The one where C4 ditches Friends

It is truly the end of an era. Not only is Channel 4 ditching Big Brother (well, probably) it is also giving up the UK broadcast rights to a show that has surely appeared on its schedules more than any other – Friends! Repeats of the long-running US sitcom will shift to Comedy Central from October 2011. "After 15 years, 10 hit series and 236 terrific episodes it's time to say goodbye to old Friends and welcome new ones, in the form of more comedy, drama and entertainment from the US and UK," says Gill Hay, the channel's head of acquisitions. There might have been 236 episodes, but how many times has Channel 4 shown them? And what is Monkey expected to do between 8pm and 9pm of an evening? E4's Friends double bill was default viewing if there was nothing else on. Oh, hang on – Top Gear repeats on Dave. Sorted.