A mum has opened up about the horrifying moment her abusive ex jumped on her back and choked her while she was five months pregnant.
Mel Clarke appeared on This Morning as she spoke about her experience to hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield.
This comes in the wake of the domestic abuse bill, which is due to have its first reading in the House of Commons.
New laws could lead to domestic abusers facing lie detector tests following their release from prison.
The actress and writer had been in an abusive relationship for 15 years and had been just 14 when she met her partner, who had been 17 at the time.
She described him as "controlling" and "aggressive in general", while also chose the clothing she wore.
When Mel became pregnant at 19, she said that her partner's behaviour escalated: "He would scream abuse drag me, pull me… it became worse when I had my son, strangling, pushing my head into walls."
Asked what her partner had been like as a father, Mel said: "It wasn’t a good environment for them to be growing up in, I used to feel guilty… my eldest, I don’t think it’s had a good impact on him."
However she spoke about a particularly horrifying moment which almost resulted in her death.
She explained: "He jumped on my back at five months pregnant and he choked me from behind and he held on for so long that I actually started to lose the will to fight.
"I thought i was going to die that day and I thought, what am I doing? My children were upstairs crying, holding one another, and I was carrying a child that hadn't even entered this world yet."
Mel revealed that it then clicked and she managed to get help from family, friends and the police.
She was given a lifetime restraining order against him while her partner was convicted of ABH.
*This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV
