Tom Cruise surprises British man who raised money with extreme challenges

Actor Tom Cruise has surprised a British man who spent a year completing a series of extreme sporting challenges to raise money for charity.

Lloyd Kembrey, a facilities manager at the University of Bristol, took on the challenges to fundraise for children’s hospice charity Jessie May.

His connection to the charity was born from his twin cousins, Francesca and Josephine, who were diagnosed with the life-limiting condition Sanfilippo disease type A when they were three-and-a-half years old. Both died in their teens.

Kembrey was inspired to undertake a number of exhilarating challenges in order to honour their memory and support other families facing similar circumstances.

The challenges he faced included a 31-mile ice skating ultramarathon in Finland, climbing the height of Mount Everest on a climbing wall and a 94-mile hike along southern England’s Jurassic Coast.

In order to celebrate his accomplishments, Kembrey’s family teamed up with the BBC’s The One Show and its One Big Thank You programme.

Kembrey was invited to London, under the guise of taking part in an interview for a documentary about daring feats and extreme challenges.

However, he was instead greeted by Cruise, who wanted to personally thank him for his fundraising achievements.

Cruise said: “I’ve done a lot of wild things and stunts, but when I heard about Lloyd’s adventure, I just thought, ‘I’ve got to meet this guy.'”

Kembrey was also invited to the royal film performance and world premiere of Cruise’s new film Digger.

Former Jessie May chief executive Daniel Cheesman said: “The funding that Lloyd has raised for the charity means that we can directly support children in their own homes.

“He is a role model to all of the children and young people that Jessie May supports.”

Speaking later, Kembrey described his shock at meeting the Hollywood legend.

“I thought I was going to London for an interview with BBC Online to be part of a documentary on endurance sport fundraising,” he said.

“It took place at the Raffles hotel in London, and I was interviewed in Winston Churchill’s old war office.

“I looked up the price of a Saturday night room there and it was over a grand – it’s a really posh place.

“About 20 minutes into the interview, Tom Cruise walks in. I must admit, I thought he was James Blunt at first.

“He walked towards me, the crew all cheered and then he said thank you for all the charity work I’ve done and invited me to the world premiere of his new film, Digger.

“I put my hand out to shake his, but he just put his hand on my arm. He eventually shook it, but that felt like an age waiting for him.

“So, it turns out, this wasn’t an interview for BBC Online. It was actually for a segment of The One Show called One Big Thank You. I honestly had no idea it was happening.”

Kembrey described the experience of attending the film premiere with his friend as “mad”.

“We enjoyed being there and making the most of the free bar,” he said.

“I also did another segment for The One Show with Tom Cruise and met a few Hollywood stars, including John Goodman, Riz Ahmed and Jesse Plemons.

“Tom Cruise is genuinely a really lovely guy, and it was actually him who suggested we get a selfie.

“I would have completely forgotten otherwise. The film was really good too. I’d recommend going to see it.”

The One Show airs weekdays at 7pm on BBC One and on BBC iPlayer.