Cold Feet actress Helen Baxendale has been labelled "nice but not funny" by Friends director James Burrow, who worked with the actress on the fourth series of the popular sitcom.

Helen, 53, appeared in the comedy series as Emily Waltham, Ross' (David Schwimmer) second wife, who left him shortly after their wedding at which he famously called her Rachel during their vows.

Reflecting on his time directing the show in his memoir Directed by James Burrows, James wrote that while Helen was "nice", she didn't have much comedic energy, and other cast members struggled in scenes with her as they "had no one to bounce off."

He wrote: "She was nice but not particularly funny, Schwimmer had no one to bounce off. It was like clapping with one hand.

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

"Often, you can't recast, because of tight shooting deadlines or other logistical considerations. You don't cast anyone to be a straw man, unless it's for one episode."

Helen ended up leaving the show earlier than she and producers had originally intended after she announced that she was expecting her first child and wanted to move home to the UK.

The Cuckoo actress since revealed that she had no regrets about leaving the show, telling the Daily Mail: "I had a little glimpse of what fame holds, and I decided it held a load of nothing. It contained nothing that mattered.

"Some people can deal with that well; it sits on their shoulders fine. But it wasn’t for me."

It could have been very different for the show, and the character of Emily specifically, with actress and singer Louise Redknapp previously revealing that she had been offered the role but ended up turning it down so that she could appear on Top Of The Pops instead.

During a gig in 2020, Louise made the surprise revelation, adding that she chose TOTP over Friends as it was “big opportunity” for her as investors were banking on her chart success.

She added: “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.”

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