Hilton: 'I play up airhead image'

Paris Hilton has claimed that she plays up to her public image as an airhead.

The socialite said that she often makes jokes about being stupid, which the press misinterpret.

Tabloid reports recently claimed that Hilton had muddled up chef Gordon Ramsay with Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

"I just do little jokes all the time and people think I'm serious," she told GMTV. "I know exactly who Gordon Ramsay is, I know exactly who Gordon Brown is... I just say jokes but they think I'm serious which I think is funny and I think I kind of play up the image sometimes because - whatever - it's just entertainment."

Hilton also insisted that she was performing when she appeared on MTVs The Simple Life. "For five seasons I was stuck doing this character," she said. "It was kind of hard always having to play that character when it's not who I am."

> Click here to watch our interview with Paris Hilton