The comedian Matt Lucas has apologised to Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown after he used a catchphrase from a Little Britain character alongside photographs of her on the social media site X.
Last week, Lucas wrote the phrase "no but yeah but", used by the teenager Vicky Pollard in the popular sketch comedy series above pictures of Brown.
Brown, 21, was photographed out and about in Los Angeles, wearing hoop earrings and a pink top, which Lucas said had prompted him to point out "the similarity by posting one of her (Vicky's) catchphrases".
The apology from Lucas, in response to an Instagram post from Brown, said: "Dear Millie, I just saw your post and wanted to respond, and provide some context. Nearly 25 years ago I co-wrote and appeared in a sketch show called Little Britain.
"There was a character in it called Vicky Pollard, who had blonde hair and always wore a pink top, and in the photo you had blonde hair and wore a pink top so I pointed out the similarity by posting one of her catchphrases.
"I thought you looked terrific and I was mortified when the press wrote that I 'slammed' you, firstly because that's not my style, and secondly because I think you're brilliant.
"I would not have posted it if I had thought it would have upset you but I realise it has and for that I apologise."
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Little Britain, which also starred David Walliams, began as a radio show in 2000 and moved to TV in 2003, running for three series.
Characters included Pollard, with her catchphrase, Andy and his carer Lou, Fat Fighters' Marjorie Dawes, and the rubber outfit-wearing Daffyd.
Lucas's apology came after Brown, whose role as Eleven in Netflix series Stranger Things made her a household name, took to Instagram saying media coverage of her changing appearance has amounted to "bullying".
Alongside a video, Brown said: "I want to take a moment to address something that I think is bigger than just me, something that affects every young woman who grows up under public scrutiny.
"I think it's necessary to speak up about this. I started in this industry when I was 10 years old. I grew up in front of the world, and, for some reason, people can't seem to grow with me.
"Instead, they act like I'm supposed to stay frozen in time, like I should still look the way I did on Stranger Things season one. And because I don't, I'm now a target."
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She quoted headlines from articles, among them references to Lucas's X comments, which she said were "amplifying an insult rather than questioning why a grown man is mocking a young woman's appearance".
Brown added: "This isn't journalism. This is bullying. The fact that adult writers are spending their time dissecting my face, my body, my choices, it's disturbing.
"The fact that some of these articles are written by women? Even worse. We always talk about supporting and uplifting young women, but, when the time comes, it seems easier to tear them down for clicks.
"Disillusioned people can't handle seeing a girl become a woman on her terms, not theirs. I refuse to apologise for growing up. I refuse to make myself smaller to fit the unrealistic expectations of people who can't handle seeing a girl become a woman.
"I will not be shamed for how I look, how I dress, or how I present myself. We have become a society where it's so much easier to criticise than it is to pay a compliment."
She ended her post saying: "Let's do better. Not just for me, but for every young girl who deserves to grow up without fear of being torn apart for simply existing."
Celebrities including Sex and the City's Sarah Jessica Parker and Sort Your Life Out presenter Stacey Solomon were among those commending Brown on her post, with Solomon writing: "Louder for the people at the back! You're incredible Millie. And so grounded & intelligent. I love this & everything you're standing for."
Filming on the fifth and final series of Stranger Things has now finished. It is due to air this year.
The series, created by brothers Matt and Ross Duffer, also starred Edward Scissorhands' Winona Ryder and David Harbour. It first aired on Netflix in 2016 and was set in the 1980s.
It followed the disappearance of 12-year-old Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) and showed his friends, his unsettled mother Joyce (Ryder), and his brother Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) trying to find him.
It sparked a nostalgia for '80s pop culture, with Kate Bush's 1985 hit Running up That Hill (A Deal with God) becoming a hit again after it was used in the soundtrack for series four.
Since her breakout role in Stranger Things, Brown has starred as the mystery-solving sleuth Enola Holmes in the 2020 Netflix film of the same name and its sequel two years later.
Brown, who married Jake Bongiovi, the son of the singer Jon Bon Jovi, last year, has been promoting the new Russo Brothers film, The Electric State, in which she stars alongside Chris Pratt.
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