Friends was a hit America comedy, which started small but turned to be a fabulous phenomenon all over the globe.

'The Pilot' was first aired in September 1994, which began the journey, and the programme was filmed for a further 10 years until January 2004, where it ended with 'The Last One'.

The show consisted of 6 main characters which stayed together all the way through each series. In my opinion, this is what made the show special - each character was equal, not one main person and their buddies. The six actors/actresses are phenomenal comedians - Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, Matt Le Blanc, Courtney Cox (Arquette), Lisa Kudrow and Jennifer Aniston. These where then helped by a guest actor or two every week. These six people had each other to lean on through the Friendsmania and then the backlash which really shines through - the show is fun because they are fun. The characters are friends because the actors are friends - the relationship is amazing.

However, these are not the real stars of the show. The writing partners, Marta Kauffman and David Crane produced a detailed and witty script no other comedy has begun to even think of producing. They are my idols when it comes to any kind of script writing. One of my favourite lines from the script comes from Monica: 'Welcome to the real world. It sucks. You're gonna love it.' She is describing to Rachel how the world is without your parents. It is so realistic yet warm and welcoming. The effect it makes is brilliant.

In many ways Friends is more that a TV series because it has made suggestions and contributed in small ways after the 9/11 bombing. It allowed people to escape to a New York, which had not been terrorised and let them laugh and laugh for ten years. It is quite extraordinary 22 minutes a week can make any difference but I think it did.

by Jane Rees