Joey finds home at Five

Five has snapped up the Friends spin-off Joey, it was announced today.

The broadcaster signed the deal after Channel 4 pulled out.

The show follows Matt LeBlanc's character Joey Tribbiani as he tries his luck in Hollywood.

It airs on US network NBC this autumn and will come to Five in the New Year.

The much-hyped show was the subject of a fierce bidding war and Five is estimated to have paid more than £250,000 per episode.

"We are pleased that Five has acquired the UK rights to Joey, which we expect will follow in the tradition of Friends, a series that was as popular in the UK as it was in the US," said Jeffrey Schlesinger of Warner Bros, makers of the show.

But it is unlikely to match the success of Friends.

The final episode drew a record audience of 8.6 million when it was screened in May.

And a Channel 4 insider said the pilot for Joey did not live up to the
standards of the original.

As part of the deal with Warner Bros, Five has also acquired Charlie Sheen sitcom Two And A Half Men.