Friends fans have been given their first look at the upcoming reunion special.
The official Instagram account for the hit series has shared a behind-the-scenes picture, amid various images from the shoot circulating on social media.
The Friends page revealed that filming has wrapped on the special episode, posting a photo of some of the set.
It was captioned: “That’s a wrap! Could we BE anymore excited!? Friends: The Reunion is coming to @hbomax.”
It comes after various photos from filming have been shared online, which revealed the cast will be gathering in front of the iconic fountain from the show’s opening titles.
Other photos of Greg’s revealed that the apartment sets have been rebuilt for the reunion.
While he has since deleted the snaps from his Instagram page, fans have been sharing them online.
Matthew Perry, who played Chandler Bing, also posted a now-deleted photo on Instagram, showing him sat in the make-up chair preparing for filming.
He wrote: “Seconds before eating a makeup brush. Not to mention reuniting with my Friends.”
“It is us getting together, which just doesn’t happen and has never happened in front of other people since 2004 when we stopped.”
The unscripted reunion special will debut on the streaming service HBO Max in the US, but there’s no word yet on how UK Friends fans can get in on the fun.
Friends ran for 10 series from 1994 and remains one of the most popular shows on TV after it was made available to stream on Netflix.
Line Of Duty star Martin Compston has teased that there is high drama ahead in the upcoming episode, revealing it is “one of the best ever”.
The actor, who plays DI Steve Arnott, said episode four of the current series has the potential to be considered a “classic” among fans, describing it as “the big one”.
Posting a picture of Arnott aiming a gun in a tense-looking situation, he wrote on Twitter on Saturday morning: “Tomorrow’s the big one episode 4! On paper one of the best @jed_mercurio has ever written, if we deliver what was there potential to be a classic.
“Like to give a shout out to the young team Shalom and @gregorypiper98 who give outstanding performances in the midst of the madness.”
Tomorrow’s the big one episode 4! On paper one of the best @jed_mercurio has ever written, if we deliver what was there potential to be a classic. Like to give a shout out to the young team Shalom and @gregorypiper98 who give outstanding performances in the midst of the madness pic.twitter.com/Ndu9wKEw6T
HuffPost UK has seen the episode, and while we are not allowed to share details about what happens, we’d definitely agree with Martin’s assessment. We’ll be here to bring you all the latest analysis after the show airs on Sunday night too.
While all major spoilers are under lock and key, the BBC has shared a cryptic synopsis of the episode, which reveals there will be some “major breakthroughs” as AC-12 continue their investigation into Operation Lighthouse.
It reads: “DCI Jo Davidson faces increasing pressure from all sides as AC-12 make major breakthroughs in the investigation.
“Hastings acknowledges that the disciplinary action against him put Kate and Steve in a difficult position, and a forensic report from Farida’s house results in a shock for AC-12.”
BBC/World Productions/Steffan HillDCI Jo Davidson faces increasing pressure from all sides
Boyle has been framed by the OCG as the main suspect in the murder of journalist Gail Vella, who was investigating police corruption prior to her death.
BBC/World Productions/Steffan HillPC Ryan Pilkington caused a car crash in an attempt to murder suspect Terry Boyle
On Friday night, David – who played Ross Geller in the hit 90s sitcom – made an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, and lifted the lid on what we have to look forward to in the one-off special.
He told the host: “We’re going to be shooting a Friends reunion next week so I’m hopping on a plane this afternoon. I’m gonna see everyone next week for the first time in many years.”
Dave J Hogan via Getty ImagesDavid Schwimmer
David continued: “There’s nothing scripted. We’re not in character, we’re all ourselves – the real people.
“We are all ourselves, although there is one section of it that I don’t want to give away, but we all read something.”
The actor also confessed that it’s been a long time since he actually sat down and watched Friends, joking: “I should have genned up on old episodes, but I just haven’t been able to bring myself to catch up on the 236 shows.
“I guess I need to watch a lot over the next five days!”
NBC via Getty ImagesThe cast of Friends pictured ahead of the show’s last series in 2004
He explained: “Finally, I mean, we figured out a way to film it safely and there’s going to be a portion of it that we filmed outside because of, you know, for safety protocols.”
David declined to reveal who would be on hosting duties for the unscripted episode, but ruled out Ellen Degeneres and former Friends guest star Billy Crystal.
ITV viewers suspected something might have been amiss on Monday morning, after noticing a number of daytime stars were behaving a little strangely.
Lorraine Kelly was the first to spark suspicion when she interviewed YouTuber and musician KSI live on air.
