TV shows become iconic for many reasons, the storylines, the characters and often the actors who play them.

Over the decades, whether it’s dramas, comedies or period pieces, big shows have left their mark on viewers.

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But would that have still been the case if different actors had taken on important roles within those shows?

It turns out, some of TV’s biggest shows – and biggest characters – almost had different actors involved.

And even though those actors are household names, it’s hard to imagine them as the TV characters we came to know and love played by someone else.

Here’s just some of the A-list stars who turned down roles in major TV shows.

Kristin Davis – Monica Geller in Friends

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Monica Geller was famously played by Courteney Cox in smash hit sitcom, Friends from 1994 to 2004.

But during the audition process, another brunette beauty almost landed the part, Sex and the City star Kristin.

Kristin, 59, previously revealed during an appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden: “I think I was one of, like, 8,000 young ladies who read for Monica and Courteney Cox got her.

“Courteney and I were in the same yoga class at the time and we used to hang out. The rest of us were, like, unemployed actor waitresses types and we would hang out after class.”

She continued: “One day, Courteney was like, ‘Hey, guys. Do you want to come car shopping with me? We were like, ‘Wow, car shopping!’ [Courteney] said, ‘I did this pilot, I’m feeling really good about it. I think I’m going to buy a Porsche.’

“We were like, ‘Wow, is she for real?’ It was Friends, and it did go very well.”

Thankfully Kristin also got her big moment – and no doubt big money too – when she landed the role of Charlotte in Sex and the City in 1998.

Matthew Broderick – Walter White in Breaking Bad

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Breaking Bad was a huge hit when it aired from 2008 to 2013, but Bryan Cranston wasn’t the first choice for lead character Walter White.

Producers admitted in a chat with The Hollywood Reporter that: “We all still had the image of Bryan shaving his body in Malcolm in the Middle.

“We were like, ‘Really? Isn’t there anybody else?”

They tried Matthew Broderick and John Cusack but both actors turned it down.

It turns out Bryan, 68, was able to play a darker role after all, and his turn as Walter won him a slew of awards including four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor.

Brian Cox – Robert Baratheon in Game of Thrones

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Brian, 78, is an acclaimed actor with many impressive roles under his belt, none more so than Logan Roy in Succession.

However, he almost had a role in another huge show, Game of Thrones.

Brian previously revealed: “I’m often asked if I was offered a role in Game of Thrones — reason being that every other b****r was — and the answer is, yes.

“I was supposed to be a king called Robert Baratheon, who apparently died when he was gored by a boar in the first season.

“I know very little about Game of Thrones, so I can’t tell you whether or not he was an important character, and I’m not going to Google it just in case he was, because I turned it down.”

The role went to British actor Mark Addy instead.

Pedro Pascal – Marcel in The Vampire Diaries

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The Vampire Diaries was a must-watch for many teens during its run from 2009 to 2017.

But when it comes to the role of Marcel, Charles Michael Davis had some stiff competition.

Show creator Julie Plec told Entertainment Weekly: “One of the other people who read opposite Charles for that part was Pedro Pascal, who I loved.

“I was obsessed with him, but he was just on the older side.”

Rob Lowe – Dr. Derek Shepherd in Grey’s Anatomy

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McDreamy won the hearts of millions of women – and no doubt many men – when Patrick Dempsey portrayed the dishy doctor in Grey’s Anatomy.

But we’re sure Rob Lowe would have made just as many viewers hot under the collar if he had accepted the role of Derek Shepherd in the hit medical drama.

However, Rob, 60, he opted to star in another medical drama instead, Dr. Vegas.

Unfortunately for Rob, that series didn’t last very long, but he doesn’t regret it, saying: “Had I done Grey’s, I wouldn’t have been in Parks and Recreation. That alone for me is enough.”

Katie Holmes – Piper in Orange is the New Black

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Orange is the New Black was a game-changing show and a huge hit for Netflix during its run from 2013 to 2019.

Taylor Schilling landed the lead role of Piper, but former Dawson’s Creek star Katie also showed interest in the sometimes racy role.

Creator Jenji Kohan told E! News: “I met with her, she had other things to do.

“And also, in the beginning, no one knew what this was.”

Maya Rudolph – Eve in Killing Eve

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Maya Rudolph, 52, has had a stellar career thanks to being a cast member of Saturday Night Live and appearing in hit films including Bridesmaids.

However, she had the chance to try a different sort of role as Eve Polastri in hit series Killing Eve.

Despite being a huge fan of Fleabag and wanting to work with Phoebe Waller-Bridge who wrote and produced the series, Maya turned the role down.

