Doctor Foster actress Sara Stewart reveals a family friend tried to abuse her at the age of 12
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Doctor Foster actress Sara Stewart has told how a family friend tried to sexually abuse her when she was a child.
The star, 51, spoke out in support of the #MeToo campaign as she revealed her ordeal at the age of 12.
Sara said: “We had a guest staying who tried to persuade me to go into my mother’s bedroom with him.
“He was quite persistent about it, slobbering all over me and groping me.
“When I told my mother, the reaction was, ‘He didn’t hurt you did he? Don’t tell your dad, he wouldn’t understand’.
“He was a family friend and continued to be a family friend. We all sat around the dinner table that night.”
(Image: PA)
Edinburgh-born Sara, who played Susie Parks in hit BBC drama Doctor Foster, also said a man tried to grab her off the street six months before that incident.
She continued: “He exposed himself to me and then he picked me up off the ground with his hand between my legs and started to drag me off. He was reported to the police.”
The actress said it affected her future dealings with men, explaining: “I was deeply suspicious of men and I would make sure I wasn’t left on my own with one.”
Sara is currently starring in play Collective Rage at Southwark Playhouse, London, until February 17.
She said: “It’s a celebration of women’s sexuality.
“I get to kiss a beautiful woman for the first time.”