Harry Potter star Katie Leung says shooting to fame as a child was 'overwhelming' as she opens up on how 'difficult' growing up in the spotlight was

Harry Potter star Katie Leung has said that shooting to fame as a child was 'overwhelming' as she opened up on how 'difficult' growing up in the spotlight was.

The actress, 38, who first gained fame for playing Cho Chang in the film series, opened up in a new interview about her experience and the racist abuse she received.

Soon the Dundee-born actress will star in her latest role as Lady Araminta Gao in the next series of Bridgerton.

Reflecting on how she coped with being thrust into the limelight at 16 she answered: 'I don't think I did. It was overwhelming from the get-go. Being in the spotlight from that age, when you're already insecure, was difficult, to say the least.

'At the time, I was having a lot of fun. I thought: 'this is different from school', and I really did not enjoy school. So it was a way to escape. I'm still trying to figure it out, really, how it affected me.'

She added to The Guardian: 'I don't know if anything could have been done back then to make things better or easier.

'At that age, you're curious. I remember being very curious about what people were saying about me, and I was Googling myself. Nobody could have stopped me, because I was old enough to make up my own mind.'

She was subject to horrendous racist abuse which she says left her 'less outgoing' and 'very self aware'. 

Last year fans were given the first glimpse of Katie her latest role as Lady Araminta Gao in Netflix series Bridgerton.

Pictured wearing an elaborate black grown and shielding her eyes with a black masquerade ball, she looked every bit the aristocrat.

Katie plays the twice-married and twice-widowed aristocrat, who is debuting her two daughters, Rosamund Li, played by Michelle Mao, and Posy Li, played by Isabella Wei, in the hope of marrying them off to wealthy men.

The series will follow the love life of Benedict Bridgerton, played by Luke Thompson, and Lady Araminta's attempts to pair one of her daughters with him.

Discussing her latest role at the time, Katie touched on the fact that Harry Potter fans might find it difficult to see her playing a mother to teenage daughters when she herself is only 37 in real life.

Leung told website Refinery29: 'In the Regency Era, [women] would have been married off in their teens so it's perfectly plausible that I would have teens.'

And discussing her character's cunning nature, she said: 'I would never call her evil because I adore her — I think she's absolutely fabulous. 

'She's just heavily misunderstood.'

It's also clear that the costumes in the show have been one of the benefits for Katie, who hinted her character has a fashion sense that is second to none.

She said: 'But if there's anything that I can say, I mean, the costumes. They're always brilliant on that show, but hers are something else.'

Last October Netflix finally confirmed the release date for the long-awaited season four of Bridgerton with a first-look trailer - but fans were not happy. 

Bridgerton has been one of Netflix's biggest hits since the first season aired in 2022, following the lives of the upper-crust Bridgerton family as they introduce their children into society and the romances that follow. 

Featuring a brief meeting at a masquerade ball, the synopsis for the teaser trailer read: 'The social season has begun again. What scandalous secrets await us this time? 

'Bridgerton Season 4 will arrive in two parts with Part 1 premiering January 29th and Part 2 on February 26th. Only on Netflix.' 

As revealed in the trailer, the fourth season is set to focus on Benedict, who has yet to find a wife despite his older and younger brothers all being paired off. 

However, he appears to finally meet a 'Lady in Silver' at one of Lady Bridgerton's masquerade balls. 

Fans were quick to take to the comments section to share their thoughts on the brief teaser, with many expressing their frustration that the season had been split into two parts again.

They wrote: 'whoever decided to start parting tv shows should be arrested.';

'I'll be in a nursing home at the bingo table before the last seasons drop…'

'Can we STOP parting shows in 2 parts? Omg.'

'SOMEONE CALL THE POLICE ON NETFLIX FOR THE PART 1 & 2 BS.'