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Frances Barber claims Uber driver said she was ‘disgustingly dressed’ and women 'shouldn’t be out late at night'

An Uber spokesperson said the incident was 'unacceptable'

Olivia Blair
Tuesday 24 November 2015 09:35 EST
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The actress said she was shocked after the exchange
The actress said she was shocked after the exchange (REX Features)

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The actress Frances Barber claims an Uber driver told her she was "disgustingly dressed" as she arrived at the Evening Standard theatre awards in London.

Barber shared details of the alleged incident on Twitter. She claims that after getting out of the car at the Old Vic theatre, the driver said "as a woman [she] shouldn’t be alone at night" and that he told her she was "disgustingly dressed".

Venting her frustration to her 28,000 followers, the actress wrote in capital letters: "This is London".

Replying to a follower, she explained the comments came after she attempted to make conversation with the driver.

"I said 'Oh, it’s cold' and he said: 'Well if you weren’t so disgustingly dressed'."

The 58-year-old added she slammed the door and "yelled" at the driver following his remarks.

In an earlier tweet she alluded the driver was "sharia" and said she was reporting the matter to the taxi company.

A spokesperson for Uber said in a statement: "We were shocked about this unacceptable incident and immediately reached out to the rider to offer our full support.

"We will of course take appropriate action and would like to again extend our sincere apologies to the rider."

The actress has had a prominent career on stage and in film, recently playing Caroline Warwick in the BBC legal drama, Silk.

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