Billie takes corseted turn in Ruby In The Smoke
December 20, 2006 
Former pop starlet Billie Piper is to take a corseted turn on TV this Christmas when she stars in the BBC's Ruby in the Smoke.
Ruby in the Smoke is the first of three televised adaptations of the Philip Pullman novels, in which Billie plays Victorian heroine Sally Lockhart.
Representing a radical departure from her previous role as Rose in Dr Who, Billie admitted she initially had difficulty relating to the role.
"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.
"I found it difficult to look at footage of Sally Lockhart when I was working 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 Rose was mine."
But the costume of corsets and period jewellery soon put her at her ease and helped her to enjoy the experience.
"I wore layer after layer, but I found the corsets really helped me get into character," she says.
"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."
Ruby in the Smoke will show on BBC1 on December 27th. The second book in the series, The Shadow in the North, will also be screened on the BBC in 2007.
© Adfero Ltd
