Friends creators reveal heartbreaking impact Matthew Perry's death has on 30th anniversary celebrations

Creators of Friends have lifted the lid on the heartbreaking way that the absence of one key cast member from this year's anniversary celebrations have affected the sitcom's entire crew.

We are, of course, talking about Matthew Perry, the 'Chandler Bing' actor who tragically died at his home last year, aged just 54.

Perry with his Friends co-stars in 1994 (NBC/Getty)

22 September 2024 marked 30 years since fans were first introduced to the show's six lead characters - Chandler, Joey, Phoebe, Rachel, Ross and Monica.

The much-loved comedy series aired for 10 years before concluding in 2004.

Since then, however, fans desperately hoped that the Perry and his co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Matt Le Blanc, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow - who famously stayed close despite the show coming to an end - would one day get back together for one more season.

Tragically, however - despite a one-off reunion show hosted by James Corden in 2021 - fans' hopes of another instalment of Friends were dashed last year when news hit the headlines that actor Perry had passed away.

The fan-favourite funny-man was sadly found dead at his home in Los Angeles, having suffered from the 'acute effects of Ketmaine'.

Since then, countless tributes have been issued by fans of the star, as well as by creators of the show, who this week lifted the lid on what it was like to mark Friends' 30th anniversary without Perry.

Marta Kauffman and David Crane created Friends (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc)

Sitting down with TODAY this week, Marta Kauffman and David Crane opened up on the show's almighty heartache.

"It’s a huge loss and it does make the 30th a little fraught," Kauffman began before describing Perry as the 'funniest man in a room'.

Crane then added: "He made us laugh every day."

Following his passing, Kauffman previously told The Times that HBO had added an 'in memory of' segment in honour of Perry to the conclusion of the hit reunion episode, which aired just months prior to his death.

"Two things come to mind," she told the publication. "One of them is to donate to drug treatment centers — let’s fight the disease.

"And the second way is to watch Friends and remember him not as a man who died like that but as a man who was hilariously funny and brought joy to everybody."

Earlier this year, five individuals were arrested in association with Perry's death, including 'ketamine queen' Jasveen Sangha and Dr Salvador Plasencia.

Perry died of an accidental drug overdose in 2023 (Frederick M. Brown / Stringer)

Despite pleading not guilty, all five will appear in court next year.

Both have pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Whilst, Sangha was charged with conspiracy to distribute ketamine, maintaining a drug-involved premises, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute ketamine, and five counts of distribution of ketamine, Plasencia was charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute it.

Martin Estrada, a United States Attorney, previously told a press briefing: "These defendants took advantage of Mr Perry's addiction issues to enrich themselves.

"They knew what they were doing was wrong, they knew what they were doing was risking great danger to Mr Perry, but they did it anyways.

"In the end these defendants were more interested in profiting off Mr Perry than caring for his well being."