Fans picked up on the fact Lorraine was not exactly being her usual professional self, complaining of cramp in her leg which she then attempted to “walk off” in the middle of the interview and blatantly yawning while he was talking.
Lorraine then signed off the interview with a “love you”, after thanking him for “putting up” with her.
There is never a dull moment when @reallorraine and @KSI get together for a chat😂
The strangeness began when Holly told James she could only eat mussels “at night… when it’s quite dark”, at which point the studio lights were lowered for her, so she could tuck in.
Later in the demonstration, James told the pair some background on mussels, with Holly loudly interrupting: “Don’t tell me that! I don’t need to know any personal information about what I’m eating. I was doing so well!”
James returned for another cooking demo towards the end of the show, which ended up being even more chaotic.
ITVThings took a very bizarre turn on Monday’s This Morning.
The pair repeatedly interrupted James’ explanations to talk and laugh amongst themselves, with the TV chef attempting to get his demo back on track.
Like Lorraine, Holly then suggested she had cramp, getting up and walking around the studio while James continued to make choux pastry in the This Morning kitchen.
James then told the duo to put almonds on top of their pastry, to which Holly responded that he shouldn’t “tell her what to do” and she can use any other type of nut she so wishes.
ITVJames looked rather unimpressed when Holly told him not to “tell me what to do”
“I’m not being rude,” Holly said afterwards. “But it does taste better than it looks.”
Viewers eventually grew suspicious that Ant and Dec might be behind the scenes in question, as part of their recurring I’m A Celebrity, Get Out Me Ear prank on Saturday Night Takeaway.
In fact, Ant and Dec’s names even began trending on Twitter as so many people pointed the finger at the pair…
Lorraine acting weird, Holly and Phil acting weird, this has your name written all over it @antanddec! #ThisMorning#Lorraine
What is happening on itv today? First Lorraine acting strange, now Holly? And now Phil? It’s like Ant and Dec are up to no good behind the scenes! #itv#thismorning#lorraine
Something seems off with #lorraine this morning. Feel like we will see her on Saturday night takeaway when ant and Dec are telling her what to say 🤣🤣🤣🤣
For many of us around the country, the weekend officially started at 7pm on Thursday nights these last nine weeks, as that’s when we’ve been treated to new episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK.
Series two of the hit reality show arrived a little bit later than many of us would have liked, but it more than made up for it with a season jam-packed with surprises, stunts and total serves.
Now, just four queens remain in the running, and the question remains…who is going to take home the season two crown?
Here we weigh up the four finalists’ chances of following in series one champion The Vivienne’s footsteps…
Bimini Bon Boulash
Ray BurmistonBBC/World of Wonder/Ray Burmiston
Release the beast! It’s definitely not an understatement to say that as the Drag Race UK finale approaches, Bimini Bon Boulash is the favourite for the crown by some way.
Since the queens returned from their enforced seven-month break due to the pandemic, Bimini has been picking up challenge wins left, right and centre. She’s now ahead of all of her competitors with four Ru-Peter Badges to her name, including wins for her United Kingdolls verse and her scene-stealing Snatch Game performance, which even got the seal of approval from Katie Price herself.
The only real criticism we could have for Bimini is that it did take her a little while to find her footing in the competition (if she does win, she’ll be the only non-All Stars winner to be crowned after lip syncing in week one), but there’s no denying she’s definitely come into her own since those early weeks. The incredible performer and self-professed “cis-tem offender” would unquestionably be a great representative of UK drag on the world stage.
High-point: Returning after a seven-month break with her immediately-iconic UK Hun verse
Low moment: Winding up in the bottom two in the first week of the competition
Serve of the season:
Tayce
Ray BurmistonBBC/World of Wonder/Ray Burmiston
On paper, Tayce might not be as far ahead as some of her competitors, with four challenge losses over the course of the competition. That being said, she’s kept her composure and come back fighting every single time… and let’s be honest, of those four lip syncs, how many times did she actually deserve to be in the bottom?
Exactly.
Since Drag Race launched over a decade ago, RuPaul has stuck with his “charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent” mantra as a way of determining who the next drag superstar will be, and those are four boxes Tayce definitely ticks.
Charisma? Her quick wit and unique way with words in the confessionals regularly has us howling, and she’s probably responsible for more quotes and memes than most of her competitors.
Uniqueness? Absolutely, who else in the competition is serving the levels of glamour and quirky sense of humour like Tayce?
Nerve? Did we mention those four lip syncs, and the fact she barely batted her perfect eyelashes despite her place in the competition being on the line every single time?
And as for talent, that’s something she’s showcased throughout her time in the workroom. Her efforts might not always have translated into individual challenge wins, but Tayce is a queen we won’t forget in a hurry.
