FRIENDS star MATTHEW PERRY is back in rehab - and it has left ELIZABETH HURLEY out of a job.

Less than six months after the actor announced his "hard living" was a thing of the past, Perry has followed the advice of his doctor and has been admitted to a rehabilitation hospital, according to a statement released by his publicist. It's still not exactly known why the 31-year-old actor, who has publicly struggled with alcohol and prescription-drug addiction, returned to rehab, or in which hospital he is staying.

The statement from Perry's publicist LISA KASTELER reads, "Matthew has every intention of completing his treatment so that he can continue his dream of entertaining people and making them laugh. He appreciates everyone's concern and thanks them for respecting his privacy." And work has had to be halted on his latest movie project SERVICING SARA, which is being filmed in Dallas and Los Angeles.

In 1997, Perry checked himself into the Hazelden drug treatment centre in Minnesota, America, for an addiction to prescription painkillers, but he insisted "there were no pills involved" in his health problems last year (00). (SVD/WNW

Source: WENN