Friends director James Burrows is revealing set secrets in his new memoir, Directed By James Burrows.

One of the most shocking revelations 82-year-old Burrows has made pertains to the role of Ross Geller’s (played by David Schwimmer) wife-turned-ex Emily (played by Helen Baxendale).

‘She was nice, but not particularly funny,’ Burrows wrote of Baxendale, who he didn’t feel was as funny as Jennifer Aniston, who played Ross’s will-they-won’t-they love interest, Rachel Green.

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1996 david schwimmer and jennifer aniston of the tv hit series friends
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David Schimmer and Jennifer Aniston pictured on the set of Friends in 1996.

Burrows’ other complaint of Baxendale was her lack of chemistry with Schwimmer. ‘Schwimmer had no one to bounce off,’ Burrows explained. ‘It was like clapping with one hand.’

‘In sitcoms and any type of romantic comedy, the funny is just as important as the chemistry,’ he added. ‘We discovered that any new girlfriend for Ross needed to be as funny as Rachel.’

friends pictured l r matthew perry as chandler bing, jennifer aniston as rachel green, david schwimmer as ross geller, helen baxendale as emily waltham, courteney cox arquette as monica geller, matt leblanc as joey tribbiani photo by oliver uptonnbcu photo banknbcuniversal via getty images via getty images
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Ross and Emily’s wedding day, as featured on season five of Friends.

While he considered recasting Emily, timings were too tight. ‘Often, you can’t recast, because of tight shooting deadlines or other logistical considerations,’ he explained. ‘You need someone who gets laughs. Sometimes you start an arc and it ain’t working out, so you have to get rid of that person. If it’s a day player, it’s a quick goodbye.’

Emily and Ross got married in season five of Friends, but it was far from a happy day — Ross infamously said Rachel's name during his vows instead of Emily's.

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Naomi May
Digital Editor

Naomi May is a seasoned culture journalist and editor with over ten years’ worth of experience in shaping stories and building digital communities. After graduating with a First Class Honours from City University's prestigious Journalism course, Naomi joined the Evening Standard, where she worked across both the newspaper and website. She is now the Digital Editor at ELLE Magazine and has written features for the likes of The Guardian, Vogue, Vice and Refinery29, among many others. Naomi is also the host of the ELLE Collective book club.