Oh deer... heiress tells of 'harrowing' film role as the quarry of hunt extremists

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A society heiress once romantically linked with Prince William has told of her "harrowing" experience shooting a movie about animal rights activists who kidnap and torture a group of hunters.

Isabella Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe stars in Blooded, which caused outrage after graphic scenes showing activists attacking five deer-stalkers were posted on the internet, in a viral publicity campaign.

The footage was withdrawn from YouTube following thousands of complaints. Animal rights activists claimed that it was presented as being real, and said it portrayed their movement unfairly.

Isabella, 31, is the daughter of banking heiress Lady Mary-Gaye Curzon and property heir and businessman John Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe. She first struck up a friendship with Prince William in 2004. She has also previously dated Sir Richard Branson's son Sam.

In the movie - trailed with the slogan "If you hunt, you're fair game" - her character is stripped and pursued through the Scottish Highlands by armed balaclava-clad extremists.

She told the Evening Standard: "It is quite a controversial film. That is the intention. I would not be able to take any animal's life, but then I do eat meat. It has opened my eyes to the whole debate and whether that is hypocritical. It was quite harrowing to film it - I spent a lot of time running across moors being chased and shot at. I wouldn't say it was enjoyable, but it was an interesting experience.

"The film does not point fingers at either side but encourages healthy debate. I find the activists vastly hypocritical. They preach a peaceful ethos, then threaten or attack people who are pro-hunting." The actress, who goes by the stage name Isabella Calthorpe, has appeared in films including Stage Beauty and How To Lose Friends And Alienate People. She attracted good reviews for her performance as Lisa in Dirty Dancing at the Aldwych Theatre. She is still friends with Prince William.

Blooded also stars Neil McDermott, who played Ryan Malloy in EastEnders. PR for the film, which was produced by London-based Magma Pictures for only £500,000, says it "finally tells the full story behind one of the most extreme internet virals of modern times ...

"Stripped and abandoned in the wilderness, they were forced into a deadly game where the hunters became the hunted. Their ordeal was filmed by an extreme animal rights group as a warning to others: if you hunt... you're fair game." The "kidnap" is said to have taken place in 2005 and the film features interviews with "survivors" and a "reconstruction" of events.

Director Ed Boase said he had not meant to cause offend anyone: "Allowing the fictional world of the film to spill out into the real world was intended to encourage debate, not to cause offence. I apologise if it has, but ultimately all art is a mirror of sorts. We have never claimed the story is true, it has simply been presumed."

Blooded is released on April 1.

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