We may all have been very fond of Xander Harris on Buffy the Vampire Slayer but it seems Nicholas Brendon couldn't be further from his character. It's emerged that the actor has been arrested in Palm Springs, California, after an alleged violent incident involving his girlfriend.

The incident is said to have happened at a bar in the Saguaro Hotel in Palm Springs where Brendon is reported to have pulled his girlfriend's arm and her hair after an argument and caused as much as $1,000 in damage to his hotel room.

The woman involved has active protective orders against Brendon in New York and Florida, according to The Desert Sun, and Brendon is allowed to be around the woman, but not threaten, harass, injure or assault.

The actor was arrested for violating the protective order and for felony domestic violence.

This isn't the actor's first encounter with the law, he was arrested in October 2014 after witnesses called police officers to report a disturbance involving Brendon and hotel employees. Police said the star broke a decorative dish and was charged with "malicious injury to property".

A similar incident happened in 2015 when he was arrested again in Florida following extensive damage to a hotel room, while a month later he faced similar charges for damage to property and criminal mischief.

The actor, who starred in Buffy the Vampire Slayer between 1997 and 2003, has previously admitted in an episode of Dr Phil that he struggled with depression and alcohol addiction saying that drinking "initially quells the anxiety definitely, but then it just adds to the anger."

You can see some of that interview below, but we warn you, it's a difficult watch.