The songwriter who penned Britney Spears' 2011 smash hit 'Hold It Against Me' has confessed that the track was written after she paid a compliment to Katy Perry about her enviable figure.

Bonnie McKee explained to The Hollywood Reporter that she was actually in the studio with the 'Teenage Dream' beauty when she commented on the star's hot body and was suddenly inspired to write the song:

"Hold It Against Me' was a happy accident. It was actually inspired by Katy because I was writing with her at the time and I went in the other room where I was working on Britney in between."

"She came into the room in some tight, sexy little dress and I jokingly said, 'Damn Katy, if I told you you had a nice body would you hold it against me?' I was like, 'Bingo!' and I wrote that song."

When asked if Spears knows about the origins of the single, McKee joked: "I don't think so. I never actually got to meet Britney when we worked on the album, which is funny because I'm singing a lot of it."

Watch Spears' video for 'Hold It Against Me' here: