Both Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer have shared moving tributes to their Friends co-star Matthew Perry.
The actor tragically died last month at the age of 54, after reportedly drowning in his hot tub at his LA home.
Matthew Perry was best-known for his role as Chandler Bing in Friends, in which he starred alongside on-screen wife Courteney Cox (Monica), on-screen roommate Matt LeBlanc (Joey), David Schwimmer (Ross), Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe) and Jennifer Aniston (Rachel).
His Friends cast-mates had remained silent since his death but have now all begun to share their own tributes to the hugely popular star.
Today, Jennifer Aniston said that his death has ‘cut deep’ and left her in an ‘insane wave of emotions’.
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Describing him as a ‘little brother’, she detailed his ability to make everyone laugh, and how deeply loved he was.
Meanwhile David Schwimmer’s tribute praised his friend’s ‘impeccable comic timing and delivery’ and even included a joke inspired by a Chandler Bing catchphrase – “Could there BE any more clouds?”
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Matt LeBlanc shared a statement yesterday which said: “Spread your wings and fly brother, you are finally free.”
Jennifer Aniston’s full tribute to Matthew Perry reads as follows: “Oh boy this one has cut deep… Having to say goodbye to our Matty has been an insane wave of emotions that I’ve never experienced before.
The Friends cast have shared tributes to co-star Matthew Perry after his sudden death
“We all experience loss at some point in our lives. Loss of life or loss of love. Being able to really SIT in this grief allows you to feel the moments of joy and gratitude for having loved someone that deep. And we loved him deeply. He was such a part of our DNA. We were always the 6 of us.
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“This was a chosen family that forever changed the course of who we were and what our path was going to be.
“For Matty, he KNEW he loved to make people laugh. As he said himself, if he didn’t hear the ‘laugh’ he thought he was going to die. His life literally depended on it. And boy did he succeed in doing just that.
“He made all of us laugh. And laugh hard. In the last couple weeks, I’ve been pouring over our texts to one another. Laughing and crying then laughing again. I’ll keep them forever and ever. I found one text that he sent me out of nowhere one day. It says it all. (See the second slide…)
“Matty, I love you so much and I know you are now completely at peace and out of any pain. I talk to you every day… sometimes I can almost hear you saying “could you BE any crazier?”
David Schwimmer meanwhile said: “Matty, thank you for ten incredible years of laughter and creativity.
“I will never forget your impeccable comic timing and delivery. You could take a straight line of dialogue and bend it to your will, resulting in something so entirely original and unexpectedly funny it still astonishes.
“And you had heart. Which you were generous with, and shared with us, so we could create a family out of six strangers.
“This photo is from one of my favorite moments with you. Now it makes me smile and grieve at the same time.
“I imagine you up there, somewhere, in the same white suit, hands in your pockets, looking around—
Matt LeBlanc’s tribute read: “Matthew. It is with a heavy heart I say goodbye. The times we had together are honestly among the favorite times of my life.
“It was an honor 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.”
And Courteney Cox wrote, sharing a Friends clip of Monica and Chandler in London: “I am so grateful for every moment I had with you Matty and I miss you every day.
“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 favorites.
“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.”
Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, and Matt LeBlanc have now all shared tributes to the late, great Matthew Perry.
Greater Manchester claims I’m A Celeb title again as Salford YouTuber Angry Ginge crowned 2025 winner
Emily Sergeant
Greater Manchester has reigned supreme once again, as for the second year running, someone from our region has been crowned I’m A Celebrity champion.
And this year, the King of the Jungle is Salford YouTuber, Angry Ginge.
Millions of viewers from across the UK tuned in last night to see Morgan Burtwistle – who goes by the name Angry Ginge or just Ginge, based off his internet username – be crowned 2025’s winner of popular ITV reality competition, I’m A Celebrity..., and watched as last year’s champion, Bolton boyband member Danny Jones, handed over the crown to his fellow northerner.
After spending three gruelling weeks in the Australian camp, and creating plenty of memorable moments in the process, the 24-year-old social media star beat out TV personality Tom Read Wilson for the title.
Ginge became the winner of the show’s 25th series by also beating fellow contestants like ex-EastEnders star Shona McGarty, and fellow Mancunian, rapper Aitch.
