PREVIOUS STORY:
DOCTOR WHO - NEW SERIES NONSENSE

IT'S OUR BILLIE, THAT'S WHO!
31 MAY 2004. SOURCE: THE EVENING ADVERTISER, 24 MAY

"Top TV role for our Billie" claimed the front page of Swindon's Evening Advertiser last Tuesday (24th). Despite this top role, you had to turn to page 17 to find the Adver's report of Billie Piper's casting as Rose Tyler in the new series of "Doctor Who":

Do you want to know the identity of the Doctor's new girl? [Click here for a scan of the article]

Billie Piper will star as the new Dr Who's trusty sidekick.

The Swindon-born pop star turned actress has been selected to play Rose Tyler opposite the ninth Doctor, Christopher Eccleston of Shallow Grave fame.

Billie, 21, who attended Bradon Forest school in Purton, will be following in the steps of Lalla Ward, Elizabeth Sladen and Katy Manning who all travelled with the Time Lord in his legendary Tardis.

Billie said: "Dr Who is an iconic show and I am absolutely thrilled to be playing Rose."

Filming of the popular BBC TV drama, which dates back to 1963, will begin in Cardiff this summer. The 13-part series is scheduled to hit the screens early next year.

Julie Gardner, head of drama at BBC Wales, said: "Billie is beautiful, funny and intelligent. We needed to find a unique, dynamic partner for Christopher Eccleston and Billie fits the bill perfectly."

This is not Billie's first role with the BBC. She received rave reviews when she stripped off with Cold Feet actor James Nesbitt in a raunchy love scene for a dramatisation of Chaucer's A Miller's Tale.

In February Billie took the lead in another drama, Bella and the Boys, which explored the lives of children in care.

Russell Davies [sic], executive producer of Dr Who, is equally delighted to have Billie on board.

He said: "The Doctor's companion is one of the most important and cherished roles in the history of TV drama. It's great that someone of Billie's talent is coming to travel through time and space."

Alexandra Looseley-Saul, who owns The Who Shop, in East Ham, London, is an honorary member of The Dr Who Appreciation Society.

She said: "Billie is attractive, articulate and British, so why not give the girl a go? She is young enough and I was impressed by her performance in A Miller's Tale."

This month Billie made her film debut, when she appeared alongside heartthrob Orlando Bloom in The Calcium Kid. She has also landed the lead role in a horror movie, Spirit Trap, currently being filmed in Romania.

Meanwhile her husband, DJ and TV presenter Chris Evans, 37, has been busy house hunting. The couple have just bought a £400,000 house in the grounds of a £10 mansion in Surrey, previously owned by Mr Evans before he sold it in January.

With Billie's hectic work schedule, they are seeing far less off [sic] each other, prompting rumours of a marriage rift.

But Billie hit back against stories of their drifting apart, claiming they are closer than ever.

Click here for a scan of this article. BACK TO THE TOP