EMMANUELLE star SYLVIA KRISTEL had a torrid relationship with British actor Ian McShane she describes as "awful", insisting they were too much alike for it to ever work.

The 53-year-old star's five-year affair with McShane - who was married at the time - was fraught with violence and tension, with Kristel insisting the relationship with the DEADWOOD tough guy was "like a tragedy".

She says, "Our relationship can be described as awful. He was witty and charming, but we were too much alike - it was like looking into a mirror. It was love/hate.

"We screamed, we cried, broke ornaments. We played a tragedy. Sometimes he would stop himself as if to say 'cut' like a director.

"He would put his arm round my waist, turn me around and say I was beautiful. He would hug me and caress me. 'Forgive me, forgive me, my beauty' he would say."