Police Arrest Suspect in Ross From Friends Lookalike Case

11_13_David Schwimmer
Actor David Schwimmer attends a party at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 8, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California. Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images

Police in the U.K. have arrested a suspect in the "Ross from Friends" lookalike case that took the internet by storm in October.

A 36-year-old man was arrested Monday in Southall, London, on suspicion of theft, police tweeted Tuesday.

"Following the appeal we posted looking for a man who resembles a well-known actor, we now have an update." Lancashire Police wrote Tuesday. "Thanks to our colleagues @MetPoliceUK, a 36-year-old man was arrested in Southall last night on suspicion of theft."

London's Metropolitan Police, who arrested the suspect, responded by tweeting: "Happy to help @LancsPolice #IllBeThereForYou," referring to the show's iconic theme song.

Happy to help @LancsPolice #IllBeThereForYou
https://t.co/4hup1FUsVX

— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) November 13, 2018

Back in October, police in Blackpool, Lancashire, released a photo of a suspect that went viral when social media users realized he looked an awful lot like Friends star David Schwimmer.

Countless comments on the original post made in-jokes about the show, which ran for a decade from the mid-1990s on NBC. "I was going to read the report for this but it was 18 pages… FRONT AND BACK! It rambled on for so long that I fell asleep," wrote Billy Hewiitt, referring to a lengthy letter Ross received from his on-off girlfriend, Rachel Green.

"I think it's Russ trying to frame him," wrote Beverley Lewsey, referring to a doppelganger character—also played by Schwimmer—that Rachel goes on to date after the pair break up.

Even Schwimmer himself got involved in the joke, posting a spoof video recreating the photograph back in October. The original picture, shared by the U.K.'s Blackpool Police, is a suspect standing in a store with a precarious cardboard tray of beers.

"Officers, I swear it wasn't me. As you can see, I was in New York," Schwimmer tweeted. "To the hardworking Blackpool Police, good luck with the investigation."

Officers, I swear it wasn't me.
As you can see, I was in New York.
To the hardworking Blackpool Police, good luck with the investigation.#itwasntme pic.twitter.com/EDFF9dZoYR

— schwim (@DavidSchwimmer) October 24, 2018

Schwimmer's post received some 620,000 Likes on Twitter. Police appeals also received tens of thousands of interactions online. The online exposure, police said, ultimately helped to move the investigation forward.

"We can see the humorous side to the original appeal but equally for us, there is a policing purpose to these kinds of appeals on social media," a spokesperson from the Metropolitan Police told Newsweek. "We were overwhelmed with tens of thousands of comments on our Facebook appeal and some of these gave us positive lines of enquiry which we were able to progress."

Police were unable to provide Newsweek with a photograph of the man arrested in Southall as he has not been charged, and a custodial sentence has not been issued.

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About the writer


Katherine Hignett is a reporter based in London. She currently covers current affairs, health and science. Prior to joining Newsweek ... Read more

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