He first found fame playing Neville Longbottom in the hit wizard franchise Harry Potter. But Matthew Lewis well and truly shed his child actor image this week with a racy appearance in the new ITV drama, Girlfriends. Viewers took to Twitter to share their shock – and delight – as the 28-year-old star stripped off in the show, revealing his impressive muscular physique. "Matthew Lewis gets better looking every time I see him!" one fan wrote. Another added: "The weird moment you realise you fancy Neville Longbottom", while a third agreed: "Aaaaand Neville Longbottom continues to be the hottest alumnus of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. #Girlfriends."
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Matthew Lewis caused a stir as he stripped off on ITV drama Girlfriends
Viewers were also thrilled to see Matthew reunited with fellow Harry Potter star Zoe Wannamaker, who played Madam Hooch in the franchise. The pair last appeared onscreen together in the 2001 film Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone – and Zoe now stars as Matthew's mother in Girlfriends. Zoe recently admitted she was taken aback by Matthew's transformation, telling What's On TV: "I haven't seen Matthew since he was in Harry Potter, so it was a shock when I saw him. This gorgeous hunk," she admitted. Referring to his appearance as a youngster, she added: "And this little round face, with ears like that. It was hysterical."
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The former child star found fame playing Harry Potter's Neville Longbottom
Matthew's 'transformation' first came to public attention when he stepped out for the world premiere for the final Harry Potter film in 2011. He previously told Attitude magazine, "I was 21, I was like, 'Yeah, this'll be cool!' It was never meant to be a 'Hey everyone, look at me', but it was nice to be able to go and be myself. And then obviously a lot of attention focused on it, which I didn't expect at all. I've never considered myself to be good-looking at all. Just average."
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Matthew at the 2004 premiere of Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban