Friends reunited for 10th season

American network NBC has announced that the Emmy-winning series will not end once the ninth season, which is currently showing in the States and kicks off on here next month, finishes shooting next year.

No details of the deal between the network, producers Warner Brothers and the six stars have been released.

But NBC spokeswoman Rebecca Marks confirmed that an agreement had been sealed.

The news brings an end to rumours that the actors Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer - were planning to bow out once filming of the ninth season was completed next spring.

That speculation was fuelled only last week when 33-year-old Aniston said she was ready to leave so she could start a family with megastar husband Brad Pitt.

Aniston, who won a best actress Emmy for her role as Rachel Green in the show earlier this year, told a US magazine: "In my mind I'm done. I want to start my family."

The new deal is now likely to see the Friends keep their current million-dollars-an-episode salaries but cut the number of episodes they shoot next season.

Aniston may also have been persuaded to stay on by castmate Kudrow, who has a young son. In recent interviews Kudrow has been talking about how the sitcom's filming schedule, with its regular hours and four-day week, is ideal for a young mother.