Two Friends TV scripts have sold for £22,000 after bidders "went crazy" at a Hertfordshire auction house.
The scripts, which feature 'The One With Ross's Wedding' parts one and two were sold at Royston's Hanson Ross auction room today (Friday, January 12).
The Hanson Ross team were "flabbergasted" by the "phenomenal global interest" in the lots, which were only estimated at £600-£800.
Advance bids came from "all over the world" including the UK, USA, Germany, Spain, Australia, Ukraine, Dubai and Switzerland.
The hammer finally fell at £22,000, with the total price paid by an online international bidder being £28,864.
Amanda Butler, head of operations at Hanson Ross, Royston, Hertfordshire, said: “I just can’t believe the result and the impact this find has had. Bidders went crazy for these scripts.
"The global interest was phenomenal. I was inundated with interview requests and stories appeared on multiple news channels included CNN, Fox, BBC and ITV.
"We’ve all been flabbergasted – including the seller.
“She bought the scripts along to our saleroom for valuation.
"I’m a huge Friends fan so I was really excited to see them.
"They take fans back to 1998 when Ross, Monica, Joey, Chandler and Rachel travelled to England to see Ross (David Schwimmer) marry his fiancée Emily (Helen Baxendale) in London.
“They were found at a TV studio which is no longer there. Apparently, the cast and crew were ordered to destroy their copies so the ending wouldn’t be leaked.
"However, these two slipped through the net. The interest – and result – underlines the fact that Friends is one of the biggest TV shows of all time.
"The final show aired 20 years ago in 2004 but millions still watch it and love it.”
The scripts were found in a bin at the studios 25 years ago, and the seller - a 60-year-old retired Londoner - admits "I could have quite easily have thrown them out".
The seller continues: "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.
"I remember wondering which member of the cast they might have belonged to.
“I left Fountain Studios in 1999 and when I came to clear my desk I just swept everything into a big cardboard box. I forget the scripts were there.
"They were mixed up in a pile of paperwork.
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"It wasn’t until I checked through the box a few months later that I found them. They ended up in a bedside drawer and they’ve been there ever since.
"Recently I’ve been clearing my house ahead of a move and I came across them again.
“Funnily enough, I’m not a big Friends fan. I don’t dislike the show but I only recently watched the episodes I have the scripts for.
"They deserved to go to a big Friends fan and I am so pleased as that’s clearly happened.”
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