Emma Watson said she was left ‘violated’ by what photographers did on her 18th birthday.

The British treasure grew up on our screens, starring as Hermione Granger in the beloved Harry Potterfilms. The age of 10 when the first was released, she was 21 when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 landed in cinemas.

And going from a child to an adult in the limelight meant she likely had to grow up a little bit quicker than most.

No longer appearing on our screens as often, she's owed a lot of recognition for her time outside of being a child star too, with Watson being outspoken about gender equality issues throughout her career, helping to launch HeForShe as UN Women goodwill Ambassador.

During a 2016 event for the movement, she spoke about what happened on her 18th birthday.

The Beauty and the Beast actress said at the time she was a ‘child actress who [was] still making a transition.’

“I came out of my 18th birthday party and photographers lay down on the pavement and took photographs up my skirt, which were then published on the front of the English tabloids the next morning,” she recalled.

"If they published the photographs 24 hours earlier they would have been illegal but, because I turned 18, they were legal."