Knightley stars in domestic abuse ad

Keira Knightley has starred in a two-minute film to raise awareness of domestic abuse.

The clip from Women's Aid is helmed by Atonement director Joe Wright and is the centrepiece of a cinema, TV, print and online campaign to boost perception of the problem.

Knightley said: "I wanted to take part in this advert for Women's Aid because while domestic violence exists in every section of society, we rarely hear about it.

"We may not think we know someone who has experienced domestic violence, but this does not mean that it is not happening."

She added: "Domestic violence affects one in four women at some point in their lifetime and kills two women every week.

"Without the services provided by Women's Aid, many more women could be at risk of being killed."

Entitled Cut, the short film features Knightley coming home to an abusive partner after a day's filming before asking: "Isn't it time someone called cut?"