Nicollette Sheridan did not initially report that Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry had "assaulted" her because she was fearful of losing her job.

The actress is currently in court after filing a lawsuit against Marc and television network ABC claiming unfair dismissal and assault which they have denied.

But her lawyer Neil Meyer told jurors today that Nicollette called him "extremely upset" in September 2008 saying that Marc had hit her head "very hard."

Neil said that he assumed that it was "pretty bad" because "she wouldn't just call me like that but that she was worried if she said anything then she would be fired from the hit show.

"I said we weren't looking for ABC/Disney to do anything because Nicollette was worried about retribution from Marc Cherry," the lawyer said.

"She was just prepared to put her head down and go back to work. She was worried that if we [pursued the matter], her job would be in jeopardy. She told me that Mr. Cherry was a very vindictive man."

During testimony yesterday, Marc said that he "tapped [Nicollette's] head and that his "fingers" were the only parts of his body that made contact with the actress who played Edie Britt for five seasons.

The trial continues and is expected to last two weeks.