Tom Hardy, who receives a CBE for services to drama, made his name on the big screen with a series of hard man roles.

The 40-year-old actor is known for Inception, Mad Max: Fury Road, Bronson and The Revenant.

But he also made an unlikely face on CBeebies, reading a bedtime story on the pre-school channel, where he was a hit with mothers.

Tom Hardy on CBeebies (BBC)

The privately-educated star has spoken about how he went off the rails and suffered from alcohol addiction in his youth.

Hardy checked himself into rehab in 2003 and has been clean ever since.

“I went in thinking I’d do it for a little bit until I can go out and drink and people forgive me. But I did my 28 days, and after listening to people who had been through similar circumstances I realised I did have a problem,” he previously told the Daily Mirror.

Hardy and partner Charlotte Riley attended the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (Chris Jackson/PA)

Hardy, an ambassador for The Prince’s Trust, said: “I love what I do, but it’s driven by a fear of not being able to do it.”

Hardy and actress Charlotte Riley are thought to have tied the knot in 2014 and the couple have a child together.

The actor also has a son from a previous relationship.

Hardy and Riley starred together in Peaky Blinders and met on the set of an adaptation of Wuthering Heights.

Last year, Hardy penned an emotional tribute to his “best friend” and dog Woody, following the pet’s death aged six.

The actor is made a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.