Tom Hardy is returning to screens with a brand new story to settle the nation’s children to sleep.

On Wednesday 5 July, the 75th anniversary of the National Health Service, he reads Zog and the Flying Doctors by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. He tells the story of Princess Pearl, Sir Gadabout and their trusty 'air ambulance', Zog the dragon as they fly around and tend a sunburnt mermaid, a distressed unicorn and a sneezy lion.

The award-winning actor first appeared on CBeebies back on New Year’s Eve 2016 and since then, his CBeebies Bedtime Stories have been streamed an incredible two million times on BBC iPlayer*.

This is the first of six new stories Tom Hardy has recorded for CBeebies. They were recorded in his garden and Tom was accompanied by his adorable French bulldog, Blue.

CBeebies Bedtime Story is on each weekday at 6.50pm on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer.

• Tom Hardy’s CBeebies Bedtime Stories were streamed 2.32 million times on BBC iPlayer up until end of May 2023