Award-winning actress Billie Piper will play Sally Lockhart in the BBC's adaptation of multi award-winning writer Philip Pullman's The Ruby In The Smoke.
The first book in the quartet charts the adventures of Sally, a feisty young Victorian heroine, who is on a journey to discover the truth behind her father's death, and unravel the mystery behind 'The Seven Blessings'.
Adapted by the highly-acclaimed writer Adrian Hodges (Rome, Charles II: The Power & The Passion, The Lost World), The Ruby In The Smoke is a gripping tale of mystery, danger, puzzling letters and a jewel soaked in blood. The film is set in the heart of Victorian London.
Laura Mackie, Head of BBC Drama Series and Serials, says: "I am absolutely thrilled to have acquired the rights to Philip Pullman's Sally Lockhart Mysteries.
"Philip is without question one of Britain's leading novelists. His books are full of absorbing characters, engaging multi-layered plots that appeal to both adults and children alike. The adaptation of these novels furthers BBC ONE's commitment to offering more varied and ambitious drama for its audiences.
"Billie Piper is an extremely versatile actress whose talent has deservedly been recognised by critics and audiences alike. Following on from her success as the Doctor's fearless companion Rose Tyler in Doctor Who, and the endearing Hero in Much Ado About Nothing, Billie is the perfect choice for bringing to life this engaging and fearless heroine."
The Ruby In The Smoke will start filming in May 2006, followed by the second novel, The Shadow In The North. The executive producers are Sally Woodward Gentle and Laura Mackie. The producer is Kate Bartlett. Director and further casting details to follow.

Billie took the role of Rose Tyler in Doctor Who when it was brought back to our TV screens in 2005. She stayed for two series of the show.

During her time as Doctor's Companion she worked with actors Christopher Eccleston, as the Ninth Doctor, and David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor.

"It was a long, thorough search to find Billie," explains Executive Producer Russell T. Davies. "We auditioned all sorts of actors, but Billie is absolutely perfect, and very close to the description of Rose on the page.

"I think the companion is as pivotal to these adventures as the Doctor himself - Rose can be our eyes, discovering spaceships and alien creatures with awe and wonder, and a vital sense of humour.

Billie bowed out of Doctor Who at the end of the second series when her charcter Rose Tyler has to bid farewell to the Doctor.

"Rose and I have gone on the most incredible journey with Russell T Davies and the cast and crew of Doctor Who over the past two years," said Billie.

"It has been an amazing adventure, and I can confirm it comes to an end, for now at least, as series two climaxes.

"I am truly indebted to Russell for giving me the chance to play Rose Tyler, and to all the Doctor Who fans old and new who have been so supportive of me in this amazing role. Thank you so much."

In autumn 2005, Billie starred in a modern-day adaptation of the Shakespeare classic Much Ado About Nothing, written by David Nicholls and set in a regional TV station. She plays TV weather girl Hero, appearing alongside Cutting It star, Sarah Parish and Damian Lewis.

The daughter of South West TV boss Leonard, beautiful young weathergirl Hero is a real romantic. So it's no surprise when she falls for dashing sports reporter Claude. "The great thing about playing Hero was that she was new and so she had to be quite green and a bit vague about what kind of weathergirl she was trying to be." said Billie Piper. "

Explaining how she joined the cast, Billie said, "At drama school we studied Shakespeare three days a week, so when the script was floating around, I was quite keen to get a look at it.
"It's so good, and when I heard that Sarah and Damian were involved, I knew I'd be in good company."
But Shakespeare hasn't always been such an inviting prospect for Billie.
"I think Shakespeare dominated about four years of my life and, at first, I used to find it so daunting. The thought of sitting down with Shakespearian text used to scare me. But then I went to theatre school and it took on a whole new life. I became a huge fan."
Researching for the role, Billie visited a real-life weathergirl.
"She showed me some footage of her when she first started and that was really beneficial. There are certain ways to hold and present yourself and there's also a rhythm in the way news reporters speak – you have to get hold of that intonation. And then I just watched daytime TV solidly for about a week!"
The main challenge, shared by both Billie and Hero, was wrapping their tongues around mind-boggling meteorological terms. "Altostratus castellanus," took the prize for most difficult word to pronounce.
"Mid-take, you'd find your top lip curled and you'd be sweating like a pig," Billie confides. "Those lines really did give you the fear.
"But I was working on Doctor Who at the same time, so I was getting used to saying words that I'd never used in my life, and also words that weren't in the dictionary – just made-up, [writer] Russell T Davies words – so I started to get better and better at pronouncing the difficult ones.
The best aspects of filming Much Ado included the script – "genuinely funny, with laugh-out-loud jokes" – and the friendships which developed.
"It was an ensemble piece and we all gelled and got on so well – that was one of the highlights," adds the vivacious actress.

Bella and the Boys was a one-off British television drama, produced by the independent production company Century Films for the BBC and originally screened on the BBC Two network on February 15, 2004. Eighty minutes in length, the drama was written and directed by Brian Hill, and starred Billie Piper, Tom Burke and Freddie Cunliffe.The story surrounds the lives of three residents of a children's care home, Bella (Piper), Lee (Burke) and Martin (Cunliffe). They meet up thirteen years after having left the home for the manager's retirement celebration, and the meeting sparks off various reminiscences about their time together, both good and bad, and what has happened to them in the intervening years.The programme was produced and screened as part of the BBC's Taking Care season, a strand of programmes across their various radio and television services examining the life children in care face in the UK.

The Miller's Tale is set in the curtain twitching world of Kent suburbia. John (Dennis Waterman) runs a pub and Bed & Breakfast and a regular Karaoke night, of which his much younger wife Alison (Billie Piper), is queen bee. One night a smooth talking stranger Nick (James Nesbitt) arrives in the pub, claiming to be a talent scout and declaring that Alison has what it takes to be a star. Alison is drawn to him by the promise of fame, but his motives aren't quite what they seem...

This show was originally aired in 2004.