KEIRA Knightley has appeared in a confronting new ad about domestic violence in which she appears to get savagely beaten by her partner. Knightley filmed the community service commercial for England's national domestic violence charity Women's Aid.

The ad, which will appear on English TV and in cinemas, shows Knightley leaving a film set and arriving home, where her partner becomes agressive.When he throws a towell in her face she turns to the camera and says, "Sorry we didn't agree to that, it wasn't in the script."

The man then beats her to the ground and starts kicking her. The tagline of the ad is, "Isn't it time someone called cut?" Knightley said she appeared in the ad to raise awareness of the issue which is often covered up.  "While domestic violence exists in every section of society, we rarely hear about it," she said.  "We may not think we know someone who has experienced domestic violence, but this does not mean that it is not happening," she said.