Billie Piper has admitted she was “insanely jealous” of Britney Spears during the early years of her career.
The Olivier Award-winning actress, 40, shot to fame in 1998 while still a teenager with the release of her debut pop single Because We Want To.
After joining the rebooted Doctor Who as companion Rose Tyler in 2005, Piper carved out a career as both an actress, writer and director.
Speaking to The Guardian about the second series of I Hate Suzie, in which she stars as an actress and singer trying to resurrect her career, Piper said she and co-creator Lucy Prebble had spoken about Britney Spears, Caroline Flack and Amy Winehouse.
She said: “Obviously this stuff has been going on for years, but it’s the more contemporary stars who have had what people call a public meltdown.”
Piper said she had never met Spears but they were both pop stars around the year 2000.
She added: “My career was dying out as she was hitting megastardom.
“I was insanely jealous of her, but also loved her and was a fan. But our paths never crossed.”
Reflecting on how stardom is portrayed in I Hate Suzie, Piper described fame as “awful”.
Asked why she continues to do a job that keeps her in the public eye, she replied: “Yeah. It’s annoying because I love creating things. I love production.
“As I’m getting older, I’m enjoying making things from the ground up more and more and I think probably in the future, I’ll act less and less. I love what I do.”
