Dame Julie Walters has slammed the gender gap in the movie business.

Dame Julie Walters

Dame Julie Walters

Last week, the BBC were forced to reveal the pay of their employees and the information has caused a lot of controversy as many male stars earn more than the female staff, now, the 67-year-old 'Harry Potter' actress has said "equal pay is the answer".

Speaking to Good Housekeeping magazine, the actress said: "It should be out there. The men were earning more money. Why? It's the same bloody job. It's women who go to the cinema generally speaking, so it doesn't make sense from that point of view either. I think it's wrong. Equal pay is the answer."

Walters has also said she was thinking of retiring when she reached 60 but then got a part in a National Theatre play and she has admitted she will not "formally" retire.

She said: "When I reached 60, I thought I don't know if I want to carry on ... then a play came in from The National that I thought was fantastic. I don't think I will formally retire. I will just fade away out of the business."

Walters is starring as housekeeper Ellen in the 'Mary Poppins Returns' - the sequel to the Dame Julie Andrews hit Disney musical 'Mary Poppins' - alongside Emily Blunt and Lin Manuel Miranda.

The movie sees Mary returning to the Banks family to find Jane (Emily Mortimer) and Michael (Ben Whishaw) have now grown up but Michael needs assistance with his three children to help them all rediscover the joy of life.

As was previously announced, the film will also feature Meryl Streep, Angela Lansbury and Colin Firth as well as child actors Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh and Joel Dawson.

And Dick Van Dyke - who starred opposite Julie Andrews in the 1964 original movie - recently confirmed he'll be returning as jack-of-all-trades Bert.

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