She explained that the show would have required her to relocate to Europe for several months, as it filmed in cities across the continent, and that wasn’t feasible at the time due to being a mother-of-four.

Eve was played by Sandra Oh, who won a Best Actress award at the Golden Globes in 2019 for the role.

Matt LeBlanc – Phil Dunphy in Modern Family

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Having already won a legion of fans for playing Joey Tribbiani in Friends – a role that Vince Vaughn was turned for – Matt LeBlanc could have picked up even more if he had accepted the role of Phil Dunphy in Modern Family.

But having starred in one of the biggest sitcoms of all time, maybe it’s no surprise Matt didn’t want to take on another.

Matt, 57, said: “I remember reading it thinking, this is a really good script, [but] I’m not the guy for this.

“I’d be doing the project an injustice to take this. I know what I can do, I know what I can’t do.”

The role of Phil went to Ty Burrell and he won two Emmy’s for Outstanding Supporting Actor.

Friends facts and figures

Dig into the facts behind the iconic 90s sitcom starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and the late Matthew Perry.

• Friends debuted on September 22, 1994. It ran for a decade, airing ten seasons and a whopping 236 episodes.

• The emotional finale, which aired on May 26, 2004, was watched live by 52.5 million viewers in America, making it one of the most-watched TV finales of all time. 

• Friends also won a ton of awards over the years including a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, 6 Primetime Emmys, 2 SAG Awards, and 12 People’s Choice Awards. 

• It was set in New York but filmed at Warner Bros. Studios in L.A.

• Friends almost had a number of different titles – sitcom creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman considered monikers like Friends Like Us, Insomnia Café, and Six of One before finally settling on Friends. 

• The show’s iconic theme song was also meant to be different – Friends’ original theme song was Shiny Happy People by R.E.M. which was used for the unaired pilot episode, Friends Like Us. It was eventually changed to I’ll Be There For You by The Rembrandts.

• David and Marta originally planned for the show’s main couple to be Monica and Joey, but they weren’t romantically compatible unlike Monica and Chandler who had natural chemistry. 

• The cast of Friends made a pact not to date or hook up – there really was no Ross and Rachel off-screen. “We didn’t want to jeopardise any of the great relationships and friendships we had established. It was kind of an unspoken rule,” David revealed.

• The cast always stuck together though, even negotiating their salaries increases as a group. When they started out their each earned $22,500 per episode but that steadily increased to $1,000,000 per episode by the finale season.

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Saturday Night Live has drawn the wrath of British viewers with a new sketch parodying Liam and Noel Gallagher.

The musician siblings, who announced earlier this year that they are reforming the Britpop band Oasis, were impersonated on the US sketch series last night (12 October).

SNL stars James Austin Johnson and Sarah Sherman played the Gallagher brothers in the “Weekend Update” skit, though fans complained over the inaccuracies of the portrayal and the attempts at parody.

“Everyone’s wondering, are you guys gonna be cool to tour a year from now?” host Colin Jost was seen asking the “Gallagher brothers”.

“I’m cool if he’s cool,” Johnson’s Noel replied. “I’m cool, I’m cool, I’m cooler than you are,” Sherman’s Liam said.

The two siblings then begin bickering, before talking about their favourite cartoon characters.

Viewers have criticised the sketch, with many British people noting that the Gallaghers were depicted as speaking with Southern accents, rather than their real-life Mancunian brogues.

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“Bloody hell… I don’t mind a bit of SNL but this #Oasis sketch was just AGONY to watch,” one person wrote on X/Twitter. “Literally couldn’t get through it, it was so bad.”

“SNL have done an Oasis bit and it’s just as cringe as you imagine,” commented another.

“Hey SNL, if you’re gonna do Oasis, please don’t make them be from Essex,” someone else remarked, while another viewer wrote: “JFC, that Oasis segment on #SNL Weekend Update was so bad. Never knew Oasis were secretly from London…”

Earlier this week, Blur musician Graham Coxon shared this thoughts on the Oasis reunion. Blur and Oasis enjoyed a high-profile rivalry during the band’s heyday.

“It’s good for them and it’s good for fans,” said the guitarist. “I’ve been saying, ‘Just do it’.”

Asked if he had petitioned Noel to reform the band prior to the announcement, Coxon replied: “God no, I wouldn’t have talked to him about that and it’s not really my business. I don’t know him well enough to say that.

“But hopefully it’s a genuine reunion because some bands break up and don’t get that chance again.”

Oasis will tour the UK and Europe in 2025, with further dates around the world set to follow.

