Tom Hardy gave women across the nation a Mother’s Day treat when he read the Bedtime Story on children’s TV channel CBeebies once again.

The heartthrob actor was a big hit when he read the night-time story to pre-schoolers on New Year’s Eve and Valentine’s Day – with plenty of mothers confessing they tuned in after their children were in bed.

Tom, 39, made a similar splash when he returned on Sunday night to read There’s A Bear On My Chair, by Ross Collins.

The Taboo star followed in the footsteps of other big names such as David Hasselhoff, Damian Lewis, Sir Derek Jacobi and James McAvoy in signing up for the CBeebies slot, which sees celebrities reading soothing stories as children are tucked in to bed.

On December 31, he snuggled on the sofa with his rescue dog, Woodstock, and told the story of a boy going to a party from the book You Must Bring A Hat, by Simon Philip and Kate Hindley.

He read Tom McLaughlin’s The Cloudspotter on Valentine’s Day.