This main character was almost written out of Friends

Could we BE any more relieved?

After ten years of being there for us, Friends left our screens in 2004 – leaving a Central Perk shaped hole in our hearts – and we’re still not over it. Yes it may have been 18 years since Chandler, Rachel, Ross, Monica, Phoebe and Joey made their last appearances but it still feels like it was just yesterday.

We’re still deeply invested in Rachel and Ross’ tumultuous relationship, we’ve never given up hope on Parker (Alec Baldwin) coming back into our lives, and we can’t believe how quickly the Friends children have grown up. Are we the only ones confused by our feelings for Ben now that he’s grown up and starring in Riverdale?

But it wasn’t Cole Sprouse or the news that a former employee of Robert De Niro’s company was getting sued for binge-watching the show in company time that made all the noise this week. Instead, it was the revelation that one of the core six characters was almost written out of the show.

The ‘Friend’ in question? Rachel Green.

Yes, this is not a drill. Jennifer Aniston was very nearly written out.

It wasn’t down to bad blood however, but instead scheduling conflicts, with it reported that Jen had filmed episodes for another new comedy show, Muddling Through, for a rival network.

Friends bosses were reportedly worried therefore that if Muddling Through got picked up, they would lose Jennifer as Rachel, leading to either a recasting or being written out.

Instead, according to Generation Friends, the sitcom’s network chose to 'kill' off the rival show, scheduling popular films against it to lessen its audience.

A Friends without Rachel Green or Jennifer Aniston? We can’t even picture it.