SAS star Billy Billingham explains why he put Tom Cruise in a headlock
The former celebrity bodyguard did not recognise Pirates of the Caribbean star Penelope Cruz when she was dating the Mission Impossible hero.
What did you miss?
SAS: Who Dares Wins star Billy Billingham has confessed when he worked as bodyguard to Tom Cruise, he failed to recognise his Hollywood star girlfriend.
The former celebrity bodyguard and special forces officer did not recognise Pirates of the Caribbean actor Penelope Cruz when she was dating the Mission Impossible hero and ended up tackling her to protect Cruise when she tried to approach him in public.
The former special forces officer has worked as a bodyguard to many stars over the years, including Angelina Jolie and Tom Cruise. Admittedly it was not always easy to keep up with Cruise's love life.
What, how, and why?
Billingham appeared on The One Show to discuss his new BBC show SAS: Catching the Criminals, highlighting how police and enforcement teams are increasingly using military and SAS tactics to catch criminals.
Hosts Alex Jones and Clara Amfo about his time working as celebrity bodyguard, particularly Tom Cruise, and how he struggled to keep track of who he was dating.
Billingham said: "I didn't struggle to keep up, and I dragged it along with me. I looked after Tom one time in Rome. I went out and met him, didn't know a lot about his sort of on going, who he was with. I asked him what the situation was. I turned up and there's a massive crowd outside the hotel, which I'm on my own. So I said, 'Listen, stay close to me. Whatever happens, let me deal with it.'
"We're walking in through the crowd to the front of the hotel, and a situation happened where I didn't have time to turn and do anything about it. So I grabbed Tom, tried to get him round the shoulder, but ended in a headlock, stepping into the front door of the hotel. And something blue came from the right, which I didn't know what it was — an attacker. So I grabbed this other head.
"I'm now going into the hotel with two heads one's Tom Cruise. And then he tells me, 'Oh, Billy meet Penelope, my girlfriend: Penelope Cruz."
What else happened on The One Show?
Former The One Show host Jason Manford appeared on the sofa as a guest to discuss joining the cast of Waterloo Road as new head teacher Steve Savage.
Manford recalled one of his most memorable moments at school was injuring his head in the playground and having to go to hospital in an ambulance. But looking back on it had made him realise how hard being a teacher can be,
He recalled: "I bumped into an old primary school teacher a few weeks ago. She was my favourite teacher at primary school, and this sums up how hard teaching is. I reminded her of a story when I was a kid. I've got a little scar here on my forehead and it happened in her classroom.
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"I fell over, split my head open and this happened on the fourth floor of the school. She picked me up, only a little woman, picked me up, carried me down stairs. I was like, nine-years-old, blood everywhere and she's crying. I'm crying and we get into the the she rings the ambulance.
"I get into the ambulance, the doors close and I can still picture her stood there, crying covered in blood, and we drive off. and I'm obviously back in school a few days later. And I tell her this seminal moment of my childhood, and she said, 'I don't remember that.'
"And I thought, 'Oh, what is happening in the teachers life?! That was like the most memorable moments of my childhood. And to her it was just Tuesday. It was a tough school. It was a school as tough as Waterloo Road to be fair. I drew a lot of it."
The One Show airs on BBC One at 7pm on weekdays.
