'Sherlock' star reveals how she confronted predatory director

Amanda Abbington, who plays the role of Mary Watson in hit-TV series 'Sherlock', has revealed she once had to confront a predatory director who ordered a young actress to "take her top off" on the set.

The 43-year-old British actress was stunned when she heard the older man try and coerce her colleague into behaving in a sexual manner seemingly for his gratification and stepped in to stop the harassment, according to Contactmusic.

While giving an interview to an entertainment channel, she said, "There was a young actress, it was one of her first jobs and we'd read the script, everything was fine. I just happened to be on set and I heard the director say to her, 'What I want you to do is take your top off and show your breasts and start touching yourself.' You could see this girl visibly blanch and not know what to do, because it was one of her first jobs."

Amanda, who has two children with her estranged husband Martin Freeman, threatened to quit the film if the unnamed director continued with his behaviour.

When the director replied that it wasn't, Abbington allegedly noted, "Then she doesn't do it. And if she does do it then I'm not going to do your film, and I'm going to tell everybody what you did. I think you have a responsibility to be an upstanding, moral director, and not do that to somebody on their first job."

On the professional front, Amanda Abbington will be next seen in 'Crooked House' alongside Christina Hendricks and Gillian Anderson.