'FRIENDS' STARS SIGN ON FOR A FINAL SEASON IN £17 MILLION DEAL

February 12, 2002Feb 12, 2002, 11:00 PM GMT

Lengthy contract talks have ended and Friends fans can breathe a sigh of relief - the hit TV series will be returning for a ninth and final season. The deal cut by the programme’s six stars puts them among the highest paid in Hollywood - a whopping £17 million each for one last year.

The new contract means the stars of the hit comedy - Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette, Lisa Kudrow, Matt Le Blanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer - will be earning £700,000 per episode, or roughly £23,000 a minute. They were paid just over £500,000 per episode last season.

NBC President Jeff Zucker says he’s “thrilled” with the new deal. “We’ve never had better Friends. Since we all had the same objective, this was the easiest deal we have ever made. Everyone wanted to be able to end the series in style.”

Inking the deal puts an end to Tinseltown rumours that the show would not make it to a ninth season. Matt LeBlanc, who plays Joey on the show, had fanned the flames last month when he said he “honestly didn’t know” if the cast would return. Despite the £173,000 per episode raise, the stars’ salaries still don’t top that of American TV’s best-paid actor, Frasier’s Kelsey Grammer, who banks £1.17 million for each episode he puts in the can.

Each star will receive £17 million for the ninth, and final season of Friends

Their new contract means the hit comedy's six stars will earn roughly £23,000 a minute, putting them among the highest paid actors in Hollywood

"Everyone wanted to be able to end the series in style," says NBC President Jeff Zucker, who added he's "thrilled" with the deal

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