Byline: ALUN PALMER

WHEN the Duchess of York met the cast of Friends at Westminster Abbey yesterday, it was difficult to tell who was most impressed.

Fergie, making a cameo appearance in the American comedy series, declared: 'Everybody in England wants to meet them and here I am on their show.' And actor Matthew Perry, who plays Chandler, said: 'It was great to meet a real live Duchess. She is really good fun.' The Friends team are in London for 12 days to film a cliffhanging end to their current series. Ross, played by David Schwimmer, is to marry his British girlfriend Emily (Helen Baxendale), after a whirlwind romance. But they have to race to the London church where her parents were married before it is pulled down.

In one scene Joey, played by Matt Le Blanc, bumps into the Duchess while on a sightseeing tour of the capital. To prove he has really met her, he videos himself with her.

Filming started at 5am yesterday and Fergie arrived four hours later to cheers from tourists outside the Abbey. Within minutes she, Perry and Le Blanc seemed like old friends as they laughed, joked and posed for pictures.

After brief attention from a makeup artist and hairdresser, and a swift rehearsal of her two lines of dialogue, she faced the cameras.

The Duchess was contacted by producers several months ago and is said to have been delighted by the idea. She was paid only the basic Screen Actors' Guild guest appearance fee of [pounds sterling]360 but in return for her co-operation the cast of the show have agreed to be interviewed by her for Hello! magazine, which recently agreed a [pounds sterling]1. …