Arrested Development star cries when asked about being verbally abused by Jeffrey Tambor

Further light has been shed on the behaviour of actor Jeffrey Tambor following an Arrested Development cast interview. Tambor, who was awarded Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for his performance in Amazon series Transparent, also played the errant patriarch of the Bluth family at the heart of Arrested Development.

In the wake of sexual harrasment allegations against Tambor while he was making Transparent, which resulted in his departure from the drama, Tambor's Arrested Development cast mates have supported the actor.

However, Jessica Walter, who plays Tambor's estranged on-screen wife in the sitcom, has tearfully spoken about the verbal abuse she suffered from him.

In the group interview, Walter fights back tears as she explains that Tambor treated her worse than anyone else in the cast, but that he had spoken to her more aggressively than she had experienced throughout her five-decade-long career. 

"In like almost 60 years of working, I’ve never had anybody yell at me like that on a set," Walter said. "I have to let go of being angry at him. He never crossed the line on our show, with any, you know, sexual whatever. Verbally, yes, he harassed me, but he did apologise. I have to let it go."

While Walter's admission is shocking, the interview has also caused a stir because of how Walter's appears to be widely unsupported by her cast mates following the revelation. Jason Bateman, who plays the on-screen eldest Bluth son, appears to be both belittling Walter's claims and defending Tambor's actions, saying: "But this is a family and families, you know, have love, laughter, arguments... And I can say that no matter what anybody in this room has ever done – and we’ve all done a lot, with each other, for each other, against each other – I wouldn’t trade it for the world and I have zero complaints. "

Tony Hale, who plays youngest son Buster Bluth on the show, added: "But I will say, to Jason’s point, we can be honest about the fact that – and not to build a thing – we’ve all had moments."

Online commentators have picked up on the fact that Walter is consistently dismissed throughout the interview, and praised the New York Times for giving an insight into life for older women in the entertainment industry.