emma watsonEmma Watson has said it was found it awful when she turned 18 - because she had to face the full brunt of life in the public eye.

The Harry Potter star had been protected from the most invasive elements of celebrity life until she came of age last April.

She told the Mail on Sunday recently: “It was pretty tough turning 18. I realised that overnight I’d become fair game.

“I had a party in town and the pavements were just knee-deep with photographers trying to get a shot of me looking drunk, which wasn’t going to happen. I don’t have to drink to have a good time. The sickest part was when one photographer lay down on the floor to get a shot up my skirt.

“The night it was legal for them to do it, they did it. I woke up the next day and felt completely violated by it all. That’s not something I want in my life. I just kept thinking that if it had happened a day earlier people would have sued their a***s off.

Emma is rumoured to have a “good behaviour” clause in her contract for the Harry Potter series but she says she’s “never seen” it: “I honestly think that’s a myth - but I actually wouldn’t ever need one. It’s just not necessary. I’m not tempted by parties or drugs. I don’t actually like being drunk, particularly in public.

“But I do understand why people get sucked into a party lifestyle. I can see how it happens so I’d never criticise someone who gets into all that. It can get pretty tough. But you have choices in life. If I want to lead as private and as normal a life as possible I just can’t go there. So I don’t.”

She added other things are expected of her now she’s legally an adult too: “I find this whole thing about being 18 and everyone expecting me to be this object… I find the whole concept of being ‘sexy’ embarrassing and confusing.

“If I do a photo-shoot people desperately want to change me - dye my hair blonder, pluck my eyebrows, give me a fringe. Then there’s the choice of clothes. I know everyone wants a picture of me in a mini-skirt. But that’s not me. I feel uncomfortable. I’d never go out in a mini-skirt. It’s nothing to do with protecting the Hermione image. I wouldn’t do that.

“Personally, I don’t actually think it’s even that sexy. What’s sexy about saying, ‘I’m here with my boobs out and a short skirt… have a look at everything I’ve got’? My idea of sexy is that less is more. The less you reveal the more people can wonder.”