Billie Piper

Born:	22 September 1982 Swindon, England
Occupation:	Actress, former singer

Billie Paul Piper (born Lianne Paul Piper on 22 September 1982) is an English actress. She began her career as a pop singer in her teens, and was well-known for her marriage to DJ Chris Evans, but is now best known for portraying Rose Tyler, companion to the Doctor in the television series Doctor Who from 2005 to 2006.

Contents 1 Career 1.1 Music 1.2 Film and television 1.3 Doctor Who 1.4 Theatre 1.5 Other Work 2 Personal life 2.1 Autobiography 3 Awards and nominations 3.1 Awards 3.2 Nominations 4 Filmography 4.1 Television 4.2 Film 5 Discography 5.1 Albums 5.2 Singles 6 Ranking in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women 7 References 8 Footnotes 9 External links

Career

Music

Piper's first break in the entertainment world came as a teenager, when she was selected to appear on the Saturday morning kids' television show Scratchy & Co. Piper later landed a role in a television commercial promoting the pop magazine Smash Hits. Her role was to blow a bubble in front of the camera, burst it with her finger and shout "Pop!". A red screen would then come up and the words "Smash hits Magazine. 100% pure pop!" with Piper's voice saying the words. She then had to run up to the camera and dance, then run back. Soon after she was offered a record deal at the age of fifteen, and in 1998 became the youngest artist ever to debut at number one in the UK singles chart with "Because We Want To", released under the artist name "Billie". Her follow-up single "Girlfriend" also debuted at Number One, and her first album, Honey to the B (released immediately afterwards) debuted at Number 14 in the UK album charts. She released two further singles off the album, "She Wants You" and "Honey to the Bee"; both songs debuted at Number 3.

Piper then took a year off to record her second album. She decided to release further records under her full name, Billie Piper. She returned to the Singles Chart in May 2000 with a new, sexier sound. She hit the Number 1 spot with "Day & Night", but her success wasn't to continue. She waited until the following September to release "Something Deep Inside". That reached Number 4 in the UK Singles Chart. In October 2000, Piper released her second album, Walk of Life, which reached Number 14 in the UK Album Chart. The song "Walk of Life", the final single off this album, was released in December 2000 and reached Number 25 in the UK Singles Chart.

In 1999, Piper was nominated for two BRIT Awards and was named Best Female Star at the Smash Hits Poll Winners' party, although at the latter ceremony she was reduced to tears after being viciously booed by jealous fans of Ritchie Neville, member of boyband Five, whom she was dating at the time.

On 15 January 2007, BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles started a campaign to get "Honey to the Bee" back into the Top 100 on download sales as a way of testing out new chart rules that favour download sales. The campaign was highly successful, with "Honey to the Bee" re-entering the official UK singles chart at #17, eight years after it was first released.

Film and television

In 2003, Piper decided to end her pop career and return to her original ambition, acting. She took acting lessons while living in Los Angeles and, still a high-profile figure, quickly earned roles in the BBC Television series The Canterbury Tales (modern retellings of Chaucer's stories) and the one-off drama Bella and the Boys.

Piper gained very positive reviews for these appearances, critics seemingly feeling that she was a far better actress than she was a singer.

In 2004, Piper appeared in the films The Calcium Kid, as the romantic interest of Orlando Bloom's character, and Things to do Before You're Thirty. Shortly before starting work on Doctor Who, she filmed a starring role in the horror movie Spirit Trap along side Russian pop star Alsou, released in the summer of 2005 to generally poor reviews.

In November 2005, Piper starred as Hero in a BBC adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing, updated for the modern day in a similar manner to the Canterbury Tales series in which she featured, with Hero now being a weather presenter in a television station.

Piper has completed work on two stand-alone television productions. In the first, a BBC adaptation of Philip Pullman's historical novel The Ruby in the Smoke broadcast in December 2006, Piper played protagonist Sally Lockhart, a Victorian orphan. The BBC plans to film all four of Pullman's Sally Lockhart novels, presumably with Piper continuing in the role. In 2007 she appeared as the main character, Fanny Price, in an adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Mansfield Park, screened on ITV1. This was her first acting role on television for a broadcaster other than the BBC.

Piper is also attached to appear in an ITV2 adaptation of Belle de Jour, a book detailing the life of a prostitute.

