Friends star Matthew Perry, 54, found dead in his home

Matthew Perry, the star actor who portrayed the icon Chandler Bing on Friends died at the age of 54, after a drowning incident at his home.

According to reports, Perry died in a hot tub or Jacuzzi but foul play is being ruled out. The cause of death is still unknown.

Perry rose to fame in the 1990s along with his co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, and David Schwimmer, on the US sitcom.

The show revolved around a group of friends living in New York in their mid-20s and ran for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004. Perry’s character, Chandler Bing, is famous for his sarcastic one-liners.

The actor was open about his trouble with prescription drug addiction and alcohol abuse, recounting a near-death experience in 2019 after his colon burst because of opioid use.

In his memoir Perry wrote about the confrontation he received from co-star Jennifer Aniston about his drinking, telling him that, "we can smell it,” on set.

The first episode of the show premiered on 22 Sept 1994 and was seen by nearly 22 million people.

It won several awards, including 62 Primetime Emmy nominations with six wins and 10 Golden Globe Award nominations with one win.

The Friends finale aired on 6 May 2004 and was seen by over 52 million viewers, making it one of the most watched final episodes of a TV series in history.

In Malta, the TV series was acquired for syndication by the Nationalist Party channel Net, a costly move for the fledgling station which earned it a loyal following throughout the early 2000s.