Rebecca Ferguson has hailed Tom Cruise as an "inspiration".

The 40-year-old actress stars alongside Hollywood superstar Tom, 61, in the 'Mission: Impossible' film series - which he also produces - and explained that he will go to great lengths to make sure that everything runs smoothly on set.

During an appearance on UK TV show 'Loose Women', when asked if Tom is an inspiration, she said: "Yes he is. He is...I think because he comes with so much energy...I worked with him on something that he produces, so he is basically the big boy boss. The big boy boss man.

"I'm not saying he's different, but that's the Tom I know, which means he's there first, he's on top of it, he knows everything. He laughs and jokes but if someone is uncomfortable, or is there a moment of not understanding, he will stop things and make sure that you are clear on what you are doing."

However, Tom is also known for sending a custom-made coconut cake - which consists of chunks of white chocolate covered in a layer of cream cheese frosting and topped with shredded coconut - to his celebrity friends for the Christmas season and has gifted the likes of ROSIE O'DONNELL, Angela Bassett, Tom Hanks and Kirsten Dunst with one but Rebecca admitted she actually had to call ahead of time to make sure she didn't receive the "unhealthy" treat again this year.

She said: "He's a feeder! It was a coconut cake filled with everything unhealthy, to the point where I actually called his assistant and said 'I don't want it this year, because I need to not eat it!'"