Matthew Newton gives tell-all interview about Rachael Taylor, rehab

Matthew Newton has spoken for the first time about his assaults on former girlfriends Rachael Taylor and Brooke Satchwell.

The Australian actor, who has been in and out of a psychiatric clinic for more than a year after attacking Transformers actress Taylor in a Rome hotel last year, has given a tell-all interview to A Current Affair that will be aired on the Nine Network tonight (November 21).

In the interview with Tracy Grimshaw, Newton describes himself as a "walking time bomb" and explains how he tried to escape from his rehabilitation centre by scaling a cyclone fence and jumping off the roof.

About the assaults on Taylor and former Neighbours star Satchwell in 2006, Newton tells: "Harming anyone is horrible. It's intolerable to harm a woman. It's intolerable to harm your best friend, several of your best friends, and it's intolerable to harm yourself. And I've done all of those things and I utterly regret it."

Grimshaw has admitted that she found Newton to be "deeply troubled", adding: "It is one of the hardest interviews I've done, very challenging, and it will be challenging to watch. Matthew is mentally ill, and Matthew's mental illness is like a third presence in the room, something I had to be very aware of the whole time."

Industry insiders have described Newton's decision to open up on TV as "clearly a last-ditch effort" to resurrect his acting career.

Matthew Newton's A Current Affair interview airs tonight at 6.30pm on Nine.

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