Billie Piper is said to be starring in Lena Dunham’s upcoming film adaptation of Catherine, Called Birdy.
The singer and actress, 38, will reportedly star alongside Fleabag’s Andrew Scott, 44, and Game Of Thrones‘ Bella Ramsey, 17, in the medieval comedy, reports Variety.
The publication reports that Bella is set to play Catherine in the coming-of-age story set in 13th century England, which is based on the 1994 novel by Karen Cushman, while Billie will star as her onscreen mother.
New role: Billie Piper is said to be starring in Lena Dunham’s upcoming film adaptation of Catherine, Called Birdy (pictured in 2020)
The movie, which will be realised by Working Title and Amazon, was first announced by Lena, 34, in 2014 and is still in the ‘early stages of production’.
It follows Catherine, 14, who ‘bucks against convention’ and refuses the arranged marriages her father, played by Andrew, lines up for her.
It comes after Billie earlier this month voiced her discomfort at being asked about her battle with anorexia and her divorce from Chris Evans in previous interviews.
Passion project: The singer and actress, 38, will reportedly star alongside Fleabag’s Andrew Scott, 44, and Game Of Thrones’ Bella Ramsey, 17, in the medieval comedy, reports Variety (Lena Dunham pictured)
The former Doctor Who star spoke on the Changes With Annie MacManus podcast about the ‘tone deaf’ nature of the line of questioning she faced, particularly in 2006 when Jonathan Ross made jokes about her eating disorder.
She was also referencing an appearance on Parkinson, in which her divorce was widely discussed, she said: ‘I sometimes watch old Jonathan Ross interviews as well. It’s not that long ago. I don’t know that you could ask those questions any more…
‘It would feel so tone deaf now. The questions women had to answer – some of it is unforgivable. I can’t watch that Parkinson interview. I just look at that and think.. I found my diary and I found it so hard to read.’
Upcoming: The publication reports that Bella, pictured in 2019, is set to play Catherine in the coming-of-age story set in 13th century England, which is based on the 1994 novel by Karen Cushman, while Billie will star as her onscreen mother
Billie, who was married to TV star Chris Evans between 2001 and 2007, has been candid about her mental health battles and recently recounted a tale of passing out at a party as she was living on only ‘Diet Coke and Marlboro Lights’.
In the mid-Noughties, Billie was blazing the promo trail for her role as Rose in Doctor Who aged just 24, during which she faced various probing questions, which she insist stem for ‘being nice’, which opens her up to the questions.
In 2006, during an appearance on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, she was asked about her autobiography Growing Pains, during the chat show heavyweight asked her about the ‘fascinating’ story of her life so far.
Star-studded: It follows Catherine, 14, who ‘bucks against convention’ and refuses the arranged marriages her father, played by Andrew, pictured in 2020, lines up for her
Jonathan said: ‘You and Chris looked like you hadn’t showered for some time… Like you’d had far too many Bacardi Breezers’, before asking how long she went without having a bath or shower – to which she revealed a week was the longest.
He then spoke about her eating, saying: ‘You speak about your eating problems and trying to stay thin and eating tissue paper and stuff like that. Is it as deeply unpleasant as you say? How many sheets of paper could you get down?’
The studio then erupted with laughter, and she then said: ‘Six sheets’, to which he said: ‘Did you put any condiments on it? Drink water to get it down?’ as she said: ‘Yeah. It’s so awful. I did it for two years, I didn’t solidly eat tissue for two years’,
Jonathan went on: ‘But you’d have a banana or something? We shouldn’t talk about it because even if we’re sitting here thinking it’s awful, there are young girls sitting at home thinking I’ll remember to do that’.
Way back when: It comes after Billie earlier this month voiced her discomfort at being asked about her battle with anorexia and her divorce from Chris Evans in previous interviews (pictured together in 2001)