Fashion Actress Designer

Fearless young Sally Lockhart (Billie Piper, Doctor Who) has a mind for numbers and for sleuthing, and in Philip Pullman s trilogy of novels, set in Victorian London, she is put through the paces of melodrama and mystery. In this vivid adaptation of the first book in the series, recently orphaned Sally Lockhart, armed with a pearl-handled pistol and her keen mind, uncovers the secrets of her fathe

This is an astonishingly candid insight into the world of Billie Piper. Famous since the age of 15 -- first as the face of Smash Hits, then as a pop singer with three No.1 hits in less than three years -- Billie Piper has won over the critics and the British public for a second time by re-inventing herself as an actress in BBC productions of Much Ado About Nothing, The Canterbury Tales and, of course, Doctor Who. And that's just the professional Billie. In this book, for the first time, she talks h! onestly about her whirwind romance and marriage to Chris Evans, about her battles with anorexia and the dark side of teen fame. Moving, funny and honest, this is a page-turning read by one of the nation's favourite stars.Billie Piper stars in the hit series SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL, based on the real-life adventures of a high-class London escort. By day she's quiet and unassuming Hannah. But when night comes, she's Belle, the city's finest call girl. Juggling her own reality with her clients' fantasies can be difficult, but this savvy sweetheart knows every trick for doing it in style. Take a peek into SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL, the witty and provocative original series from Showtime. It's a good time you won't soon forget.Move over, Miley: There's another Hannah leading another, albeit way more provocative, double life. Her family and friends think she is a legal secretary, but this woman in the designer suit, known professionally to her clients as Belle, is, as she s! o delicately puts it, "a whore." Hannah/Belle isn't caught up ! in seman tics. She's a very high-class London call girl who charges by the hour, and she charges a lot. "Be fabulous, but forgettable," she instructs early on about how to navigate hotel lobbies, but Billie Piper is anything but forgettable. Piper, best known as Rose Tyler, has gone from Dr. Who to Dr. Woo-Who! Based on an infamous blog and subsequent book, this British series is a cheeky insider's look at the world's oldest profession. It presents a much more glamorous picture than the grittier HBO reality series, Cat House, but like those happy hookers, Belle enjoys her work. "I love sex, and I love money," she directly tells viewers. But she does endeavor to keep her private and professional life separate. Not even her ex-boyfriend/now-best friend Ben (Iddo Goldberg) knows, which will change in episode five, and lead to an awkward close encounter when he insists on joining her on the job as part of a foursome. Piper's engaging presence and her posh-sounding British ! accent do take the edge off; the language is explicit, but the sex scenes are pure soft core. Several are played for laughs, but others do reach the desired hotness. Other than Hannah's conflicting feelings over Ben's impending marriage or her flirtation with taking her career to "the next step up the ladder" as a courtesan, there isn't too much drama in these eight episodes. But as a character study, Secret Diary of a Call Girl is of much more than prurient interest. --Donald Liebenson