SEX AND THE CITY actor WILLIE GARSON has credited his WHITE COLLAR co-star MATT BOMER with helping him deal with his mother's death when they were strangers at the start of the series.

Garson reveals he was given some bad news about his mum's health shortly after starting work on the TV show, and Bomer helped him through the difficult time even though they barely knew each other - and the bonding experience helped them become best friends.

He tells New York Post gossip column Page Six, "When we started the series, I got a call with news that my mother was going to pass away. I didn't know anyone on the set. Matt asked, 'What's wrong?' And I told him my mother was going to die. He hugged me and let me cry. I knew he had my back. That shows on-screen... On this show, we've been to hell and back - now we're best friends."