The Salford lad was left speechless after hosts Ant and Dec called his name as the winner, and described it as an ‘amazing’ moment.
“Honestly, [it’s] a dream come true,” he added. “I didn’t think I’d go all this way, never mind win, so thank you to everyone who voted.”
As former McFly star Danny Jones came to hand over the crown to Ginge, he said: “There you go, all the way from Bolton to Manchester.”
For those who were unfamiliar with Ginge before his I’m A Celeb stardom, the 24-year-old had become known for his rants about football, especially about his team Manchester United – but in 2021, he exploded in popularity even further when he uploaded a skit video about struggling to get chips on a night out.
Since then, he has turned into one of the most popular streamers and internet personalities in the UK with 1.4 million followers.
And now, he can add King of the Jungle to those accolades.
This year’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! has been one of the most successful in recent years in terms of viewership.
The launch show in November attracted more than 10 million viewers, which ITV said was its biggest audience since Euro 2024.
Featured Image – ITV (Publicity Picture)
TV & Showbiz
Review | The Lion, The Witch and The Beaver* – sorry, Wardrobe
The Manc
What an enchanting evening at The Lowry as we were transported to Narnia to review the live stage adaptation of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe in Media City as the production began its festive run in Greater Manchester.
As we entered the playing space, the atmosphere was set with a pianist on stage, slowly drowning out the noise of the outside world and settling the audience in for a night of magic.
Launching ‘Act One’ with a touching rendition of the British wartime classic, ‘We’ll Meet Again’ by Vera Lynne, we meet the large ensemble, multi-instrumentalist cast.
This talented ensemble pivots around multiple roles throughout the performance, creating a shape-shifting atmosphere with some impressive seamless transitions, allowing us to “open our minds” and be absorbed into the mythical world of Narnia alongside The Pevensies.
Sweetly played by Joanna Adaran, Jesse Dunbar, Kudzai Mangombe and Bunmi Osadolor, they excel in exploring sibling dynamics such as rivalry, trust, but most of all, loyalty and love.
The most mind-blowing element of this performance, however, was the production; it truly is the unsung hero of the entire show, so we’ll so the singing on their behalf.
Set and costume (designed by Tom Paris), lighting (done by Jack Knowles), puppetry design and direction (by Max Humphries and Toby Olie), sound design (credit to Tom Marshall) and hair, make-up and wig designer (Susanna Perez).
All this carefully curated talent helped create a world where we had no choice but to believe in magic.
For us as an audience, it made things so much easier to immerse and delight in the world of C.S. Lewis’ imagination, as it is so wonderfully presented in front of us.
This was elevated once again by levitation and disappearing acts – the scene was set on the boards and in the air.
Huge credit goes to Gwen Hales (aerial director) and Chris Fisher (magic and illusions); it felt as if anything was possible, and we needed no convincing that we were in the presence of pure enchantment.
However, arguably the most magnificent moment of the show was the reveal of Aslan himself. As this grand puppet prowled onto the stage, you could hear gasps echo throughout the theatre.
Manoeuvred by three puppeteers, this skilful spectacle was a credit to bringing the story to life in live theatre. The seamless, lifelike movements of breath and king-like presence were both majestic and a credit to the production.
Accompanied by Stanton Wright, we had no doubt that this was the true hero of Narnia.
If you want us to sum up our review of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at The Lowry, quite simply, this show is nothing short of a marvel.
Make sure to take home a cuddly lion toy, of course. (Credit: The Manc)
With constant playfulness and wit throughout – mainly brought to you from the broad Northern and oh-so lovable Mr Beaver (Ed Thorpe), and fellow believer in magic, ‘The Professor’ (Kraig Thornber).
It’s the lattermost that left us with a lasting thought, as he warmly reminds the audience that even when times feel dark, “the sun is always up there, we just have to look.”
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is running from The Lowry in Salford Quays all the way up until Sunday, 11 January 2026. Don’t miss the magic and grab your tickets HERE.
If you’re interested in finding out what else we’ve enjoyed at the theatre in Manchester recently, then look no further…
Daisy Jackson -
15th November 2023 
