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Reese Witherspoon says Jennifer Aniston was ‘incredibly nurturing’ on set of Friends

Hollywood actors are joining forces once again for the new series of ‘The Morning Show’

Roisin O'Connor
Thursday 09 September 2021 07:27 BST
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Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon recreate famous Friends scene

Reese Witherspoon has praised her friend and co-star Jennifer Aniston for making her feel welcome on the set of Friends.

The Big Little Lies star appeared with Aniston in an interview on the BBC’s The One Show on Wednesday evening (8 September), in which the pair discussed the forthcoming second season of their drama, The Morning Show.

Aniston said that while they didn’t have “as much fun” as they had working on the first season due to pandemic restrictions, they still enjoyed working together.

“The juicier it is, the better it is,” she said of the new season’s scripts, which tackle issues such as “cancel culture”, along with the pandemic itself.

Asked about her cameo as Aniston’s character Rachel’s younger sister on Friends, Witherspoon revealed she was a “huge fan” of the show before she was asked to take part.

“I’d just had a baby and I’d sat and maybe watched every single episode of Friends,” she recalled. “It was just wonderful. I got to spend two weeks with them, Jen was so incredibly nurturing and sister-like… you just saw the magic of these people who were the best at what they do. Bringing such humanity to these characters but also humour at the drop of the hat.”

Both actors took part in the recent Friends reunion on HBO, which celebrated the 20th anniversary of the beloved sitcom.

In The Morning Show, Aniston stars as Alex Levy, co-host of a popular breakfast news programme broadcast from Manhattan, who fights to maintain her spot as top news anchor amid a rivalry with Witherspoon’s character, Bradley Jackson.

Both Aniston and Witherspoon’s performances received acclaim from critics, and the first series was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards (Best Actress – Television Drama for Witherspoon, and Best Television Series – Drama).

The new series of The Morning Show returns to Apple TV+ on Friday 17 September.

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