Doctor Who

In May 2004, it was announced that Piper was to play the character Rose Tyler, companion to the Doctor in the revived series of Doctor Who, beginning in 2005.

Piper won the Most Popular Actress category at the 2005 and 2006 National Television Awards for her work on Doctor Who. BBC News named Piper as one of its "Faces of the Year" for 2005, primarily due to her success in Doctor Who. At The South Bank Show Awards on 27 January 2006 Piper was awarded The Times Breakthrough Award for her successful transition from singing to acting. In March 2006, the Television and Radio Industries Club named Piper as best new TV talent in their annual Tric awards. In September 2006, Piper was named Best Actress at the TV Quick and TV Choice Awards.

After the completion of the first series of Doctor Who, the British media regularly released conflicting reports about how long Piper would be staying with the programme. In March 2006, she claimed that she would continue on Doctor Who into its third season in 2007. On 10 May 2006, however, she was reported to be considering quitting the series, although she did express an interest in playing a female version of the Doctor in the future (possibly related to a proposed Doctor Who spin-off series about Rose which was later dropped). On 15 June 2006, the BBC announced that she was to depart in the final episode of the second series, "Doomsday". Piper's decision to leave had been taken a year previously, but remained a secret until news of her departure became public.

Both Piper and head writer Russell T. Davies have mentioned that the manner of her departure was intended to leave the door open for the character of Rose Tyler to return to the role at a later date. Rumours about a return in the 2007 series have, however, been denied in print by Davies. The BBC had briefly planned to produce a Rose Tyler spin-off, starring Piper, which was to follow Rose's life after leaving the Doctor, but Davies ultimately decided to cancel the project.

Theatre

Piper made her stage debut in a touring production of Christopher Hampton's play Treats, which opened in early 2007 in Windsor. Treats was to have ended its tour in the West End, at the Garrick Theatre, starting on 28 February 2007 with previews from on 20 February. The play officially finished as of 26th May.

Other Work

Besides her acting work, Piper has also begun to provide voiceovers for various television commercials, including one for Comfort Fabric Softener airing in June 2007.

Personal life

Piper was born in Swindon, Wiltshire, England to Paul Piper and Mandy Kent. Her parents changed her given name from Lianne to Billie three weeks after registering her birth. Piper has one younger brother, Charlie, and two younger sisters, Harley and Ellie.

Piper grew up in Nine Elms, Swindon. She went to Brookfield Primary School in the Shaw, Swindon, and Bradon Forest Secondary School in the village of Purton. She supports Swindon Town football club. Later, she attended The Sylvia Young Theatre School. She is 1.65 m tall. She is quoted as saying: "Weight doesn't matter as long as you're happy with yourself."

Piper married businessman, television presenter, and BBC Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans in a secret ceremony on May 2001 in Las Vegas after five months of dating. Their marriage attracted much comment due to the sixteen-year age gap between the two.

A story in The Independent on 27 June 2006 stated that Piper has declared that she does not wish to claim any money from Evans' reported £30m wealth or his £540,000 salary from Radio Two. "I'm not taking a penny from him," she told the Radio Times. "I think that's disgusting." Piper also revealed in her interview with Radio Times that she left her pop star career with very little money. The couple got divorced on 31st May 2007. Evans has admitted that the age gap was a reason in seeking the divorce.

Piper dated and lived with law student Amadu Sowe from 2004 to 2006. She is now dating actor Laurence Fox, son of James Fox, and they are living together in their new home in a village in West Sussex. It is reported that they are engaged to be quietly married in July 2007, after dating for six months.

Piper's sexuality has been questioned, and Piper herself has implied that she may be at least bisexual. In a 2006 interview with Gay Community News, Piper said: "I fancy women big time... I check them out more than I check men out. Maybe I would want to sleep with a woman."

Autobiography

Piper signed a six-figure contract with publishers Hodder and Stoughton to write her autobiography Growing Pains, which was released in the autumn of 2006. Apparently (according to a Top Gear interview), Piper only released the autobiography due to an unauthorised biography coming out.

