Why is Tom Cruise on Channel 4's British Grand Prix coverage?
The Hollywood star is taking part in Channel 4's coverage for the motorsport event.
As the British Grand Prix gets underway today, a member of Hollywood royalty will be stepping in to help Channel 4 with its coverage of the event: Tom Cruise.
The Mission: Impossible star is no stranger to fast cars, having driven more than a few in his action-packed blockbusters, but nevertheless fans were surprised to see him get involved in reporting the F1 competition.
He was announced for the event earlier this week in a comedic video shared to Twitter, in which Channel 4's lead F1 presenter Steve Jones asks: "How did you get here?"
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"Well I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you," replies Cruise playfully. "Remember boys, there's no points for second place."
The advert plays up the surprise of his appearance while stopping short of offering any real explanation, but the answer is likely to be as simple as Cruise being an F1 fan.
In 2011, the actor drove a Red Bull F1 race car around Willow Springs in California, where his instructor was none other than David Coulthard – who just so happens to offer bis punditry as part of Channel 4's F1 coverage.
It's likely that this connection was helpful in securing Cruise for today's coverage, with the actor living in the UK at the moment as he works on the seventh Mission: Impossible film.
The hotly anticipated project has been filming in Yorkshire, but recently had to temporarily come to a halt after a member of the crew tested positive for COVID-19.
Cruise has kept busy in that time though, recently being spotted at the Euro 2020 final at Wembley Stadium, where he sat next to football icon David Beckham, as well as at this year's Wimbledon final.
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Channel 4's British Grand Prix coverage is just another bit of extracurricular activity for the world-famous star, as filming prepares to resume on his return as IMF agent Ethan Hunt.
Looking for something else to watch? Check out more of our Sport coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.
Authors
David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
