Fans delighted by The Chase contestants with Friends characters' names

Fans were delighted when they spotted these contestants with the names of Friends characters. Photo / The Chase/ITV

Every now and again the television stars align to create a bit of magic, but no one was ready for it to come from The Chase.

Viewers of the UK trivia reality show got an unexpected treat on Tuesday when four of the contestants all happened to share the same names as the characters from hit sitcom Friends.

When contestants, Rachael, Ross, Phoebe and Joe took their places to challenge The Chasers, many fans forgot all about the show and instead took to Twitter to share the hilarious coincidence.

The characters on Friends are called Rachel, Ross, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler and Monica, and one fan was led to quip: "Chandler and Monica must've been busy".

Another Twitter user took screen-grabs of their TV guide, captioning it: "Friends reunion on The Chase", while another wrote: "Wow the cast of Friends sure have changed".

Omg the 4 people on the chase tonight are called Ross Rachel Pheobe and Joe (joey) 😲😲 #FRIENDS

— Kristy🌻 (@kristypurves) March 13, 2017

Chandler and Monica must've been busy #thechase pic.twitter.com/kjjBQIaQcR

— Holly (@holly_m_rogers) March 13, 2017

Do you reckon Ross, Rachel, Phoebe and Joe are all FRIENDS? #TheChase

— KJR🤟🏻 (@KeiRandles) March 13, 2017

Sadly, the Friends replacements didn't have it quite as together as the sitcom pals and wound up leaving the show empty-handed.

But at least viewers got a reward.