Katherine Parkinson, star of the Disney+ series Rivals, has spoken publicly for the first time about a brutal assault that left her unconscious and hospitalised with a broken nose. The 48-year-old actress was attacked after intervening to defend a female colleague from a male aggressor.
The incident occurred in 2005, just before Parkinson landed her first television roles in Casualty and Extras. At the time, she was a struggling stage actress staying in cheap accommodation in a town outside London. Recalling the event on the How To Fail podcast, she said: 'A guy who had previous form of doing this got into a bit of a disagreement with this colleague of mine. I said "leave her alone" and he knocked me out cold and broke my nose.' She added that the attacker was arrested and later imprisoned for actual bodily harm.
Parkinson, who won a Bafta for her role in BBC Three's Here We Go, said the ordeal did not end with the attack. While recovering in hospital, she faced judgmental comments. 'I remember somebody saying to me, "What were you doing?" There was a sense that I had brought it on myself,' she said. The Oxford-educated actress noted that the class-based shame was compounded by her social circle, where she felt treated as a 'cheaper commodity' compared to wealthier friends.
Despite her injuries, Parkinson returned to work the following week, performing on stage with an eye patch. She described enduring stares from strangers: 'I had a terribly messed-up face for a while and I felt a judgment from people that didn't know me, that I was a hard person that lived a hard life. And that couldn't have been further from the truth.' She also criticised the lack of support from the industry at the time, noting there was 'no counselling, no real pastoral care'.
Now married to actor Harry Peacock and preparing to play Molly Weasley in HBO's upcoming Harry Potter series, Parkinson said the assault has left a lasting impact, particularly as a parent. 'I'm really neurotic when it comes to my daughters about walking anywhere on their own,' she admitted. However, she is making peace with the experience: 'I'm giving myself, now I'm 48, just a bit more licence to realise that your experience informs who you are. Unfortunately, a literal smack in the face changes you. I think just talking about it is good.'