High-point: Every time she walked the runway, to be honest.
Low moment: Making an outfit out of scouring pads, despite being advised not to by RuPaul.
Serve of the season:
Lawrence Chaney
Ray BurmistonBBC/World of Wonder/Ray Burmiston
Lawrence Chaney was a frontrunner from the time she first stepped foot in the workroom and declared she was “like the Loch Ness monster… a legend”.
From the word go, Lawrence was clearly a favourite of RuPaul’s, picking up three successive wins, including for her performances in the daytime TV and design challenges. Her sense of humour also set her apart with viewers, but she was no one-trick pony, as her looks were also almost always on point.
If you’d asked anyone – including the remaining queens – in the early stages of the competition, they’d have probably said Lawrence had it in the bag. It’s been something of a different story in the post-lockdown half of the series, with Lawrence struggling more than we’d seen before, even winding up in the bottom when her Miriam Margolyes impression failed to impress the judges in the Snatch Game.
It has to be said, though, that even when Lawrence is slightly off her game or gets in her head – as she did in the lead-up to both the Ruruvision Song Contest and BeastEnders challenges – she’s always managed to deliver when it counts.
Since Drag Race has become a global phenomenon, RuPaul has frequently described the show as being about the “tenacity of the human spirit”, and tenacity is one thing Lawrence has in abundance, as evidenced when she’s discussed her struggles with bullying or how she’s personally been hit hard by the pandemic.
It’s been a few weeks since we’ve seen her winning a Ru-Peter badge, but she does have three of them to her name, so no one should be writing her off just yet.
High-point: Winning three challenges in a row
Low moment: The Snatch Game routine that landed her in the bottom two
Serve of the season:
Ellie Diamond
Ray BurmistonBBC/World of Wonder/Ray BurmistonEllie Diamond
No challenge wins and coming into the final straight off the back of her first lip sync might put Ellie Diamond as something of an underdog in this last stage of the competition. But what is Drag Race, if not a celebration of underdogs?
Ellie entered the competition as a queen primarily known for her incredible make-up abilities, but don’t count out her other talents, too. Her Snatch Game performance impersonation of Vicky Pollard earned the praise of Little Britain star Matt Lucas, and she kept up with renowned dancer Tayce not just in their semi-final lip sync but also Rats: The Rusical.
And even though past Drag Race queens who specialise in makeup have perhaps taken the look side of the contest a little too seriously, Ellie has never been afraid to lean into the silly side of things, whether she’s channelling Dennis The Menace for her hometown look or walking the runway dressed as a giant bikini-clad seagull.
Admittedly, of the four contestants still in the running, Ellie would be the one we’d be most shocked to see take home the crown, but there’s a reason the 21-year-old has lasted as long as she has in the race.
High-point: Serving physical comedy with “Mickaaaay” in BeastEnders
Low moment: Dirty Diamond in her stand-up comedy challenge
Serve of the season:
The final of RuPaul’s Drag Race series 2 will be available to stream on BBC Three from 7pm on Thursday.
After one tweeted Grimmy to ask if he’d got the shit out of his coat, he replied: “Haha didn’t realise the old microphone would pick that up.”
Grimmy fans will get to see more of him on their screens in the coming weeks, as he is one of the stars who will appear in the new series of The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer.
He recently revealed he’s also started writing a book during the pandemic, which will chart some of his most hilarious celebrity stories.
Soccer AM airs Saturdays at 10.30am on Sky 1 and Sky Sports Football.
BBC Three is to return to TV screens after a five-year absence, it has been announced.
Following the success of original shows like Fleabag, Killing Eve, Normal People and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, the corporation has laid out plans for BBC Three to begin airing on regular television once again, having been online-only since February 2016.
“BBC Three is a BBC success story, backing creativity, new talent and brave ideas has resulted in hit after hit, from Fleabag and Man Like Mobeen, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK and Jesy Nelson’s Odd One Out, to Normal People and This Country,” said Charlotte Moore, the BBC’s chief content officer.
“The BBC needs to back success and make sure its programmes reach as many young people as possible wherever they live in the UK. So regardless of the debates about the past, we want to give BBC Three its own broadcast channel again.”
BBCPhoebe Waller-Bridge in Fleabag
Moore added: “It has exciting, groundbreaking content that deserves the widest possible audience and using iPlayer alongside a broadcast channel will deliver the most value.”
It’s been proposed that BBC Three will return to screens in January 2022, with the move being described as “part of our drive to deliver more value to audiences”.
However, the BBC has said the channel will not be airing 24-hours, and will instead broadcast between the hours of 7pm and 4am.
