This Unpopular Friends Star Hated Being Part of the Show (and Made the Worst-Rated Episode Ever)
Friends had many guest stars over the years, but this one turned out a huge miss: her character was majorly disliked and blamed for the show's worst episode, and the actress hated the implications of being on Friends.
Being one of the most iconic sitcoms ever, Friends had a whole bunch of star guests and guest stars. Some of them appeared in a single episode while others had entire sub-plots dedicated to them; some were loved by the fans, and others were almost hated for their characters' misdeeds. Helen Baxendale belonged to both latter groups.
In Friends, Helen Baxendale played Emily — Ross's British girlfriend who almost became his second wife. The story arc about Ross and Emily upset many fans who wanted the man to finally get back together with Rachel. The audience was unaware that it would take years for them to reunite, so they poured their frustration on Emily.
The worst-rated episode of Friends, The One With The Invitation, was part of Ross and Emily's story arc. The couple was set on getting married, and they were sending out invitations to their upcoming wedding. This obviously caused quite a turmoil among both the show's fans and the main characters of Friends.
The One With The Invitation stands out as the only Friends episode that has an IMDb score lower than 7: as of now, it sits at 6.9.
While the episode itself was a bit janky and too focused on flashbacks, showcasing Ross and Rachel's failed love story, the fans were also made nervous by Ross and Emily's wedding as a whole.
Curiously enough, much like the audience hated her character, Helen Baxendale didn't enjoy starring in Friends, either. The implications of being associated with such a big and popular show were too much for her, as the actress revealed.
"The only adverse thing was for a short period, the paparazzi followed my friends and family around. I saw those people in Friends, for example, and thought, 'I don't think that life is really what I want.' They were hounded. They weren't able to walk into a supermarket and buy something," explained Baxendale.
For her, this experience was too much, and she quickly realized that that wasn't the way she wanted to live her life. After finishing her character's arc in Friends, Helen decided to step aside, and Emily and Ross's breakup made both her and the show's fans really happy.
Source: Independent