Anna Friel's experience with gorilla

Actress Anna Friel says she was terrified when while shooting a wildlife documentary in Africa, a gorilla charged at one of her crew members.

The 37-year-old headed to Uganda in August this year to make a film highlighting the plight of mountain gorillas, but the trip almost ended in a nightmare for her when a silverback primate turned on one of the members, reports contactmusic.com.

"We got charged by a silverback, which was, erm... okay! We were told to act passive and submissive but it goes against every single instinct in the body when you see a huge thing making a loud screeching noise... and you are not allowed to run," Friel told Hello magazine.

"You have to stay and go, 'I'm a tree and there's a big thing running at me'.

"We heard this almighty sound as one crashed through the trees towards our photographer and came this close and then swung away again. It was like someone going, 'Yeah? Come on then,' showing their power and that it's their forest. My heart was pumping."