US broadcaster NBC has announced that the original cast of Friends will be reuniting for a two-hour special as a tribute to director James Burrows.

The original cast - Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc,Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer - are all on board but filming logistics are yet to be confirmed.

The show will not be a new episode of the sitcom, that first aired in 1994, but a tribute to the director featuring other stars and skits from his other sitcoms including Will & Grace and Frasier.

Burrows' recently marked a milestone in his directing career by making 1,000 TV episodes, 15 of which were Friends.

NBC Entertainment Chairman, Robert Greenblatt, who made the announcement at the Television Critics Association in Los Angeles, said that, while all six "Friends" stars will appear in the special, they may not all be appearing together.

I'm hoping all six will be in same room at the same time. NBC Entertainment Chairman, Robert Greenblatt

Matt LeBlanc, who played Joey, and Lisa Kudrow took to social media to respond to the announcement.

Frequent rumours of a reunion have been reported since the finale which aired in 2004, when 52 million people tuned in to watch.

The sitcom about a group of friends living in New York ran for 10 seasons turning the small cast of ‘unknown’ actors into multi-award winning, international stars.

Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Joey and Phoebe are expected back on our screens February 21.