A casting call for a Milka advert has sparked outrage after appealing for a prepubescent girl who is not overweight or has red hair.

The actors' agency Spotlight UK was advertising the role of 'Mia' for the chocolate bar's Christmas advert.

The casting call specified it wanted 'no children over 4ft 4ins', 'no overweight children', 'she must NOT have reached puberty' and she must be 'beautiful and angelic'.

It specified further: 'She can be aged 9-12. If she is 12 she must be very small and still be childlike.'

A casting call for a young girl to star in an advert has specified it does not want overweight or redhead children

The advert was for the role of 'Mia' in Milka's Christmas advert and it has sparked outrage on social media

The advert also said 'eye colour and hair colour are not important but no red hair'.

It was shared on Twitter by outraged performer Helen Raw and celebrities including comedian Kathy Burke and Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson have heavily criticised the advert.

Kathy Burke said: 'Imagine being the kids that don't get the job - you're just not beautiful enough I'm afraid, my darling, now off you pop and be riddled with insecurities for the rest of your life.'

Among the bizarre specifications of the chocolate bar role were Mia's passions for David Bowie and sloths

Spotlight UK published an update after the first one sparked controversy, confirming 'no overweight children' should apply

The advert also issues an unusual set of interests Mia enjoys, such as the music of David Bowie and helping endangered sloths.

Many on social media have expressed their disgust at the advert with parents saying they would not let their children anywhere near the casting call.

Spotlight UK have since published an apology for the advert.

In a statement, they said: 'On Thursday one of the Casting Directors who use Spotlight's platform published a casting call – or a 'breakdown' as they're known in the trade – on our platform which absolutely did not meet our high standards but nevertheless slipped through the net.

'Breakdowns like this are, quite simply, totally unacceptable and we should never have allowed it to be published.

We're committed to giving all Spotlight members the very best service we can, and that includes making sure that every single Spotlight member and Casting Director can feel that they're treated with respect and dignity.

'On this occasion we failed to meet our own standards and we'll be conducting a full review to make sure we get it right in the future.

'We made a serious error and we should have done much, much better. We're sorry.'

Mondelez International, who make Milka chocolate bars, told The Daily Star Sunday: 'We take our advertising responsibility very seriously and this is not representative of the brief we shared with the casting agency and does not meet our high standards.

'We would never approve the use of such a notice, and are urgently reviewing the situation with Spotlight UK to understand how and why it has happened.'