Before They Were Doctors: Companion Edition, Billie Piper
By Sundi Rose
In this weekly new series, Before They Were Doctors, we’re taking a closer look at the stars of Doctor Who before they were on the show.
In this installment of Before They Were Doctors, we’re taking a look at Rose, the Companion who kickstarted the modern era of the Doctor. The lovely Billie Piper connected the past to the new era and set the standard for all the companions that came after her.
Here’s a few things you might not know about Billie Piper, who always be known as Rose Tyler to us.
She was voted the Greatest Women of Doctor Who ever by BBC America.
In a 2012 poll, BBC America reports, “More than 200,000 people cast their ballots in our week-long tournament, and fans whittled down a field of eight companions down to a final two: Rose Tyler vs. Sarah Jane Smith. And by a vote of 57 percent to 43 percent, the companion voted the Greatest Woman of Doctor Who is … Yes. Rose Tyler.”
She used to be a pop star.
She was discovered in a commercial when she was 15, and she went on to enjoy quite a career as a singer. Her single “Because We Want To” did pretty well in the UK, and she was the youngest artist to debut at number one. Billie eventually gave up her life as a pop sensation in 2003 when she decided to devote her full attention to acting.
She played Orlando Bloom’s girlfriend.
She and Bloom starred in the ill-fated The Calcium Kid. Bloom played a young boxer and Piper his girlfriend. As beautiful as these folks are, their onscreen chemistry just wasn’t enough to make folks go see it.
Her middle name is Paul
Born Leian Paul Piper in Wiltshire, but it was officially changed to Billie in 1983. Her middle name is also her father’s first name, which is most likely after whom she’s named.
Her role as a call girl was based on real events.
Billie starred as a high end prostitute, Belle du Jour in the sexy hit, Secret Diary of a Call Girl. Fans were surprised when she was cast on the ITV2’s drama because we’d only played much more demure roles until then. To prepare, Piper met with the real Belle, and got all the juicy backstory for the character on the show. Turns out, the sexcapades Belle enjoyed on the show, came from the real Belle’s actual life. All those latex suits, wigs, and sexy hotel rooms are real details.
She’s best friends with Matt Smith
Even though she didn’t get to be his companion in the Whoniverse, they’ve become super pals in real life – there’s also been rumors about a romantic past, but we’re not ones to spread gossip. They did share some onscreen time in a few projects, including in Ruby in the Smoke and The Shadow in the North. Smith actually made a cameo in Call Girl, sending our fanfic imaginations into overdrive..
Related Story: Before They Were Doctors: Eleventh Doctor Edition, Matt Smith
She was the Bride of Frankenstein
Piper appeared on the Showtime hit Penny Dreadful initially as Brona Croft. Brona died from tuberculosis and was revived by Dr. Frankenstein as Lily. She was meant as a companion (see what I did there) to Frankenstein’s first creation, she was frightened by his appearance and rejected him for others.
Some say Billie Piper is the best of all the companions, but we’ll try to remain neutral. Even though she changed the Doctor Who universe for the better, we don’t want to seem so bias as to say she’s the greatest of all time.