Emily Atack has claimed she has been sexually assaulted while making TV shows and movies throughout her career.
The actress, 35, who found fame on the Inbetweeners in 2008, revealed that she has been a target of sexual abuse in the work place and would now like to explore the issue in a documentary.
Emily has been impressed by the use of ‘intimacy co-ordinators’ on the set of her latest show Rivals, which includes several sex scenes, for making a welcome shift in behaviour and allowing stars to feel more comfortable.
She told Radio Times: ‘Intimacy coordinators are there for support if you feel uncomfortable, whether you’re a man or a woman. I’ve seen people roll their eyes about them and say, ‘I don’t need one. There’s a defensiveness about it.
‘I’ve been sexually assaulted at work throughout my career, whether it’s on the actual set, or at a wrap party.
‘And since the #MeToo movement, it shows that people are listening and that there has to be a shift in behaviour on sets.’
Emily Atack has claimed she has been sexually assaulted while making TV shows and movies throughout her caree
She explained how filming Disney+ hit Rivals has been a completely different experience.
‘I’m really proud of the Rivals gang because, throughout my life, I haven’t felt safe all the time, and we’re all so respectful of each other,’ she said.
‘We have to do a lot of sexual scenes and we’re very looked after. It’s a really positive thing.’
Emily added that she is in conversations to follow up the success of her 2023 documentary about online sexual harassment with a new TV project on the role of intimacy coordinators.
The actress explored the alarming rise in online sexual harassment for BBC2 documentary Emily Atack: Asking For It after experiencing repeated daily abuse across her Instagram and TikTok accounts.
She told the BBC at the time: ‘We were in lockdown, everyone feeling really isolated and my whole life I had noticed the behaviour that men throw towards me.
‘But I really noticed a surge in sexually violent threats being sent to me on social media.
‘And it was getting worse and worse and I used humour as a way to cope with it and put it out there to say is this normal?’
Emily launched her acting career 18 years ago with small parts in dramas including ITV’s Heartbeat before making her breakthrough as Charlotte Hinchcliffe in The Inbetweeners (pictured)
She explained how filming Rivals (pictured) has been a completely different experience. ‘I haven’t felt safe all the time, and we’re all so respectful of each other,’ she said
‘I screenshotted the stuff and I just wanted to see the reaction. It was fascinating to see how huge this problem is.’
Speaking about the vile things she’s been sent, she said: ‘I’ve had things sadly that have happened to me in person too.
‘The reason why I say this online abuse is as bad as in the street, is the feeling I get when I’m sent something stirs up the same feelings the same as if it happened in the street.
‘When someone sends me a message like that, I can delete it but that message has already gone in, I have to go about my day seeing that.’
‘People are asking me to wave a blind eye by blocking and deleting. All these behaviours can escalate and become way worse.’
Emily launched her acting career 18 years ago with small parts in dramas including ITV’s Heartbeat before making her breakthrough as Charlotte Hinchcliffe in The Inbetweeners.
The sitcom ran from 2008 to 2010 on Channel 4 and is one of Britain’s best-loved comedies.
The actress explored the alarming rise in online sexual harassment for 2023 BBC2 documentary Emily Atack: Asking For It after experiencing repeated daily abuse
Emily also appeared in Only Fools And Horses prequel comedy Rock & Chips on BBC One in 2010, the 2013 gangster film Get Lucky and the 2016 movie remake of Dad’s Army.
The actress finished second on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! in 2018.
As well as her documentary plans, Emily is also reuniting with her Rivals co-star Danny Dyer to front a new Saturday night game show Nobody’s Fool.
The duo are reportedly set to receive a whopping £250,000 each for the gig, with the show expected to air next year.
Danny and Emily have been busy so far this year filming the second series of Rivals, based on the racy books of Dame Jilly Cooper.
Danny recently revealed there is so much bonking in Rivals 2 – which is currently filming – that they have hired every intimacy coach in the UK.
Emily said that she is in conversations to follow up the success of her 2023 documentary about online sexual harassment with a new TV project on the role of intimacy coordinators
He said: ‘We are doing 12 episodes of Rivals and we are filming until March next year.
‘It is brilliant but it is a mad thing to do a sex scene. If you think about it you are legally allowed to tongue someone else. It is part of your job. Depending on your partner. It is OK if you fancy it, I am not going to lie.’
He added: ‘On Rivals there are a lot of intimacy coaches. I think we used every intimacy coach in the land.’