CHARLOTTE Dawson has told how her raucous birthday celebrations have got her banned from an airline.

The reality star said that she had a wild party to celebrate her big day, but there was consequences to her actions.

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Speaking on her podcast, Charlotte Dawson’s Naughty Corner, the 32 year old explained that she had a night out with friends in a trendy bar, offering pottery, prosecco and pizza, in her hometown.

Charlotte said: “All I am going to say is that I don’t think we’ll be asked back because the decibels of all of us were very loud.

“I should have booked the whole venue to be honest, there was about 20 of us, but we always get barred from everywhere we go. We got barred from an airline.

“We do get barred a lot, so I don’t think we’ll be rushing back to the pottery place. Maybe I’ll go with my mum.”

The Ex on the Beach star who is expecting her third child with rugby player Matt Sarsfield has been through a torrid time of late, after it was revealed in August that Matt had been sexting another woman.

But despite being devastated by the betrayal, Charlotte who also shares two sons with Matt, Noah and Jude, made the decision to forgive Matt.

The pair were snapped on a weekend away in the Lake District following the news of the allegations and although relations appeared frosty, they seemed to be working through the difficulties.

And The Sun can reveal the couple got into a huge bust-up before heading off on their weekend away.

A source said: “Charlotte and Matt had a huge row just before going away to the Lakes and he said he didn’t want to go.

“It was another blow for Charlotte, it’s her birthday and she’s pregnant – she just wants them to get on.

“She’s put everything behind her for the sake of their kids but there is still lots of tension. He has gone with her this weekend but they looked really frosty today.”

Just weeks after Matt’s scandal was revealed The Sun told how Charlotte – who had secretly taken him back.

Rugby star Matt later came clean with his side of the story on her Naugthy Corner podcast. A source said:

An insider said: “Everyone wants to know what happened and his side of the story, so Charlotte thought it was the best way to do it.

“She didn’t really give him much choice in the matter and it’s fair to say he’s not really looking forward to it.

“But at this point he will do what he can do get back in her good books and win back some trust.”

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Coleen Rooney has reportedly signed up to appear on this year’s I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! series.

The wife of former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, who recently won the high-profile “Wagatha Christie” libel case filed against her by Rebekkah Vardy, is said to have secured the biggest deal in the show’s history with a fee of over £1.5m.

Rooney, 38, will fly out to Australia next month to join the ITV reality series hosted by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, with producers hoping she’ll share stories of her life with Wayne, sources have said.

Rooney will follow in the footsteps of Vardy, who entered the I’m A Celeb jungle in 2017 and was the third campmate of the cohort to be eliminated.

“I’m A Celeb bosses have pulled off a huge coup getting Coleen for the jungle this year and the team are thrilled to have her on board,” a source told The Sun.

“Coleen has a huge fanbase and she won massive plaudits for her classy handling of the Wagatha Christie case. She’s excited to show fans a different side to her and prove she can survive without her creature comforts.”

They added: “The campfire chats are set to be bombshells as there is so much she could lift the lid on, from all the drama of the Wagatha trial to her turbulent marriage to Wayne and his football career.

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“She is expected to be very popular with viewers and she could triumph over Becky again if she goes further in the competition than her.”

An ITV spokesperson told The Independent: “Any names suggested for I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! are just speculation.”

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It comes shortly after the Wagatha Christie case was thrust back into the limelight earlier this week when Vardy was ordered to pay Rooney a further £100,000 following their legal battle.

Vardy lost her libel claim against Rooney in July 2022 when Mrs Justice Steyn ruled that her viral social media post accusing Mrs Vardy of leaking her private information to the press was “substantially true”.

The judge later ordered Vardy, the wife of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, to pay 90 per cent of Mrs Rooney’s costs, including an initial payment of £800,000.

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In the October 2019 viral social media post at the heart of the libel claim, Rooney said she had carried out a months-long “sting operation” and accused Vardy of leaking information about her private life to the press.

Rooney publicly claimed Vardy’s account was the source behind three stories in The Sun newspaper featuring fake details she had posted on her private Instagram profile – featuring her travelling to Mexico for a “gender selection” procedure, her planning to return to TV and the basement flooding at her home.

Following the high-profile trial, Mrs Justice Steyn ruled in Rooney’s favour, finding it was “likely” that Vardy’s agent, Caroline Watt, had passed information to The Sun and that she “knew of and condoned this behaviour”.

Rooney welcomed her victory in the “Wagatha Christie” case, but added that she “never believed it should have gone to court” and that “it was not a case I ever sought or wanted”.

