‘It’s important to acknowledge it’: Katherine Parkinson shares ‘shame’ of assault she didn’t talk about for many years
The actress says there was 'a sense I brought it on myself' as she reveals she was attacked after a theatre performance
Rivals star Katherine Parkinson has spoken openly for the first time about being assaulted as she walked home from performing in a play.
The actress tearfully reveals the attack happened early in her career, and she's never had therapy to help her cope with it, instead preferring not to "acknowledge the trauma" of what happened.
Speaking to Elizabeth Day during an episode of her How To Fail podcast, Katherine explains that she was working in London at the time, and because she wasn't yet an established actress, was trying to make it financially possible as a career.
Because of this, she'd booked the cheapest accommodation she could find, and walked there each night when she'd finished her theatre performances.
"I was walking home one night with a colleague from the theatre, and a guy who had previous form of doing this got into a bit of a disagreement with my colleague," Katherine explains.
All it took was for Katherine to say to the man, "Leave her alone," and he "knocked me out cold and broke my nose."
The actress continues, "He was I think, immediately arrested, he certainly went to prison for ABH and all the rest of it."
She returned to the stage the following week after the attack. Katherine is very emotional as she recalls the most "upsetting" part of the incident.
"I remember being in the hospital that night, and what I find upsetting about it most is hearing the nurse in the hospital say, 'Oh, she's a nice girl.' And the sense of shame I felt."
Later, she was asked what she'd been doing at the time of the attack, and that line of questioning gave her "a sense that I had brought it on myself."
The actress was still "hanging around" with her university friends at the time, and their behaviour towards her made her feel even more vulnerable.
Katherine reveals they'd often encourage her to walk places, while choosing to "go and pick up so," insinuating she was absolutely fine to be on her own, while somebody else wasn't.
"I did think that I felt like a cheaper commodity, when I was just as vulnerable you know?" she says, adding, "So I think it's good with hindsight to acknowledge it and acknowledge the legacy of something like that."
The attack has also impacted the way she parents her daughters. Katherine shares with Elizabeth, "I'm neurotic when it comes to my daughters walking anywhere on their own."
Initially, she didn't link this sense of worry with what had happened to her, until she was chatting to another parent at the school gates about it.
The other parent asked if anything had ever happened to make her so concerned about her daughters walking places alone, asking, "Has anything happened to you?"
Her initial reaction was to say, "No, no, no." After she'd thought about it, Katherine realised, "God, yes, it has."
She explains, "I think for my generation there was a sense of just getting getting on with it, and I think there's a lot to be said for getting on with things."
However, Katherine concludes, "But I also think although I haven't had the wisdom of therapy, I think it has bled into our culture in a really helpful way."
"I did have quite a serious assault that had repercussions, and I'm not going to be cross with myself for being a really neurotic mum," she says.
Reassuringly, Elizabeth has her own conclusion to the segment, saying, "There's one thing that I absolutely have to say to you, which is you have no cause to feel any degree of shame."
"You did nothing wrong. That is all on the perpetrator's shoulders."
