The two women who inspired Little Britain's Vicky Pollard have spoken for the first time.

Matt Lucas came up with the idea for Vicky after spotting schoolgirls Nikki Carpenter and Stacey Bennett on a magazine cover while on a day-trip to Brighton five years ago. The pair, who apparently sported "tracksuits and scraped-back hair", helped Lucas to find the right image for one of the show's most popular characters.

"Vicky's character is a lot like us," Nikki, now 20, told the Sunday Mirror. "But thankfully we don't look nuffin' like her as she's much bigger and fatter than us.

"We always laugh so much when we watch the show. I've mixed feelings about Lucas making Vicky out of us. I mean she's dead famous but she's not exactly a looker, is she? That gets up my nose. But I suppose it's a compliment he based Vicky on us."

The pair were shocked to be photographed for listings magazine Time Out while visiting Brighton.

Stacey explained, "Being photographed was the highlight of our day as we'd run out of money after 30 minutes and spent every penny on the rides. We spent the rest of the day on the pier, didn't we Nik? It was well boring."

Nikki and Stacey have admitted that they are now hoping to meet Lucas in person.