Hannah Waddingham has said she has “no time” for those who criticise Tom Cruise.
Waddingham has been filming scenes alongside the actor for the concluding instalment of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, which will arrive in cinemas in 2025.
The actress and TV presenter had plenty of praise for Cruise when he was brought up in her appearance on ITV series James Martin’s Saturday Morning on Christmas Day.
Having spent “five intense days” with Cruise on the USS George HW Bush fighter carrier, Waddingham told TV chef Martin: “I have to say, I have a real problem with anybody that goes at him now.”
She continued: “He is without doubt one of the loveliest and encouraging, positive and inspiring human beings I have ever met. Isn’t he gorgeous? I have no time for anyone saying anything about him.”
Despite Cruise being held in high esteem in Hollywood, he has faced controversy over his off-screen behaviour throughout the years.
In 2005, he made headlines after jumping on the sofa during an appearance on Oprah Winfrey’s chat show to declare his love for then girlfriend Katie Holmes and, that same year, labelled the practice of psychiatry “pseudo-science” in a quarrel with Matt Lauer.
He has also faced particular backlash over his longtime association with the Church of Scientology. In 2008, the actor bewildered fans in a leaked promotional video where he discussed the benefits of the controversial religion.
Meanwhile, Cruise has been sending out hundreds of $125 coconut cakes to friends, family and numerous figures in the entertainment world for Christmas in what has become an annual tradition.
The white coconut bundt cake is only made by Doan’s Bakery in Los Angeles and in past years, stars who have been lucky enough to receive one have included Tom Hanks, Kirsten Dunst and Jimmy Fallon.
It was also reported that Cruise is supposedly dating socialite Elsina Khayrova, the daughter of a prominent Russian MP and ex-wife of a diamond-trading oligarch.