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 BBC1 Network |
Christmas 2006
Billie Piper plays Sally
Lockhart in Philip Pullman's The Ruby in the Smoke this Christmas.
When Billie Piper left her
hugely successful role as Rose Tyler in Russell T Davies' Doctor Who it
was possibly the most heart-wrenching time of her professional life.
She had been part of the Doctor
Who family for two years and it was during filming of the first series
starring Christopher Eccleston when her marriage to Chris Evans ended.
Although it was her choice to
leave it was nevertheless a sad time for Billie but a time that is
packed with great memories and where life-long friendships were forged.
"When I told the producers
that I wanted to leave they were so supportive and gave me words of
encouragement that I took with me on my next adventure which was Philip
Pullman's brilliant Sally Lockhart series. Russell put pen to paper and
gave Rose a wonderful exit," she says.
"When my last episode of
Doctor Who was screened I clutched a pillow and sobbed my heart out... I
miss them all so much and thank them for the springboard they gave me.
It was an experience that was out of this world!"
Even though it was her choice to
leave the show it was still hard to leave the great friends she had made
in the show's Executive Producer Julie Gardner, writer Russell T Davies
and co-star David "Ten-inch" Tennant as she
"wickedly" calls him.
"David and I didn't just
get on because we were thrown together – we were proper mates and
neither of us can remember what it was we found so funny for nine months
but we giggled for a straight nine months," she laughs.
"When I left I was pretty
scared at first because The Ruby In The Smoke was my first drama since
leaving Doctor Who - I wasn't sure if I could pull it off," she
explains.
"It was not just that but
also my first lead role and a period drama. Lots of firsts there but I
had the support of people around me... JJ (Feild) and Julie (Walters)
had both worked on loads of period drama as had Brian Percival the
director, so I was in really good company."
"I suppose there is a
danger in working on a show like Doctor Who because audiences fall in
love with a certain character and they can't get used to seeing you in
something else. It must be the same for soap actors who move on,"
she continues.
"I found it difficult to
look at footage of Sally Lockhart when I was doing the ADR work because
I've only really ever seen myself as Rose – I know I've done The
Miller's Tale and Much Ado About Nothing but it really felt that Rose
was mine," she adds.
While she was filming the Sally
Lockhart Mysteries Billie was simultaneously writing her autobiography
with the help of Gay Longworth.
"Writing my book was really
cathartic for me and I'm often asked if I was scared about writing it
but no it was a load of fun," she laughs.
"I learnt a lot about
grammar and really basic things like spelling and how to construct
sentences and make sense of a story.
"Gay Longworth helped me
with the process, which was that we would sit and talk for about three
days on growing up in Swindon, and then she would go off and interview
Mum, Dad, members of my family and friends and dig up old press cuttings
which would help put the pieces together.
"I met with quite a few
writers that were recommended by the publisher but I liked Gay because
she had helped Gloria Hunniford write her book about Caron's death and
it was handled really carefully.
"When I met her she was
really feisty and a bit of a trouble-maker, a mum and just good company
and since I knew I had to enjoy spending time with the person I was
going to sit down and tell my entire life story to... it was imperative
that I trusted her."
Since Billie was first propelled
into the limelight by Hugh Goldsmith at the age of 15 her life has been
in the public eye and most of her growing up has been done via the
papers.
Winning a two-year battle with
anorexia, meeting, marrying, separating from Chris Evans, disappearing
from view for two years and returning to begin an acting career - Billie
has packed more into the last six years than most people achieve in a
lifetime.
She now feels like she has
finally found her forte in life and is constantly pushing the perimeters
of her comfort zone to embrace new challenges.
"I feel like I am
fulfilling all the big dreams I had as a kid and the thought of not
being involved in the acting world makes me really sad," she says.
"I hope to be growing and
adapting and learning different things and I am so ready to have a good
crack at the whip now with the Sally Lockhart Mysteries and my first
lead role.
"I love all the different
areas of this profession and I do feel like I am finally on my
way."
Despite being offered a number
of film roles she hasn't quite found the right one for her.
"If the right movie came
along I would love to do it but I am enjoying my television work at the
moment. I have seen a few big action scripts for film but I would love
to do something a bit more domestic like current affairs or a political
thriller... anything with a social conscience but we shall see what
comes along."
But for the meantime she had
great fun shooting the Sally Lockhart Mysteries despite having to wear a
corset and about four layers in the middle of the hottest summer for
years!
"I wore layer after layer
after layer but I found the corsets really helped me get into character.
It is actually really hard to become a Victorian woman without donning
one because the minute you put it on you hold yourself differently -
your hair is up and you are wearing period jewellery.
"In the beginning you find
you eat very little because it sits on your chest but after a while I
got so used to it that I was totally able to wolf down a shepherd's pie
for lunch without blinking," she laughs.
"I felt dainty and feminine
in the costume and a lot more happens in your head in terms of the role
because you don't have the freedom of movement which is great for this
part because she is a deep thinker and true to her emotions.
"She isn't oppressed
despite the world she is living in but she is quite free."
Billie loved playing Sally
Lockhart because of the modern nature and personality of the young
investigator: "Sally is a very modern woman who doesn't get beaten
down with stuff that society dictates at that time.
"She likes freedom of
thought and is headstrong and that's what gets her through this very
strange time in her life and the realisation that there are things and
mysteries within her own family that she had no idea about.
"Sally receives a note with
a warning saying 'Beware of the Seven Blessings', and she realises that
this is a note about her father's death and from there the thriller
begins to unravel," she says.
"She meets goodies and
baddies and people who have been involved with both her father's death
and the mutiny that happened at sea.
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