Friends director struggled working with one star because she simply 'wasn't funny'

As one of the most popular TV shows ever, it's fair to say the 10 seasons of Friendsentertained and cracked the audience up - but a director of the sitcom has revealed which particular character had no sense of humour.

Across the 236 episodes, there were several star-studded cameos such as Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis, Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon, Christina Applegate, Danny Devito and dozens more.

One memorable character was Ross Geller's second wife Emily played by Helen Baxendale. The characters on the show travelled to London for the wedding - only for Ross (played by David Schwimmer) to say his ex-girlfriend Rachel’s name at the alter.

It wasn't exactly surprising that the marriage was short-lived with the couple getting a divorce.

All in all, Baxendale starred in 14 episodes of the show, and during this time the actor and husband David L. Williams were expecting their first child together.

Another notable role Brits will know Baxendale from is her character Rachel Bradley in the British comedy-drama Cold Feet.

In 2022, Friends director James Burrows in his memoir Directed by James Burrowsclaimed Baxendale was "nice but not particularly funny" when he reflected back to the 1998 episode 'The One with All the Rugby’.

“She was nice but not particularly funny. Schwimmer had no one to bounce off. It was like clapping with one hand," Burrows said.

Helen Baxendale as Emily and David Schwimmer as Ross GellerNBC

“In sitcoms and any type of romantic comedy, the funny is just as important as the chemistry. We discovered that any new girlfriend for Ross needed to be as funny as Rachel."

He continued: "Often, you can’t recast, because of tight shooting deadlines or other logistical considerations. You need someone who gets laughs.

"Sometimes you start an arc and it ain’t working out, so you have to get rid of that person. If it’s a day player, it’s a quick goodbye. If there’s chemistry, the writers go to work to figure out some way of keeping the actor."

Despite Burrows' comments, Friends fans no doubt regard the wedding and London episode in general as one of the most iconic moments from the series.

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