Saturday Mirror Claims Billie Piper Quits Series

The Saturday morning edition of The Mirror is reporting that Billie Piper has informed producers that she will be leaving Doctor Who and has no intention of returning for a third series. The article, penned by Kiki King and Nicola Methven -- the latter having been the journalist responsible for the Mirror's breaking news report in late March that Christopher Eccleston was leaving the series -- says that Piper "told producers she did not want to become typecast as they begged her to stay for a third run of the hit show. A source said last night: 'Her mind's made up. ... She wants to strike while the iron's hot and make a big name for herself while she's so popular. She feels her profile will go down if the series isn't as big the third time around. The BBC are auditioning other girls to take over. They want to have the next actress all lined up when they announce Billie's departure.'"

The Mirror notes that Piper had nearly left the series during its second year but was persuaded to stay and film the year with the new Doctor, David Tennant, and states that the production team has been "conducting secret auditions with a small number of actresses and keeping it very, very quiet. They are after a relative newcomer so this is the role which puts her in the public eye. It also means she's less likely to get bored after one series."

Without specifically stating it, the article intimates that Piper will stay aboard the series for the season, departing sometime before its conclusion. At press time there is currently no official confirmation from the Doctor Who production team or any other BBC sources, but we're likely to hear a lotabout this in the coming hours and days. Stay tuned...