Hannah Waddingham will be ‘furious’ if she drops off special Tom Cruise list

Watch Hannah Waddingham says she'll be ‘furious’ if she drops off special Tom Cruise list

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Hannah Waddingham has admitted she will be "furious" if Tom Cruise ever drops her from his prestigious coconut cake list.

The Mission: Impossible star is known for sending out the delicious cake to a select list of his closest friends each Christmas, and Waddingham told how she was proud to have made the cut this year.

Waddingham has joined an elite group of coconut cake recipients - but not everyone is lucky enough to stay on the list.

What, how, and why?

Hannah Waddingham is set to star in the next Mission: Impossible instalment, Dead Reckoning Part Two, next year - but acting alongside Tom Cruise in his most famous film franchise wasn't the most exciting thing to come out of the job.

Ted Lasso star Waddingham told Christine Lampard on Lorraine how she had made it onto Cruise's coconut cake at Christmas, a special honour reserved for his closest friends.

Every December, Cruise sends out white chocolate coconut Bundt cakes from Doan's Bakery in California to his nearest and dearest, and now Waddingham has found herself on the list.

Describing Cruise as "the Hollywood superstar", Waddingham explained how they had grown close while shooting the film. She said: "It was insane on a very kind of low key, lovely level, on this active fighter carrier that we landed on in an Osprey, as you do, while it was moving.

"You land, and it's amazing how he is so used to the effect that he has on people. He would find the person right at the back that looked nervous and make a bee line for them. And I just think people need to know that because he doesn't need to do that. And it's a beautiful thing."

As Waddingham sang Cruise's praises, Lampard asked her: "Can you explain the importance of this coconut cake?"

She replied: "I mean, I'm not going to lie. I did get a coconut cake this year, Christine."

Lampard said: "This is a very special gift. Only a very elite few can say they're members of this coconut cake club."

Waddingham admitted: "If I ever fall off that list, I'm going to be furious." She offered to send Lampard a slice and added: "Even the box is gorgeous."

As Lampard asked if it was a big cake, she replied: "It's a beast. Of course, he's not going to send like..."

Lampard joked: "Does it combust after five minutes or something?"

Who else is on Tom Cruise's coconut cake list?

Waddingham has joined a hallowed list of stars deemed close enough to Cruise to receive a cake at Christmas.

Tom Hanks, a regular on the list, has said it is "so great you can really only have it once a year" and shares his with the staff at his production company, while husband and wife Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons never run out of the cake as they have each made the list separately.

Cruise loves to treat his favourite co-stars, including Top Gun: Maverick's Glen Powell who holds a "Cruise Cake Party" for his friends, Mission: Impossible co-star Hayley Atwell, and Top Gun's Jay Ellis who loved it so much he froze it and flew it to Mexico for his family Christmas trip.

Elle Fanning has said Cruise has made an effort to stay a part of sister Dakota's life since 2005 when they starred together in War of the Worlds, sending her a birthday present each year - and of course, a coconut cake at Christmas.

Jon Hamm might be a huge Hollywood star himself, but he's not too proud to admit: "I'm on the list. I'm very proud to be on the list."

Graham Norton got a surprise when he was preparing for an interview with Renee Zellweger and realised his office had been receiving the cake for years, but had never passed it on to him. He said: "I was talking about you being on the cake list and somebody said 'Oh, yeah, we get a cake from Tom every year,' and I went, 'Do we? I've never seen the bloody cake.'"

But as a cautionary tale for Waddingham, it is possible to drop off the list, as Brooke Shields knows. "I was on the list for a while. I had a good 10-year run, and I got the coconut cake every year, which I was very happy about," she told PEOPLE. "I want to get back on that cake list. It's the best cake. Tom, I need to be back on the cake list!"

Lorraine airs on ITV1 at 9am on weekdays.

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