Reese Witherspoon has insisted good manners cost nothing.

The Hollywood actress, who grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, said that her mother Betty made sure she grew up knowing the importance of being courteous.

She told The Sun: “I was always taught that good manners cost nothing – but are worth such a lot. My mother even sent me to etiquette lessons. It was close to the old-fashioned English upbringing, where you learn where to place the knives and forks. I had that bred in to me, even though we lived in Nashville, Tennessee. I was taught to be polite in conversation, smile a lot and treat people with respect.”

She admitted her childhood in the South left her with a need to be a people pleaser. “Whenever I talk about what it means to be a girl from the American South, I always end up talking about guilt. We can’t stand anyone not liking us. I send a lot of thank-you notes and buy plenty of gifts.”