United Kingdom, Oct. 2 -- Vanessa Hudgens admitted her "real" chemistry with Zac Efron helped them in High School Musical.

The 36-year-old actress played Gabriella Montez opposite Zac as Troy Bolton in the beloved 2006 Disney Channel film, and they ended up dating in real life from 2005 to 2010.

She told Bart Johnson's Get Your Head In The Game podcast: "Of course I was a child and paired with this boy and I was like, 'Oh my god, he's so cute.'

"The chemistry was so real."

She admitted when they filmed the original film's opening karaoke scene, the cute glances at him were "so real".

She added: "Yeah, it really does [help], especially when you're young and it's all sweet and innocent."

And while Vanessa - who reprised her role as Ga...