BAFTA TV Awards pays touching tribute to Matthew Perry
The Friends icon was honoured alongside other stars including Michael Parkinson, Ian Lavender and Bernard Hill.
The BAFTA Television Awards has paid emotional tribute to Matthew Perry during the ceremony's In Memoriam section.
The beloved former Friends star – who passed away last October at the age of 54 – was the last name to appear in the montage, which also featured some clips from his time on the hugely popular sitcom.
One of those clips was from the classic episode The One With Ross's Tan, while another showed Chandler being enthusiastically hugged by best friend Joey (Matt LeBlanc).
Several other big names from the television industry who have sadly died in the last year were also spotlighted in the segment, including legendary talk show presenter Michael Parkinson, Dad's Army star Ian Lavender and prolific TV and film actor Bernard Hill.
Meanwhile, there were also tributes to Gen V actor Chance Perdomo, poet and Peaky Blinders star Benjamin Zephaniah, newsreader George Alagiah and The Windsors' Haydn Gwynne, among many others.
Following the montage, host Romesh Ranganathan said: "So many legends in front of and behind the camera, gone but not forgotten."
Perry's absence from the similar list at February's BAFTA Film Awards had left some fans to question his omission, but a response from BAFTA at the time explained that he would be remembered at the TV ceremony instead.
In the wake of Perry's passing, Friends co-stars David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and Jennifer Aniston said they were "utterly devastated" by the news.
They said in a statement: "We were more than just castmates. We are a family."
They each also later issues individual statements paying tribute to their former co-star and remembering the incredible moments they had shared together during their time on the show.
Perry's life was also honoured at this year's Emmy Awards, though his Friends co-stars were absent for the emotional tribute.
"I can’t speak for them, but we all have to respect that they were their own family. It was probably just a little too soon," Emmys executive producer Jeannae Rouzan-Clay said at the time.
In addition to his iconic role as Chandler, Perry appeared in films such as Three to Tango, The Whole Nine Yards and 17 Again, as well as making appearances in TV shows including Ally McBeal, The West Wing and The Good Wife.
Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.