'I found it suffocating': Billie Piper reveals how finding fame at 15 turned her into a recluse and that she and boyband ex Ritchie Neville would stay locked in her flat for days
Billie Piper has revealed how finding fame at an early age 'suffocated her' and that she would spend several days locked in her flat, turning her into a 'recluse'.
The 32-year-old became a superstar overnight at the age of 15, when she became the youngest female artist to have a number one hit in 1998.
The Penny Dreadful actress told Fault magazine how she and then-boyfriend Ritchie Neville from Five would spend days cooped up in their flat as teen stars.
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Opening up: Billie Piper has revealed how finding fame as a 15-year-old turned her into a recluse
The mother-of two spoke of her life in the past as she posed of several edgy snaps for the magazine.
Billie can be seen rocking a leather jacket in a series of snaps,with her shoulder-length highlighted hair tucked behind her ears.
In another shot, the actress is lying on a chair wearing thigh-high green suede boots and a purple jacked with faux-fur.
She said that the hardest part about becoming a popstar at 15 was losing her ability to 'just walk around normally'.
Revelation: Billie told the magazine how she and then-boyfriend Ritchie Neville from Five would lock themselves in their flat for days on end to avoid being hounded by fans and paparazzi
Thoughtful: Despite finding fame at such a young age, Billie told Fault that she would support her two young sons Winston and Eugene if they wanted a career in showbusiness
Edgy style: The 32-year-old singer-turned-actress can be seen wearing a pair of thigh-high suede boots and a purple jacked with faux fur in one of the shots for Fault magazine
'When you’re a pop star you’re always on duty. You’re suddenly a role model even though you don’t start out with ambitions of being a role model and also you’re a fallible mess yourself.
'So trying to keep some resemblance of togetherness and good behavior was just shit as a teenager.
'Mostly that you couldn’t walk anywhere without people wanting pictures and autographs and I found that so suffocating. We all did at that time.
Teen superstar: Billie became a pop sensation overnight aged 15, right, and dated Five bandmember Ritchie Neville in her later teenage years before marrying radio DJ Chris Evans at 18
Happiness: The Penny Dreadful actress is now married to Laurence Fox, the father of her two sons
Revealing: The mother-of-two appears in an upcoming issue of Fault magazine
'I went out with Rich from Five and we used to just sit in our flat for days, if we weren’t working, and never leave. It made you really reclusive. That’s the stuff I hated.
After breaking up with Ritche Neville, Billie married the then-34-year-old DJ Chris Evans when she was just 18 years old, when they ran off to Vegas one year after they started dating.
Billie divorced Evans in June 2007, aged 25, and later that year married Lewis actor Laurence Fox, whom she met when they performed together in a stage production of Christopher Hampton's Treats.
They now have two sons, Winston, six, and Eugene, three, and the 32-year-old told Fault that she is reluctant for her children to become famous at a young age.
'I don’t know that I’d let my children get involved in that world until they’re about 16 or 17. But who knows?!
'If they were really dedicated and really gun-ho and passionate about it then you just support that but if you’ve got a kid who just wants to be famous I would just totally rule that out.
Billie is set to reprise her role as 'Lily' in the third season of Penny Dreadful, which starts shooting next month.
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