Matthew Perry's cause of death is expected to be explained by an "unknown drug", a former medical examiner has claimed.

The Friends star tragically died at the age of 54 on October 28, after he was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his home in California.

His death certificate was released on Tuesday, 14 November, with the actor's cause of death listed as "pending investigation" as the medical examiner's office awaits toxicology and lab results. A former chief medical examiner said that he believes Matthew's cause of death will have been caused by "some unknown drug", and the full report should be released within days.

"They've got pretty much 99% of what they're going to get at this point as far as information goes, and they can release it now, or they can wait for a couple more weeks because they're looking for some unknown drug," Dr Michael Baden told Fox News Digital.

"They might be doing microscopic slides, but it's now about almost two weeks, so the toxicology should be finished," he added, noting that because of Matthew's fame, the toxicologists may carry out "more extensive tests" than normal.

According to TMZ, Matthew's assistant found him unresponsive in the hot tub. She managed to get his "head above the water and gotten him to the edge" before help arrived.

Matthew's parents Suzanne Perry and John Bennett Perry, along with his stepdad Keith Morrison, were seen at Matthew's home after the news of his passing was announced. Former Dateline host Keith was listed on the death certificate as the informant, meaning he identified Matthew to the authorities.

It was confirmed that prescription drugs were found at the comedian's home, but no foul play is suspected. Matthew had been sober for two years after a long battle with alcohol and drug addiction.

The Friends star, who played the much-loved character Chandler Bing on the show for 10 years, was laid to rest in the Forest Lawn cemetery in Hollywood Hills last week. His co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer attended his funeral.

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