old Friends facts list, this is a Friends facts list full of Friends facts you actually didn’t know.



1. As we all know Joey plays Dr Drake Ramoray in a fictional version of the real life NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives… But in the real world Jennifer Aniston’s dad, John Aniston, plays Victor Kiriakis on the actual Days of Our Lives.


2. The One After Vegas was dedicated to Courteney Cox and David Arquette’s marriage – and in the opening credits every cast member has ‘Arquette’ added to the end of his or her surname.

3. The role of Ross was written with David Schwimmer in mind. He was the first of the six to be cast.

4. NBC originally thought Central Perk was way too hip and trend. They wanted to set the show in a diner. A diner!

5. June Gable, who played Joey’s acting agent Estelle Leonard, also played a nurse in the episode where Carol gives birth to Ben.

6. When Lisa Kudrow first read the script she thought Chandler was gay.

7. When Tom Selleck, who played Monica’s on-again-off-again boyfriend Richard Burke, walked on set the live audience would applaud so loudly he had to re-shoot some scenes without an audience watching.

8. Lisa Kudrow was scared of the duck.

If you look very closely you can see real fear in her eyes (Picture: Comedy Central)

9. Gunther lived in New Jersey. Probably. Although he had no back story, actor James Michael Tyler, who played the Central Perk barista, decided Gunther lived in New Jersey and was always so cranky because he had 15 stops on his commute to work.

10. Lisa Kudrow had already been guest-starring on the series Mad About You as waitress Ursula Buffay two years before Friends first aired. Producers decided to make Phoebe a twin to create a crossover between the two shows.

11. Before Friends Courteney Cox starred in a number of television adverts. She was the first person to say ‘period’ on US TV while appearing in a Tampax commercial.

12. Winona Ryder and Susan Sarandon were both on Ross’ ‘celebrity list’. They both later guest-starred on the show.

13. The big white dog in Joey and Chandler’s apartment belonged to Jennifer Aniston.

14. The actor who plays Joshua’s father in the show is actually Matthew Perry’s father, John Bennett Perry.

15. Matthew Perry once had to be Courteney Cox’s ‘slave’ for five months when he lost a bet.

16. Monica and Chandler’s twins are born three minutes and 46 seconds apart.



17. In the final episode it’s mentioned that all six members of the group have lived in Monica’s apartment. All six friends have also lived in Joey’s apartment at one point.

18. The One After the Superbowl, which aired in 1996, raked in the highest viewer ratings.

19. After filming the last scene in the last episode the cast and crew were each given a piece of the sidewalk from outside the Central Perk as a keepsake.

Have we missed any out? Tells us your best Friends fact in the comments below.

Celebrate Friends’ 20th anniversary with episodes daily from 5pm on Comedy Central and the Friends 20th Anniversary Box Sets (The Beginning, The Middle and The End) are out on 22nd September.

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