American sitcom Friends director James Burrows has revealed that the cast of the show were left “destroyed”, following the sudden passing of Matthew Perry.

The actor, who is known for playing Chandler Bing in Friends, was found lifeless in his jacuzzi on Saturday, 28 October, with no illegal substances present and no foul play suspected.

Following Matthews tragic passing at 54, director James spoke with NBC’s Liz Kreutz for Today where he expressed his “utter shock” and revealed what Matthew’s former cast members said in a text.

James said: “I texted the girls the day we found out and they [were] destroyed. It was a brother dying.”

The director added: “It's so sad. I want him to be remembered as a wonderful actor, a funny man and a wonderful friend to a lot of people.”

Friends first debuted in 1994 and ran for 10 seasons over 10 years, wrapping up in 2004. The show famously followed the lives of six characters who were living in New York, and has remained one of the post popular and well-loved TV shows to this date.

Earlier this week, Matthew’s cast mates, Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, Courteney Cox,David SchwimmerandLisa Kudrowcame together to pay a heartbreaking tribute to the star, who they described as “family”.

Sharing the joint tribute withPeople, they said: "We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family."

"There is so much to say, but right now we're going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss."

They added: "In time we will say more, as and when we are able. For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty's family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world."

Matthew openly shared his battle with addiction, as detailed in his honest memoir released last year. He became addicted to the painkiller Vicodin after a 1997 jet skiing accident. At the peak of his addiction, he was taking 55 tablets a day before his first stint in rehab.

He revealed that during his fight with addiction, he underwent 14 surgeries and entered rehab more than a dozen times, according toToday.

In his memoir, Perry wrote that he spent over $7million on his journey to sobriety – later stating in a New York Times interview that the figure was closer to $9million.

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