Matt LeBlanc and Courteney Cox pay tribute to Friends co-star Matthew Perry

Matt LeBlanc and Courteney Cox have paid tribute to their late Friends co-star Matthew Perry, sharing some of their favourite moments with the actor on the hit show.

LeBlanc, 56, played Joey Tribbiani in the US sitcom, the best friend of Perry’s character, the sarcastic and witty Chandler Bing.

On Tuesday, more than two weeks on from Perry’s death, he posted a heartfelt message on his Instagram page saying goodbye to his friend.

Alongside a selection of pictures, which showed the pair in their roles, LeBlanc wrote: “Matthew. It is with a heavy heart I say goodbye.

“The times we had together are honestly among the favourite times of my life. It was an honour to share the stage with you and to call you my friend.

“I will always smile when I think of you and I’ll never forget you. Never. Spread your wings and fly brother you’re finally free.

“Much love. And I guess you’re keeping the 20 bucks you owe me.”

Cox played Monica Geller starring opposite Perry’s Chandler Bing, with the characters first becoming romantically involved during a trip to London before getting married and adopting children later in the series.

In her first solo statement since the death of Perry on 28 October, Cox shared a video of the pair filming the London scene in which the studio audience’s unmistakable reaction could be heard.

She said: “When you work with someone as closely as I did with Matthew, there are thousands of moments I wish I could share. For now here’s one of my favourites.

“To give a little backstory, Chandler and Monica were supposed to have a one night fling in London. But because of the audience’s reaction, it became the beginning of their love story.

“In this scene, before we started rolling, he whispered a funny line for me to say. He often did things like that. He was funny and he was kind.”

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The lead cast members – LeBlanc, Cox, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow and Jennifer Aniston – gathered for Perry’s funeral service at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park on 3 November, according to US reports.

In a joint statement to US publication People, Perry’s fellow co-stars said they were “utterly devastated” and described their relationship as “more than just cast mates. We are a family”.

Other more minor cast members paid tribute following Perry’s death.

Maggie Wheeler, who played Chandler’s on-and-off girlfriend Janice Hosenstein, said in an Instagram statement that she felt “blessed” to have spent creative moments with Perry.

Simpsons voice actor Hank Azaria, who played Phoebe’s love interest David in several episodes of the show, said in a video posted to his social media that his “genius” friend Perry had helped to get him sober.

In 2022, Perry had released his memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing where he spoke candidly on dealing with an addiction to drugs and alcohol.

Following his death, the Matthew Perry Foundation was set up in the star’s memory, promising to continue his commitment to “helping others struggling with the disease of addiction”.

Los Angeles police had responded to a radio call just after 4pm on October 28 for a death investigation of a male in his fifties, the PA news agency understands.

A statement from Captain Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department to PA said they found a “male unconscious in a stand-alone Jacuzzi”.