Nigella Lawson walking to court
Nigella Lawson has claimed Charles Saatchi grabbed her by the throat after she expressed her desire to have grandchildren.
The celebrity chef, who admitted using cocaine and marijuana in the past whilst giving evidence at Isleworth Crown Court in London on Wednesday (04.12.13) in the ongoing fraud trial against her former assistants Elisabetta and Francesca Grillo - who are accused of spending £685,000 on a credit card belonging to the former couple, also broke her silence for the first time on the shocking photographs that emerged in June showing her ex-husband with his hand around her neck as they argued outside Scott's restaurant in the city.
In an explosive testimony, the 'How To Be A Domestic Goddess' author claimed comments she made about a person walking by with a baby sparked the incident.
She said: "He [Charles Saatchi] told everyone that he was taking cocaine out of my nose.
"But what actually happened was that somebody walked by with a very cute baby in a stroller and I said, 'I am so looking forward to having grandchildren', and he grabbed me by the throat and said, 'I am the only person you should be concerned with. I am the only person who should be giving you pleasure.' That is what happened."
Nigella, who has a 17-year-old son, Bruno, and daughter, Cosima, 19, from her first marriage to John Diamond, who died of throat cancer in 2001, also claimed her former spouse often became "irritated" by her independence as a successful TV star and accused the wealthy art dealer of having quite a temper, adding: "Yes, he did have a temper and I don't think that anyone can be in any doubt he had a temper."
Charles accepted a police caution in relation to the incident over the summer and previously insisted they were having a "playful tiff" at the time.
He told the court on Friday (29.11.13) that he was only holding his ex-wife by the throat "to make her focus."
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