Billie Piper says she’s still in £9million debt to Virgin Records
Billie Piper has admitted that she is still in debt to Virgin Records.
The actress and singer was signed to Innocent Records – a subsidiary of Virgin Records – in 1998, when she was 15-years-old and released her debut single ‘Because We Want To’ on the label.
Speaking about the debt, which is reportedly around £9million, she told Jessie Ware‘s Table Manners podcast: “I’m still in debt to Virgin. If I ever release an album, which I won’t, I’d probably have to pay off that debt. It’s like a university debt.”
Piper also said that she didn’t enjoy being a pop star despite scoring three UK Number One singles by the turn of the century. She released two Top 20 studio albums, 1998’s ‘Honey To The B’ and 2000’s ‘Walk Of Life’, on Innocent.
“You do all these big promotional tours which I absolutely hated. I hated going off,” she added.
Following her music career, Piper went on to star as Rose Tyler in Doctor Who before she went on to the drama series Secret Diary Of A Call Girl. She more recently starred in the Sky Atlantic series I Hate Suzie.
Elsewhere on the podcast, she reflected on her childhood friendship with Amy Winehouse, recalling how the singer was bullied because “she was always doing her own thing”.
Piper and Winehouse both attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School in London in the 1990s, and became friends during their time there.
Piper added: “She got bullied quite a lot at school because she was doing her own thing, and she liked to push buttons, and do weird stuff.”
“And I had a lot of space for that, but not many of the girls did. It wasn’t the easiest ride.”
Winehouse is about to be the subject of the biopic Back To Black, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson. The film stars Marisa Abela (Industry) as the late singer and charts her vibrant years living in London, as well as her intense rise to fame. It is due to be released in the UK and Ireland on April 12, 2024.
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Damian Jones
NME
