BD: First of all, can you talk a bit about yourself? Like, what is your name? How old are you? Where do you live and what do you do for living?
GS: My name is Gareth Stranks and I'm a graphic designer. I'm 30, live in London. I do a lot of work with the TV Industry, although it's purely a coincidence that I've since gone viral with a tweet about one of the biggest TV shows ever!
BD: We saw that you said you're not that big of a fan of Friends on your Twitter profile. Why did you want to write an alternative ending?
GS: I think Friends is one of those TV shows that you're always aware of in the background of your life, even if you're not really that big a fan of it. In the UK it's on TV several times a day, so even more than a decade after it ended, it's still something I end up watching – usually accidentally – at least once a week.
A couple of weeks ago my girlfriend and I were having a lazy Sunday afternoon half-watching TV and ended up seeing about 3 hours of Friends. We were talking about the big ideas and stories across the 10 seasons of the show – Ross & Rachel's on-and-off love, Monica & Chandler's love for each other, Joey's love for food – and I thought given Phoebe's backstory as someone who was homeless, it would be hilarious if the whole story of Friends was all part of her imagination. I tweeted it the next day and the story went viral. It's been featured all over the world.
BD: When did you start watching Friends?
GS: I must have been around 12 or 13 – it would have been 1997 or 1998. It's one of those shows which, if you were born in the 1980s like me, you just grew up with.
BD: Why did you choose Phoebe for this alternative ending? Is there a special reason?
GS: Phoebe's backstory and history of being homeless is brought up in a few episodes, and she's often depicted as being a bit of an outsider, so the "it was all her imagination!" idea fits with her role in the group. Phoebe is also my least favourite character. She was much funnier in the earlier seasons, but in the later episodes her character really annoys me.
BD: What kind of reactions did you get after all these? How did Friends fans reacted?
GS: The reaction has been incredible. I had no idea so many people from all over the world would want to share my mad alternate ending. The fact that Kevin Bright, one of the creators of Friends, responded to my tweet (he wasn't a fan of it!) was really crazy.
BD: Did you expect that your alternative ending would get any attention globally? I mean, we're from Turkey and we heard it. How does that make you feel?
GS: It's great – I'm really pleased it went viral all over the world, although I'm also really surprised that so many news sites picked up the story. I find it particularly funny when people don't really get that it's supposed to be a joke. Some people on Twitter have got in touch to tell me the story really upset them.
BD: Other then Friends, are there any other shows you like to watch?
GS: I think that Cheers, 30 Rock, The Simpsons, and Modern Family are great when they're at their best. I'm also a big fan of British sitcoms like The Thick Of It and Peep Show.
BD: What's your favourite TV shows?
GS: I think Breaking Bad is the greatest TV series ever produced. It's absolutely perfect.
BD: After all these question, I should ask you this... Do you have a favourite Friends character?
GS: Yes. My favourite character is Rhonda, a tour guide at the museum where Ross works. This is because she is fabulous.
BD: Thanks you, very much for answering our questions.
GS: I thank you.