Kathleen Turner called 'dad' by Matthew Perry

9 April 2018

Kathleen Turner is still called "dad" by Matthew Perry.

Kathleen Turner

The 63-year-old actress enjoyed a guest stint in the long-running sit-com as Chandler Bing's father Charles, who was also known as male burlesque star Helena Handbasket, and she's still in touch with her on-screen son.

Asked if it's true Matthew, 48, calls her dad, she confirmed: "Yes, he does."

The 'Romancing the Stone' actress didn't have to audition for the "silly"role, but was approached about the part when one of the 'Friends' creators saw her on stage.

She explained on UK TV show 'Sunday Brunch': "I was touring a one-woman show based on Tallulah Bankhead, and David Crane, who is one of the creators of 'Friends' came up to see the show and he came back and he asked me if I would consider playing Chandler's father."

"It really is one of the silliest things I've ever done.

"I thought, 'Well, a woman playing a man playing a woman... I haven't done that yet. Why not?'"

Despite the ongoing popularity of 'Friends' - which also starred Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow and Matt Le Blanc - Kathleen recently admitted she doesn't think the show, which ran for 10 years from 1994, has "aged well".

She said recently: "I don't think it's aged well. It was a 30-minute sitcom. It became a phenomenon, but no one ever took it seriously as a social comment."

However, Matt recently hit back at accusations from newer viewers that the show features homophobia, misogyny and fat-shaming.

He said: "I disagree with all that... 'Friends' was about themes that stand the test of time - trust, love, relationships, betrayal, family and things like that."