Billie Piper has opened up about a particularly uncomfortable moment from her time filming Secret Diary of a Call Girl, the ITV drama that stirred headlines when it first aired and is currently available to stream on Netflix until 29 May.
Long before she took on more mature roles, Piper was widely recognised as the beloved companion Rose Tyler in Doctor Who. But in 2007, she took a sharp turn, starring as Hannah Baxter, a London escort who goes by the alias Belle de Jour in a show based on a popular anonymous blog-turned-book.
The former Doctor Who star shares her discomfort while shooting intimate scenes for the Netflix dramaGetty Images
The series, known for its frank portrayal of sex work, didn’t hold back on intimate scenes. Piper recently revisited her experience filming one of the more absurd moments, a scene that required her to simulate sex while making animal noises. “I remember going home that day and just feeling... off,” she said in a past interview. “Like I needed a shower before picking up my kid.”
Though the scene left her with a sense of discomfort, she admitted that once she saw the final cut, she understood the humour in it. “It was actually funny in the end, the crew thought so too. But filming it was a different story.”
Not all scenes were easy for Piper to tackle herself. She used a body double for some of the more graphic moments, especially those she found emotionally or physically exposing. “There were certain things I just couldn’t do, like the more aggressive stuff, the intense grinding. It was too much,” she shared.
Billie Piper admits using a body double for graphic scenes in Secret Diary of a Call GirlGetty Images
In hindsight, Piper has mixed feelings about the show. In a 2020 interview, she said the project initially felt like it had the potential to push boundaries in a meaningful way. “I thought it could be really bold and smart,” she said. “But it shifted. It became something else entirely.”
Now older, Piper admits she’s relieved to have moved past that phase of her acting career. “I’m glad I’m out of my sex scene years. I really don’t want to go back to doing them.”
Secret Diary of a Call Girl is still streaming, but not for long. It leaves Netflix on 29 May.
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