By Peter Bowes in Hollywood

Friends star Matt LeBlanc would like his Emmy-winning sitcom to go out on a high.

LeBlanc reckons his character, Joey, would opt for a bedroom romp with all three of the show's female leads. It is probably fair to say that Monica, Phoebe and Rachel would have other ideas.

If it were left to LeBlanc to script the final scenes, he would opt for a more romantic ending.

"I would love to see Ross and Rachel together because that's where the show started and it would be fitting that it would come full circle and see the two of them sail off together," he explains.

LeBlanc will next be seen in a comic wartime movie

The actor is the latest cast member on the long-running series to speculate about how it will all end.

It has still not been confirmed that the ninth season of Friends will be the last, but there appears to be little doubt in LeBlanc's mind that the show is winding down.

He is "dreading" the last day. "The end is going to be really sad," he says.

"These are people I've evolved with - I've really learned from. I've grown tremendously as an actor by being there.

"It's comic writing the likes of which I don't know that I'll ever see again," he says.

"It's been a great, great, great experience."

The new season of Friends kicked off last month in the US by teasing viewers over the love triangle between Ross, Rachel and Joey.

"I think Joey's at a point this season where he has learned from the experience with Rachel and he's learned that maybe he is ready for something a bit more substantial," explains LeBlanc, without elaborating on exactly what is in store for his character.

Drama

Like Jennifer Aniston, who has received glowing reviews for her latest foray into big screen acting - The Good Girl - LeBlanc is now looking to the future.

In All The Queen's Men, a wartime comedy co-starring Eddie Izzard, he plays a cross-dressing special agent. The film opens next week in the US.

UK comedian Eddie Izzard is LeBlanc's new co-star

LeBlanc says taking on a new role is "very exciting" in terms of his career, although he says it is tempting to try to recreate Joey.

"I've been really successful playing that character on the show, so there's a philosophy of if it's not broke don't fix it.

"One strategy might be to go and do the same character in a lot of different movies - a lot of people make very nice careers out of playing a similar type of character again and again," he adds.

But LeBlanc says he wants to take on more serious roles.

"When I was younger and studying acting I never ever saw myself in the sitcom world. It was drama that really turned me on - and still does."

He says he has a "natural knack" for comedy because he can "see where the joke is in the writing".

Carpenter

However, there are drawbacks in playing such a high-profile loser as Joey, a struggling actor - people think he has the same IQ as his character.

LeBlanc says he has grown more confident about his performing abilities during his time on Friends.

He is currently working on the Charlie's Angels sequel.

It seems unlikely that the need will arise, but LeBlanc says he is mindful that he has a solid background in an alternative profession.

He trained as a carpenter.

"This whole acting thing was always an absolute shot in the dark - and if it didn't pan out I've got my hammer and tool bag and I'd be banging nails again tomorrow if I had to," he says.