In recent publication, an excerpt of her autobiography has been printed. Piper divulges about her battle with anorexia that developed after a television presenter called her fat when she was a 16-year-old pop star. Piper began to use laxatives as well as starvation to drop weight. During a US promotional tour, she contemplated suicide as a result of low record sales and self doubt. She admits to managing five days without food during which time she existed on nothing more than Diet Coke and coffee. She also stated that her relationship with Evans made her ditch her starvation diet and gave her a new zest for life. However, after her split with Evans, Piper returned to anorexia. In the autobiography, Piper said that eating disorders were rife among the girls at her former school the Sylvia Young Theatre School. Young has since spoken out against Piper calling her claim "rubbish" and stating she feels "bewildered" by the allegation.

Awards and nominations

Awards

• 1999 - Smash Hits Awards: Best Female
• 2005 - The National Television Awards: Most Popular Actress
• 2005 - BBC Face Of The Year
• 2005 - BBC Drama Awards: Best Actress
• 2006 - The South Bank Show Awards: The Times Breakthrough Award - Rising British Talent
• 2006 - TV Choice/TV Quick Awards: Best Actress
• 2006 - The National Television Awards: Most Popular Actress
• 2006 - BBC Drama Awards: Best Actress
• 2006 - Tric Awards: Best New Talent
• 2006 - GQ Magazine Awards: Woman of the Year

Nominations

• 2006 - Broadcasting Press Guild Awards: Best Actress
  (role in Doctor Who & ShakespeaRe-Told: Much Ado About Nothing)
  
• 2006 - BAFTA Cymru Awards: Best Actress

Filmography

Television

• The Canterbury Tales: The Miller's Tale (BBC One, 2003) - Alison Crosby
• Bella and the Boys (BBC Two, 2004) - Bella
• Doctor Who (BBC One, 2005–06) - Rose Tyler
• ShakespeaRe-Told: Much Ado About Nothing (BBC One, 2005) - Hero
• The Friday Night Project (Channel 4, 2006) - herself (guest presenter)
• The Ruby in the Smoke (BBC One, 2006) - Sally Lockhart
• The Charlotte Church Show (Channel 4, 2007) - herself (guest)
• Mansfield Park (ITV1, 2007) - Fanny Price
• Top Gear - Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car posted a time of 1:48:55
• Belle De Jour - Belle De Jour

Film

• Evita (1996, uncredited bit-part)
• The Leading Man (1996, uncredited bit-part)
• The Calcium Kid (2004) - Angel
• Things To Do Before You're 30 (2005) - Vicky
• Spirit Trap (2005) - Jenny

Discography

Albums

• 1999: Honey to the B
• 2000: Walk of Life
• 2005: The Best of Billie
• 2007 : Billie Piper Third Studio Album

Singles

Year	Single	Peak positions
		UK	IRL	SE	SW	NZ
1998	"Because We Want To"	1	9	8	-	23
	"Girlfriend"	1	12	22	-	3
	"She Wants You"	3	21	-	-	4
1999	"Honey to the Bee"	3	25	-	-	5
	"Last Christmas"	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
	"Thank ABBA for the Music"1	4	5	17	-	6
2000	"Day & Night"	1	13	52	62	6
	"Something Deep Inside"	4	-	-	97	18
	"Walk of Life"	25	-	-	66	-
2007	"Honey To The Bee"	17	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

Ranking in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women

1. 56 in 1999
2. 86 in 2000
3. 48 in 2001
4. 62 in 2005
5. 11 in 2006
6. 46 in 2007
7. 142 in the 'ten years of FHM's Sexiest Women polls' - 1995-2004.

References

• Cook, Benjamin. "Billie", Doctor Who Magazine, 4 January 2006, pp. 13–21. 
• McLean, Craig. "Why we fell under Piper's spell", The Daily Telegraph, 5 November 2005. Retrieved on 2006-01-03. 
• "Faces of the year - the women", BBC News, 30 December 2005. Retrieved on 2006-01-03. 
• Searchable index of UK chart positions, including Piper's hits
• List of all #1 songs (including Piper's) from The Official UK Charts Company
• Chris Evans Saved My Life

Footnotes

External links

• Yahoo Groups: Billie Piper Club
• BBC Drama Faces: Billie Piper
• Billie Piper at the Internet Movie Database
• Billie Piper at TV.com
• Audio interview at BBC Wiltshire (October 2006)
• Audio interview at BBC Somerset (February 2007)