LOS ANGELES - The co-creator of Friends (1994-2004), Marta Kauffman, got emotional in an interview in which she admitted that she had not done enough for diversity in the TV series, according to Fox News.

The beloved 90s sitcom has often been criticised for its lack of diversity, as its six leads were white.

Kauffman, who co-created the show as well as the Netflix original series Grace and Frankie, spoke with a few other showrunners at an interview for the ATX TV Film Festival. She began to tear up after being asked what she wished she had known earlier in her career.

"I wish I knew then what I know today," the writer and TV producer, 63, said while fighting back tears. "I mean we've always encouraged people of diversity in our company, but I didn't do enough and now all I can think about is what can I do? What can I do differently? How can I run my show in a new way? And that's something I not only wish I knew when I started showrunning, but I wish I knew all the way up through last year."

David Schwimmer, who played Ross Geller in the show and directed a few of the show's episodes, said in a previous interview with The Guardian that he had lobbied for his character to date a non-white woman.

The actor, 53, said: "I was well aware of the lack of diversity and I campaigned for years to have Ross date women of colour. One of the first girlfriends I had on the show was an Asian American woman, and later I dated African American women. That was a very conscious push on my part."