A 40-year-old mum who has been obsessed with Friends since the US sitcom first aired 30 years ago now has to put on an episode every night, to help her fall asleep. Nikki Hardy, from Aberdeen, says she has watched the episodes thousands of times and now relies on Chandler, Joey, Monica, Phoebe, Rachel and Ross to get her to sleep.
Nikki said: "It started in lockdown, I was really struggling with sleeping because of the uncertainty of everything, and was just feeling really wired. So one night, because it’s so familiar and I don’t have to concentrate on it, I put Friends on for comfort."
It helped her drop off and became a habit that stuck. Now Nikki pops an episode on her iPad every night - just to nod off. Her 13-year-old, Josh, does the same, playing it on his computer.
“It’s the warmth and humour. It’s so comforting. They’ve been in my life now for so long that I just feel a real connection with the characters,” she says. Nikki has been all around the world in honour of her love for the show - visiting the apartments in New York in 2008 and 2024, and visiting the Warner Brothers Studio in LA to see the set with husband Kris.
“We’ve seen the stage and the original fountain, the sofa, and Central Perk Cafe. It was really cool,” she said. And Nikki even has two Friends tattoos.
Nikki’s bedroom is home to a Friends shrine, crowded with memorabilia; bags, books, t-shirts, colouring sets and Funko Pop toys. She bought them all on Vinted before learning that McDonald’s is giving away collectibles along with the Friends Meal as part of a new campaign.
The limited-edition meal features one of six collectable characters. There is also a chance to win four exclusive Friends inspired mugs, each with an iconic design, when you purchase the McDonald’s Friends Meal using the MyMcDonald’s app.
Like Nikki, Lucy Wilkinson has also been hooked on the TV show since she was a child. At primary school, Lucy got the Rachel haircut and would sit down every Friday night to watch the show in the days before binge watching.
“I loved it. I had all the pencil cases and the board games, and even now, the first thing I do when I get home is put it on the TV”, the mortgage advisor from Sheffield, said. Friends and family buy her Friends-themed gifts for birthdays and Christmas, she has a Friends shrine in her utility room, and her hen party and wedding in 2018 were dominated by the show.
“I even put it on when we’re on holiday. My husband, Will, says ‘I can’t believe we’re abroad and we’re still watching Friends’”, Lucy, 39, said. At her hen party in Tenerife six years ago, all her guests were given name badges in honour of Monica’s fastidiousness, and a laminated itinerary was pulled out. ‘It was called 'The one where Lucy got married', everyone was given their own Friends character to be and it was so much fun," she said.
And at the couple’s wedding, guests were offered slices of cheese and pork pie cake, which bore the topper “he’s my lobster”, in reference to Phoebe Buffay’s description of Ross and Rachel’s relationship. They signed the register to the background music of U2’s With or Without You - the song Ross and Rachel first kissed to - but Will drew the line at entering the reception to the Friends theme tune.
“He put his foot down on that”, she laughs, before admitting it did get played at the end of the night. "When we got back to the bridal suite, there were pinecones and fake fruit everywhere. I didn’t realise why until the next morning when I worked out my friends had put them there in reference to Ross stealing them from a hotel lobby as a child.
“My whole life has revolved around this TV show. Even though we were trying not to eat fast food in February, we gave ourselves permission to have a Friends Big Mac meal. I was really pleased to get the Monica character, as she’s my favourite."
The McDonald’s Friends Meal will be available in restaurants until March 16 while stocks last.
