Shocking photographs have surfaced of Nigella Lawson's husband grabbing her throat, seemingly trying to choke her. The 53-year-old British television star and celebrity chef was dining at a London restaurant when her art collector husband laid his hands on her.

 The UK newspaper The Mirror's Sunday paper, the Sunday People released the disturbing photos. In the photos, Lawson is seen seated in a restaurant with her husband, 70-year-old Charles Saatchi. The couple appears to have an altercation, with Saatchi eventually grabbing at Lawson's throat with both hands, as if trying to choke her. Lawson is visibly stunned and distraught. In another picture, Saatchi grabs at Lawson's nose. An onlooker described the exchange between Lawson and her husband as "utterly shocking to watch."

Saatchi was the first to leave the restaurant. Photographs captured Lawson leaving afterwards, visibly in tears. Another UK newspaper, The Telegraph, reports that Lawson has not filed a formal complaint, but Scotland Yard is looking further into the matter to determine whether an investigation is necessary.

Saatchi later told the London Evening Standard that "it was just a playful tiff" and that he and Lawson had made up by the time they returned home. However, according to the Daily Mail, Lawson has temporarily moved out of the house that the couple shares.

This is not the first time Lawson and her husband have made it into the news for their domestic disputes. In December of 2012, Saatchi was snapped yet again laying his hands on his wife. Dining at another restaurant, Saatchi appears to press his hand over Lawson's mouth.

Lawson has publicly commented on the tumultuous nature of her marriage with Saatchi and has described her husband as "an exploder." She said, "I'll go quiet when he explodes, and then I am a nest of horrible festeringness."