The corporation’s children’s channels CBeebies and CBBC also have limited schedules, with the former airing between 6am and 7pm, and the latter broadcasting between 7am and 9pm.
BBC/World of Wonder/Ray BurmistonThe cast of Drag Race UK series two
A BBC press release stated: “The returning BBC Three will deliver greater public value by further increasing the diversity and creativity of our output and build on the strengths of BBC Three’s online performance. That’s why we will aim for at least two-thirds of the expanded BBC Three’s programme spend to be outside of London and across the UK.
“BBC Three has a strong heritage in breaking and supporting new British talent and this will create a bigger platform to launch and celebrate them.
“It will provide us with a new shop window to reach a younger audience currently underserved by the BBC, bringing them the best BBC young programming and talent across all genres.”
Only Fools and Horses fans were nearly granted a revival to celebrate the show’s 30th anniversary, one of its stars has revealed.
John Challis, who played Boycie in the hit BBC sitcom, said that writer John Sullivan was working on a comeback episode but died before completing the script.
The episode would have seen Del Boy celebrate his retirement in the Nag’s Head.
BBCOnly Fools And Horses stars Nicholas Lyndhurst and David Jason
Speaking to The Sun, Challis said: “The 30th anniversary was coming up and John was in the process of getting together a Christmas special or something.
“It was going to be Del Boy’s 65th birthday, he was going to retire and there was going to be a bit of a get-together in the Nag’s Head. But unfortunately he (John) got ill and didn’t come out of it.”
Sullivan died after contracting viral pneumonia in April 2011, five months before the 30th anniversary of Only Fools And Horses’ debut.
Recalling his death, Challis said: “It was a complete shock to everybody. We got a phone call from the producers giving us the bad news.”
Radio Times via Getty ImagesThe cast during filming for the 1988 Christmas special of Only Fools and Horses
Sullivan wrote all 64 episodes of Only Fools And Horses, which ran between 1981 and 2003.
Over 19 million people tuned in to see its final episode on Christmas Day in 2003.
Sir David Jason, who played Del Boy in the show, recently admitted he had watched an old episode of Only Fools And Horses during lockdown, and was left in fits of giggles at the iconic moment when his character fell through a wine bar hatch.
He told The Mirror: “It gave me great joy. The hatch scene still makes me laugh out loud. Normally I’m very critical of what I do, I don’t enjoy watching very much. But that one just works.”
Sky has unveiled a picture of the actor in character as the PM for new drama This Sceptred Isle, and it’s fair to say he bears more than a passing resemblance to Boris.
Admittedly, Kenneth’s blond wig looks a little less unkempt than the PM’s in recent weeks, thanks to the closure of hairdressers.
SkyKenneth Branagh as Boris Johnson
Filming has just commenced on This Sceptred Isle, which will focus on the events in government as the UK faced the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
Written by Michael Winterbottom and Kieron Quirke, it is based on the first-hand testimony of people from all walks of life; from Number 10, the Department of Health, The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), and from hospitals and care homes across the country.
GettyKenneth and the real Boris Johnson
Speaking about the series, Winterbottom said: “The first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic will be remembered forever. A time when the country came together to battle an invisible enemy. A time when people were more aware than ever of the importance of community.
“Our series weaves together countless true stories – from Boris Johnson in Number 10 to front line workers around the country – chronicling the efforts of scientists, doctors, care home workers and policy makers to protect us from the virus.”
This Sceptred Isle is expected to premiere on Sky Atlantic and NowTV in the autumn.
Derry Girls star Nicola Coughlan has shared some extremely exciting news about the hit Channel 4 sitcom’s forthcoming return.
A third series of Derry Girls was confirmed to be in the works as far back as April 2019, but due to various factors – yes, we are mainly talking about that global pandemic we’re all still living through – production has been put on hold on several occasions.
When one fan tweeted Nicola saying he hoped Derry Girls would be back on our screens soon, the actor responded saying: “Can confirm Series 3 of Derry Girls is filming this year and I cannae bloody wait.”
She added: “Covid has pushed back filming several times which has been so shite, but honestly the storylines in this series are the best we’ve ever done so I can’t tell you how worth it the wait will have been.”
Covid has pushed back filming several times which has been so shite, but honestly the storylines in this series are the best we’ve ever done so I can’t tell you how worth it the wait will have been
Derry Girls first debuted on Channel 4 in 2019, and later gained international appeal when it began streaming on Netflix in other territories.
As well as winning huge critical acclaim, Derry Girls has pulled in massive viewing figures, becoming the most-watched TV series in North Ireland since modern records began in 2002.
