Matthew Perry has killed off hopes of a Friends reunion

When is a friends reunion not a Friends reunion? When Chandler Bing can't make it.

Fans of the hit 90s sitcom were overjoyed when news broke that there was going to be a glorious reunion 12 years after the show last aired. Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry and Lisa Kudrow were said to be getting back together for a two-hour special next month to honour veteran director James Burrows. But fans' elation was quickly punctured as Matthew Perry's representative said the star wouldn't be attending the reunion as it clashes with the debut of his West End play The End of Longing. Perry himself then dashed talk of a comeback in an interview on the Graham Norton Show, which airs at 10.35pm on Friday, BBC One.

"It’s not true," he said. "It’s not the reunion everyone is hoping for – they are celebrating Jim Burrows who was a director of Friends.

"The other five (Friends) are going to be on this special and I am going to introduce them from London. I’m doing the play here so I can’t be there."

So close...