Matt LeBlanc has become the first Friends star to pay an individual tribute to former co-star and friend, Matthew Perry. Perry was found dead at his Los Angeles home on October 28, at the age of 54.

A private funeral was held for the actor at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles, with the castmates, and Perry’s nearest and dearest in attendance. Matt shared his heartfelt messages on social media on Tuesday (November 14) afternoon alongside a selection of photos of the pair from the iconic 90s sitcom, saying goodbye to his friend with a “heavy heart”.

Uploaded to the actor and former Top Gear host’s Instagram account, Matt wrote: “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.”

At the end of the photo collection, a behind the scenes photo of the Friends gang can be seen, which was snapped during the filming of the show’s finally episode nearly twenty years ago. Matt’s post has already received over 1.4million likes and 58,600 comments, at the time of writing.

Danilovegap commented: “When friends ended I always hold hope the show would come back for another special season, that never happened and now never will, that breaks my heart, you two played friendship so truthfully that will be remember forever on tv.”

Amelia_w1283 said, “My heart breaks for you. What a loss,” while mchugh.the.mysterious wrote, “This is monumental. We will never forget Matthew, god speed.”

The Friends cast released a joint statement after Perry's death, saying they were "utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family". They added there was "so much to say" but said they needed to "grieve and process this unfathomable loss."

Last month, fans were brought to tears as singer Charlie Puth made tribute to the late actor during one of his concerts in Australia, by playing the Friends’ theme song, I'll Be There For You by The Rembrandts. Standing next to his piano, Puth said on stage: "I wanna dedicate this song to another song and if it makes you think of a person that's who it's dedicated to. Does this mean anything to anyone?"

The crowd joined in as they belted out the song together in Australia. Puth then transitioned into his hit song See You Again, which includes lyrics like "it's been a long day without my friend, and I'll tell you all about it when I see you again."