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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Courtney Pochin

Courteney Cox shares unseen Friends photo - and it has amazing story behind it

For weeks now, Courteney Cox has been giving the Friends fandom exactly what they want, by posting hilarious throwbacks on Instagram and re-enacting iconic scenes from the show.

Her profile photo on the app is even an image of Monica Geller in a fat suit from the 90s sitcom.

And just when you thought she couldn't top it all, she goes and does something rather special.

The 54-year-old actress shared a rare unseen photo of herself and her former Friends cast mates on Thursday - and the image has a brilliant story behind it.

The snap was taken before the pilot episode had even aired (Cortney Cox/Instagram)

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Almost one million people have liked the snap of the iconic six, which was taken back one summer's night in 1994.

Looking like the iconic 90s stars they are, the gang are sat together on a private plane, heading to Las Vegas.

The cast were flown out to the city by the show's director James 'Jimmy' Burrows for dinner before the pilot episode of the show aired - before they shot to fame as the characters we all know and love.

It was on this flight that the actors watched the first episode of the show and really saw themselves in their roles for the first time.

They watched the pilot episode during the flight for the first time (NBCUniversal)

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After the hour-long flight, they all enjoyed dinner at Spago, a legendary 90s celebrity hotspot, according to Friends super fan and writer Kelsey Miller who explained all in her book, I'll Be There For You: The One About Friends.

She said: "The whole group was overwhelmed and dazzled, itching to go out and do whatever it was that hot young television actors were supposed to do when they flew into Vegas on private jets.

"Then, in the middle of dinner, Burrows held up his hands and said what he'd brought them here to say: 'This is your last shot at anonymity.'

"This dinner, he told the cast, would be their last night out as ordinary people, their 'last fling' with normality, before the swarming fans descended."

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Of course, not knowing what a hit Friends would be, the gang didn't really believe what they were being told.

Lisa Kudrow recalled the dinner, saying: "Everyone was like, 'Wow, oh my god.' I sat there going, 'Well, we'll see.'"

Matt LeBlanc was said to react incredulously to the whole thing.

However, due to Burrows' position, the cast couldn't be rude and ultimately they accepted his warning with a pinch of salt, before going off to spend the rest of the evening gambling.

By the following year, his prediction had come true - with each of the cast members earning six figure fees for a single Diet Coke endorsement - on top of their already jaw-dropping per-episode salaries.

And today they're still raking in the big bucks from the show, with each reportedly being given a paycheck of around $20million each year from Warner Bros.

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Cox captioned her post, writing: "The one where the six of us went to Vegas and no one knew we were F.R.I.E.N.D.S yet."

Numerous famous faces commented on the photo, sharing their love for it - including Kudrow, who said: "Look at that! Thanks again Jimmy Burrows. Love you Courteney."

Reese Witherspoon, who played Rachel's younger sister Jill on the show also responded, saying: "This is TOO good!"

While model and actress Poppy Delevingne simply commented: "WOW."

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