Marriage woes, Ledger's death taking a toll on Bale?

Melbourne, July 23 : Depression after the death of close friend Heath Ledger and marital woes have been cited as the reasons British actor Christian Bale allegedly assaulted his family.

Bale had been arrested for allegedly assaulting his mother and sister at a London hotel, and as per a source close to the 34-year-old actor, the tension has been building up in him and he has been finding it very difficult to cope and control his anger.

"He has stresses in his marriage," News.com.au quoted the source as having told Daily Mail.

"He can have a terrible temper. Instead of lashing out at his wife, he sometimes lashes out at people around him.

"Without Ledger around he's found it more and more difficult to communicate with those around him, especially his family," the source said.

Bale, who had previously admitted to suffering from depression and bouts of insomnia, has been released on bail. He had to spend several hours at a London police station before being released without charge, his Los Angeles-based spokeswoman, Jennifer Allen, revealed.

"Christian Bale attended a London police station today, on a voluntary basis, in order to assist with an allegation that had been made against him to the police by his mother and sister," Allen said.

"Mr Bale, who denies the allegation, co-operated throughout, gave his account in full of the events in question, and has left the station without any charge being made against him by the police," she added.

The police were asked if Bale had been arrested and released on bail.

"A 34-year-old man has been bailed to return to a police station on a date in September," a police spokeswoman said.

According to British media reports, Bale's mother and sister contacted the police in London on July 20 night, a day before the European premiere of The Dark Knight.

The Sun newspaper said police did not question Bale immediately because they didn't want to interfere with the movie's premiere.

Bale was on the red carpet with co-stars Michael Caine and Maggie Gyllenhaal in central London's Leicester Square on Monday night.

A spokeswoman for the film's distributor, Warner Bros, said the police inquiry involving Bale would have no effect on the studio's international press tour for the movie, which goes next to Barcelona then on to Tokyo.

"Everybody is continuing with business as usual," she said.

ANI