Sitcom stars remain Friends to the end

The cast of Friends was unusually downbeat as their 10-year stint on one of America’s most popular sitcoms came to an end.

Six of the best known faces on US television were interviewed on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show after the screening of last night’s final episode – thought to have been watched by 50 million people.

They perched on the set of the Central Perk Café – the key meeting point for the cast in the hit series – and talked about the last decade.

Ross (David Schwimmer), Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), Chandler (Matthew Perry), Monica (Courteney Cox Arquette), Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) and Joey (Matt LeBlanc) all watched the final show together.

Afterwards, Schwimmer said he was glad he “got to watch the show with the cast and the writers”.

Cox Arquette – who is heavily pregnant – told Leno she cried the most while watching the finale.

“It was a fantastic show,” she said.

LeBlanc described watching the final show as “overwhelming – fulfilling, satisfying, funny, sad” while Perry added: “It was emotional.”

Perry went on: “I pride myself on being a real man, but I shed a few tears.

“I hope the entire country is moved by it emotionally – to see these relationships wrap up is too much to take.”

Kudrow, who has ditched her long blonde locks for short dark hair, was also sombre at the end of the show.

Leno described the show as a US institution and said: “This is like very serious for a lot of people.

“There are those who say, ’oh we can’t go on without Friends’, they won’t be able to go on without Friends, but it can be done.

“I mean President Bush went into Iraq without friends. Okay, bad example ...”