Tom Hollander

Imagine going to a close friend's birthday, months after the death of your son. Imagine realising it was too soon and telling the man you're talking to who you hardly know, why you need to leave. He takes your arm and insists on seeing you to the lift. Then he goes down with you until you get to the street. This becomes a ten minute walk to the car park. A climb up the stairs, him holding your hand tightly until you find your car. Driving off, you see him in the rearview mirror waving goodbye. I was this woman, and Tom Hollander was this man. And his act of tenderness and compassion has stayed with me for 13 years.

There are many stories about Tom Hollander. The best ones are told by him, not least his life in the day for the Sunday Times, the best in a great series ever written. He is a fantastic actor; White Lotus, Patriots, most recently captivating audiences as Truman Capote in Feud: Capote vs. The Swans. He sings beautiful songs to his six month old son. He's passionate about what he cooks and what he eats. Yesterday, he sent me a photograph with no caption of Fran Hickman with a large stainless steel saucepan obscuring her face, drinking the contents.

Imagine, being me in The River Cafe with Tom Hollander on a Tuesday afternoon, talking about memories of food, memories of friendship, family and all his doing. Then imagine how special this feels.

Listen to Ruthie's Table 4: Tom Hollander made in partnership with Moncler.

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