Tippi Hedren, the veteran film star famous for her roles in Alfred Hitchcock’s movies, has spoken out about the recent allegations of sexual harassment and assault against Harvey Weinstein, emphasising that the problem has been present in Hollywood for decades.

Hedren, who previously spoke about her experience with sexual harassment at the hands of Hitchcock, said: “I’m watching all the coverage on Weinstein.

“This is nothing new, nor is it limited to the entertainment industry… However, I wasn’t going to take it anymore, so I simply walked away and didn’t look back.

“Hitch said he would ruin my career and I told him to do what he had to do.

“It has taken 50 years, but it is about time that women started standing up for themselves as they appear to be doing in the Weinstein case. Good for them!”

Hedren worked with Hitchcock on classic movies such as The Birds (1963) and Marnie (1964) alongside Sean Connery.

She has not made a secret about how “demanding” Hitchcock was with his lead stars.

In a New York Times article from 2013, Hedren said: “He ruined my career, but he didn’t ruin my life.

“That time of my life was over.

“I still admire the man for who he was”.

The British TV film The Girl, which came out in 2012, details the working relationship between Hedren and Hitchcock with Sienna Miller starring as Hedren and Toby Jones playing Vertigo and Rear Window director, Hitchcock.

Hedren, who starred in the 1981 film Roar, now oversees the 80-acre Shambala Preserve in California for lions, tigers, and other wild animals.

Numerous women have accused Weinstein of sexual assault and harassment, following the publication of two exposés in the past week, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Lea Seydoux and Kate Beckinsale.

In support of Weinstein’s accusers, two male stars – James Van Der Beek and Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Terry Crews – have come forward with their own claims of sexual assault at the hands of ‘powerful’ men.

Emma Thompson has described Weinstein as “the tip of the iceberg” branding him a “predator”.

Speaking to Newsnight, Thompson said: “This has been part of our world, women’s world, since time immemorial…What we need to start talking about is the crisis in masculinity, the crisis of extreme masculinity, which is this sort of behaviour and the fact that it is not only OK, but it also is represented by the most powerful man in the world right now,” referring to Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, more than 300 women working in the film industry in Sweden, including actresses Alicia Vikander, Noomi Rapace and Lena Endre, have launched a campaign aimed at combating harassment and sexual abuse in the film industry.

The open letter was published in the country’s biggest morning newspapers and followed a similar letter from women in the Swedish music industry in the summer.