REVIEW OF THE YEAR
EXTREME MAKEOVER 1 Christopher Eccleston became the ninth Doctor on 26 March: "Could have been worse. Shame about the ears, though."
EXTREME MAKEOVER 2 David Tennant made his debut as the tenth Doctor on 18 June: "New teeth. That's weird."
How the year began ...
Although she was filming the comeback series of Doctor Who as companion Rose Tyler at the start of the year (ensuring 2005 would be a big year one way or another), Billie Piper was still known by many as a former pop star and Chris Evans's ex, rather than a promising actress steadily gaining serious credibility. That ended abruptly on Saturday 26 March, though, with the airing of episode one.
Professional highlight of 2005 ...
"I never watch anything I do because I get so scared and paranoid, but I forced myself to sit down and watch series one of Doctor Who recently," she told RT. "And I have to say that, watching it, I felt really really happy and proud of the entire thing." She wasn't alone — the nation lapped it up and she won most popular actress at October's National TV Awards (and the show nabbed most popular drama).
Personal highlight ...
"Buying my flat in London — that meant a lot to me. I was so pleased when I finally found somewhere that I loved, in an area that I love, and very near all my friends. It's very hard to leave my friends."
And next year ...
Hardly surprisingly, she's looking forward to spending more time at home. For now, however, she's back where she was at the start of the year: filming the next series of Doctor Who. And she's still only 23 ...
The paperback book Doctor Who: the Legend Continues is available from RT Direct for only £18 (usually £20) and the hardback book Doctor Who: the Shooting Scripts is available for £16.99 (usually £18.99), both including p&p. To order, call 0870 6016042, quoting RT, or visit
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