Louise Redknapp has claimed she was almost cast as Ross Geller’s wife Emily Waltham in Friends – but her pop career ambitions derailed her casting.
The 45-year-old singer – and former Strictly Come Dancing contestant – claims she was to play the character made famous by 50-year-old actress Helen Baxendale.
The character of Emily first featured on the US sitcom Friends in 1998 in an episode titled ‘The One with Joey’s Dirty Day’.
And she went on to tie-the-knot with David Schwimmer’s Ross in the dramatic two-parter The One With Ross’s Wedding later that same year, featuring across 14 episodes in total.
Meanwhile Louise was promoting her second album, Woman In Me, and her single Let’s Go Round Again, and an episode of Top of the Pops clashed with planned Friends filming.
According to Metro.co.uk, Louise shared details of her choice to pick music over acting in Friends as investors were banking on her chart success.
She is quoted as saying on stage at a socially distanced gig at Clapham Grand on Friday night: ”I didn’t have a lot of time and a lot of people were investing money into the album.
"To be on Top Of The Tops with that single meant a lot to me.
"Back in the day Top Of The Pops was huge."
Louise’s choice may have been a blessing in disguise for her, as the character of Emily is a divisive figure among Friends fans loyal to Ross and Rachel Green, played by Jennifer Aniston, making it as a couple.
The series ran for 10 years, 10 seasons and 236 episodes with the relationship between Ross and Rachel being the main long-running theme throughout the entire show.
A spark of romance is first hinted at in the very first episode as Ross mopes about his wife dumping him when Rachel walks in to his life.
But it takes until the final episode for the pair to finally make it together following various ups and downs over the course of the show.
