Courteney Cox remembers Scream co-star Hayden Panettiere

Courteney Cox has remembered working with her late Scream co-star Hayden Panettiere.

The Friends actress, who has played journalist Gale Weathers in all seven instalments of the horror franchise, has paid tribute to the late Heroes star almost a month after her death.

"She's a really wonderful actor," Cox reflected in an interview with Entertainment Weekly at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). "The last time I worked with her, we had a great time. She was really fun and happy and smart, and it's really sad. It's obviously horrible."

Cox appeared at TIFF for the premiere of her true crime movie Evil Genius, her second-ever directorial feature.

Panettiere appeared in the slasher franchise twice. She made her debut as Kirby Reed in 2011's Scream 4 and reprised the role years later in 2023's Scream VI.

The Nashville star died in an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina on 16 August at the age of 36. Her on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach were present at the residence, and Zach called 911, reporting that she was unresponsive and in cardiac arrest.

First responders tried to resuscitate Panettiere, but their efforts failed, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Panettiere's death is currently under investigation by the local police and agents with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and her cause of death has yet to be officially revealed.

Law enforcement sources told TMZ on Monday that they believe the former child star took an oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl on the morning of her death. This report has not yet been confirmed.

Oxycodone is a prescription-only opioid painkiller used to treat moderate to severe pain, while fentanyl is a significantly more potent and dangerous opioid.