Transparent star Jeffrey Tambor is facing further allegations of sexually inappropriate behaviour after his transgender co-star accused him of making lewd comments and pressing his body against hers.

Trace Lysette, who appears alongside Tambor in Transparent, described an incident on set where she emerged from wardrobe in a bra and shorts for a scene and Tambor said to her: “My god Trace, I want to attack you sexually.”

Lysette, who is transgender and plays transgender character Shea on the hit Amazon series, described how she and a co-star had laughed off the remark, but had been made uncomfortable soon after when Tambor approached her again.

Trace Lysette (@tracelysette) My full statement #MeToo pic.twitter.com/V4CHpvEMpZ

“He came in close, put his bare feet on top of mine so I could not move, leaned his body against me, and began quick, discreet thrust back and forth against my body” Lysette said. “I felt his penis on my hip through his thin pyjamas.”

She called for Amazon to remove Tambor from the Emmy and Golden Globe- winning show.

It is the second allegation of inappropriate behaviour levelled at Tambor, after his former assistant said he has repeatedly propositioned her, made lewd comments, groped her and threatened to sue her if she spoke up.

Amazon have opened an investigation but Tambor has vehemently denied both accusations, claiming that the assistant was “disgruntled” and said he was “appaulled and distressed by this baseless allegation.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Trace Lysette. Photograph: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images

Speaking on Thursday in response to Lysette’s allegations, Tambor said that while he admitted he could be “volatile and ill-tempered” he said: “ I have never been a predator – ever.”

“I am deeply sorry if any action of mine was ever misinterpreted by anyone as being sexually aggressive or if I ever offended or hurt anyone. But the fact is, for all my flaws, I am not a predator and the idea that someone might see me in that way is more distressing than I can express.”

He added: “ “For the past four years, I’ve had the huge privilege — and huge responsibility – of playing Maura Pfefferman, a transgender woman, in a show that I know has had an enormous, positive impact on a community that has been too long dismissed and misunderstood. Now I find myself accused of behavior that any civilized person would condemn unreservedly.”Tambor is the latest high profile star to be accused of sexual misconduct, with Hollywood now facing a moment of reckoning after the accusations against Harvey Weinstein prompted hundreds of actresses to come forward with their own experiences of harassment in the industry.

Jill Solloway, the show’s creator, said that they were co-operating with the investigation into Tambor. She said: “Anything that would diminish the level of respect, safety and inclusion so fundamental to our workplace is completely antithetical to our principles.”