Kathy Burke has named American singer Lizzo as someone she thinks is a great inspiration for young women today.

The actress also praised the musician, whose real name is Melissa Jefferson, for her body confidence.

Burke, 55, told PA: “I’m a Lizzo fan these days. Oh my god. I mean, I wish she’d been around when I was young.

Handout from Kathy Burke: All Woman showing Burke and photographer John Rankin in the Channel 4 three-part documentary (Channel 4/Flicker Productions TV)

“Gee whizz, that’s a great inspiration. What a talent. I just think she’s amazing and I love that she’s big, that goes with it.

“It’s just this confidence and her exuberance about how f*****g gorgeous she is. She’s a goddess. I’m a bit obsessed with Lizzo at the moment.”

TV presenter and actress Burke was speaking ahead of her three-part documentary, Channel 4’s All Woman, which begins on Tuesday.

Each episode sees her delve into one of three topics – Beauty and Image, Work and Motherhood and Sex and Relationships.

In the first episode she is shown reminiscing with her friend, the photographer Rankin (full name John Rankin). She also talks about the influence punk music had on her growing up.

She said: “I suppose it was just like ‘Oh my god, thank goodness’, because back then in the 80s and 70s that was how you expressed yourself, was how you dressed and how you looked. You wore what music you liked on your sleeve. So it just allowed me to just be a tom boy, for want of a better word.

“I could have my hair really short. I didn’t have to wear dresses, I could wear baggy old T-shirts and ripped trousers and monkey boots and I was desirable to boys that were into the same stuff.”

Burke also meets former Love Island contestant Megan Barton-Hanson to discuss beauty and social media.

Megan Barton-Hanson and Kathy Burke in Channel 4’s Kathy Burke: All Woman (Channel 4/Flicker Productions TV)

She said of the former stripper and reality TV star: “I just thought she wouldn’t have much to say for herself. I thought all she’d be interested in was talking about beauty, but that wasn’t the case at all.

“I found her to be really smart, really quite sweet, very funny and I just sort of admired her at the end of the day. I thought ‘Well, here’s someone that’s doing it for herself’.”

Burke’s acting roles over the years include BBC comedies Absolutely Fabulous and Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, and she starred in Gary Oldman’s Nil By Mouth.

The first episode of Kathy Burke: All Woman airs on Channel 4 tonight at 10pm.