STRICTLY Come Dancing fans have been left stunned after the latest eviction “result” was revealed online.

While the BBC One programme’s official results show airs tonight, a social media page with “moles” in the live audience has let slip the outcome early.

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The Sun has chosen not to reveal the identities of the Strictly Come Dancing partnerships in the bottom two, or indeed the famous face who has been given the boot.

Yet many viewers of the BBC show – which saw celebs dance everything from the Foxtrot to Salsa to an array of tunes on Saturday – admitted they were “shocked.”

They took to social media to exclaim “thank God for the judges” as they were the ones who have the deciding votes – as opposed to the public.

One added: “I agree with the result. The right couple was saved,” as another admitted: “Right choice to go.”

Yet one promptly moaned: “Why do people spoil the spoiler?”

Saturday’s Strictly Come Dancing episode saw the first 10s of the series dished out.

This meant Love Island alumni Tasha Ghouri rocketed to the top of the table with partner Aljaz Skorjanec, with a total of 39 points for their Charleston.

Tipping the other end of the scale, DIY SOS host Nick Knowles was in the next-to-last position in the table with professional partner Luba Mushtuk.

The duo scooped 21 points yet fans accused Nick – who had been battling an injury all week – of getting “sympathy votes” for his Paddington-themed Charleston.

Yet it was Gorka Marquez and Dr Punam Krishan who came bottom of the table, with the judges awarding them 20 points for their candy pink-coloured Jive.

Meanwhile, actress Sarah Hadland was placed in what many brand the “death slot” – this being the second dance slot in the running order – with her Foxtrot.

Fans were also quick to hit out at a “cruel” moment from host Tess Daly after she asked judge Craig Revel-Horwood to repeat his feedback for Gorka and Dr Punam.

Eagle-eyed fans were also quick to note the dramatic moment professional dancer Katya Jones pushed opera singer Wynne Evans’ hand off her waist.

Viewers were quick to suggest the pair had been “criminally overmarked” for their dramatic Tango to ABBA track, Money, Money, Money.

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Professional dancer Johannes Radebe also revealed a surprise “feud” with a show judge during his post-routine comments.

It remains to be seen who will be eliminated tonight, with Strictly’s results show airing at 720pm on BBC One.

As well as a performance from pop band Snow Patrol, fans will also be treated to a routine by the Strictly professionals to a Taylor Swift track.

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STRICTLY pro Katya Jones and dance partner Wynne Evans have addressed the very awkward moment on tonight’s show.

BBC viewers were left shocked this evening as they spotted Katya push Wynne’s hand off her.

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The pair were standing with the rest of the group when the singer, 52, put his arm around the 35-year-old’s waist and she appeared to object to his positioning.

Katya and Wynne has since taken to social media to clear things up, after a number of fans were left baffled at the moment.

Speaking from backstage, Katya said: “Hi everyone, it’s Wynne and Katya here, we just wanted to say we were messing around in the clauditorium on Saturday night and we just want to say sorry.”

She added: “It was a silly joke.”

While Wynne echoed : “Yeah, sorry.”

The toe-curling moment caught on live TV sparked speculation amongst fans, who were concerned about her unusual reaction.

One person wrote: “Anyone else see Katya push wynne’s hand away.”

A second said: “Katya moving Wynne’s hand away then….”

While a third added: “Did anybody else just see Katya push away Wynne’s hand – she did that awkward smile.”

Others noticed that Katya was standing nowhere near Wynne when the cameras appeared once again.

Katya and Wynne wowed the judges with their tango to ABBA’s Money, Money, Money.

During the critique after their performance, Wynne was left in hysterics as Craig Revel Horwood made an innuendo at Anton Du Beke’s expense.

Anton was full of praise for Wynne and when he has finished, Craig asked: “I see the espresso has kicked in Anton. You going to be able to keep that up all night, dear?”

Wynne couldn’t stop laughing as he tried to get through the rest of it.

Craig told him: “You bum was sticking up – but I loved, loved, loved it. Winner, winner, win.”

Motsi Mabuse agreed and said: “This was your best dance yet, I’ve been waiting for this dance, I knew it was coming.

“What I love is that you guys give us a story…beautifully timed.”

Head judge Shirley Ballas was also full of praise and said: “I got goosebumps, it was passionate and told a tale.

“You got out there and I could see you’re in it to win it.”

Craig and Anton scored Wynne an 8, while Shirley and Motsi gave him a nine, making it his highest score so far.

But some fans hit out at the judges yet again for “overmarking” another celebrity – with some claiming they have their “favourites”.

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