Friends star Lisa Kudrow has revealed that she had to brush up on her guitar playing in order to film the reunion special.

Last week's Sky and HBO Max documentary reunited the original cast with famous fans to look back on some of the most memorable moments from the sitcom – and one segment put Kudrow in the hot seat when she performed Phoebe's classic song 'Smelly Cat' with help from Lady Gaga.

Kudrow chatted about that jaw-dropping collaboration during an appearance on The Ellen Show on Friday (June 4), where she admitted she was quite rusty on the guitar leading into filming.

"That was great," she told Ellen. "I was really nervous when I first heard that. Then, I prepared."

friends the reunion, lisa kudrow, lady gag
Warner Bros.

Related: Friends – what's happening with the *real* reunion?

Kudrow admitted there was just one major issue: "I realised I had to learn 'Smelly Cat' again. And, I tuned my guitar, and then realised I don't know the chords, but I Googled it! All the chords were there.

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"Yeah, so, thank you world for posting the chords. So, I learned it and then my throat closed. I was so panicked, I couldn't get anything out. I didn't know what was going to happen! But, it worked out."

Have a look at Lisa Kudrow performing her classic song with Lady Gaga below:

Kudrow also had a hilarious answer when Ellen asked whether she played other songs besides 'Smelly Cat' on her guitar.

"The other Phoebe songs," Kudrow quipped. "Only because, I made those up."

Can we get an encore of 'Sticky Shoes', please?

Friends streams on Netflix in the UK, where it also airs daily on Comedy Central. In the US, you can stream the show on HBO Max. The Friends reunion special is available on Sky and NOW in the UK, and HBO Max in the US.


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Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.