Ralph Fiennes recalls moment he met Jeremy Irons while working as a hotel cleaner

Ralph Fiennes has recalled the moment Jeremy Irons commented on his cleaning skills.

Fiennes, 53 - who worked as a hotel cleaner before finding fame as an actor - came face-to-face with Irons while polishing a chandelier.

Recalling the encounter on the Graham Norton Show, he told the host: “I was working at Browns Hotel before going to drama school and I was cleaning a chandelier when a guest asked me what I was using to do the job.

“I realised it was Jeremy Irons who I really admire and I said something about industrial cleaner and then asked him for his autograph. He said he would leave it at the front desk.”

He continued: “When I went to pick it up, he had left a note saying, ‘Dear Ralph, keep polishing.’ I have met him but I haven’t told him that I still have the note somewhere.”