Thandie Newton – best known for her roles in Crash and The Pursuit of Happiness – has spoken out about the awful behaviour exhibited by an unnamed director during a casting session as a teenager.

Newton explained to CNN: "When I was a 16-year-old, fresh from boarding school, going out in, you know the casting couch, I was definitely objectified to an extreme. The way I was made to feel. The way I was exploited and the kind of role and the kinds of things I was expected to do in auditions.” Newton has been championing the One Billion Rising anti-violence campaign – a charity that aims to unite women against violence and abuse through dancing. "One director asked me to sit with my legs apart - the camera was positioned where it could see up my skirt - to put my leg over the arm of the chair,” continued Newton. “Before I started my dialogue, [I was told to] think about the character I was supposed to be having the dialogue with and how it felt to be made love to by this person.”

The director then used the footage “late at night to interested parties at his house - a video of me touching myself with a camera up my skirt." Yet another harrowing example of abuse on the entertainment sector.