Hear'Say star quit booze after drunken Friends impressions - to Matthew Perry

25 February 2023 , 18:01

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Suzanne Shaw, who found fame in Hear’Say, has launched her own app (Image: Daily Express)

Suzanne Shaw knew she needed to give up booze after drunkenly impersonating Friends star Matthew Perry when she met him.

The former Hear’Say singer says he thought it was hilarious to repeat some of his character Chandler’s best-known lines at a showbiz do.

But even now, six years on, Suzanne, 41, says the way she behaved “makes me cringe”.

Matthew – who played wise-cracking Chandler Bing in the hit US comedy – was starring in a play in London’s West End when Suzanne accosted him in 2016.

She said: “I’d had three large glasses of wine. I promised myself I wouldn’t go up and blurt something out to Matthew, but I did. I said to him, ‘You’re one of my son’s favourites’, and did a few impressions.

'I stopped drinking booze on dates and it made life much more exciting'

Suzanne had an embarrassing encounter with Friends star Matthew Perry (Suzanne Shaw/One Year No Beer)

“I had my arm around him, was slurring and my balance was off. He just wasn’t impressed. It still makes me cringe.”

The awkward encounter forced Suzanne to look at how much she was drinking – and the actress and singer gave up for good three years ago. Now she has just launched her own wellness app, The Happy Health Club.

Suzanne found fame in 2000 when Hear’Say won the TV talent contest, Popstars.

Their debut single, Pure and Simple, was the fastest selling non-charity record ever in the UK. But the band broke up less than two years later, leaving Suzanne battling anxiety and depression.

The actress and singer, pictured in July, accosted the Friends star at a party six years ago (Dave Benett/Getty Images)

Suzanne says getting sober has changed her life (GC Images)

She said: “I don’t think you can prepare for overnight fame like that, and then it ended suddenly.

“I felt overwhelmed, so I used alcohol to numb the pain. If I was with friends, I’d get my boobs out. I’ve no idea why.

“Other times I’d get sleepy. I’d nod off in restaurants or at parties. I once fell asleep at the table at a charity event.”

Hear'Say were created through the ITV reality TV show Popstars (Getty Images)

In 2020, to coincide with the 20th anniversary of being in the entertainment industry, Suzanne vowed to give up alcohol and get fit.

The mum-of-two, who lives in Buckinghamshire, said: “If somebody had said to me that I’d end up sober and running a wellness app, I’d have laughed them out of the pub with a kebab in hand.

"But I’m a different person now. Getting sober has changed my life.”

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• The Happy Health Club is giving away 10,000 free lifetime member places. Go to thehappyhealthclub.com and enter the code HAPPY before March 12

Sue Crawford