Friends reunion: The wait is almost over for fans of beloved sitcom

The wait is almost over for Friends fans, with the highly anticipated reunion special set to arrive this week.

The beloved TV comedy's celebrated run ended in May 2004 after 10 seasons and 236 episodes.

After years of speculation, the cast — Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer — reunited for a one-off special.

The show will be available on Thursday on Sky and streaming service Now.

The stars will not appear in character during the special, which saw filming repeatedly delayed by the pandemic and was originally set to arrive in May last year.

Instead, they will look back at some of Friends' best-known moments, take part in a trivia game and look at the show's famous sets.

James Corden will host, while A-list guests include David Beckham, Justin Bieber, BTS, Cindy Crawford, Cara Delevingne and Lady Gaga.

Aniston, who played Rachel Green, told Entertainment Tonight that their fans are even more excited to see the special after enduring the pandemic.

I think everyone is even more excited to have this experience having been locked in a home for so long, and going through this past year, which was extremely heartbreaking and hard just to endure. I think it's going to be an even more welcomed time for people to see it.

• Friends: The Reunion will be available on Thursday, May 27,  on demand from 8am and on Sky One at 8pm.