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The star of Doctor Who and Secret Diary of a Call Girl talks to Benji Wilson about her career.
BW: It's series two of Secret Diary of a Call Girl. What have we got to look forward to?
BP: Three big things happen - Belle falls in love for the first time, which forces her to question everything about her chosen profession. Then this young impressionable prostitute, Bambi, starts sending Belle emails and asking her to coach her. Belle's quite reluctant to do it because it feels wrong - which is kind of ironic - but she takes her under her wing. And then her relationship with Ben [her best friend] is, as ever, strained. All in all, you get to know her more as Hannah [her real name] this year, as opposed to Belle [her working name].
You're pregnant, of course. Did the bump get in the way?
The camera and lighting crew and directors had to work a lot harder - we were shooting around my torso, basically. Towards the end it was really tricky - I was showing big time. I wear tight clothes in this show, so it's obvious. Plus I was eating like a horse! Being pregnant and filming scenes where you're having to be sexually provocative - when all you want to do is sit in a corner and eat - that was hard for me.
The show's done well in the US - does that mean you'll be jetting off to Hollywood next?
That's all a load of b******s. That's why I don't get too carried away. I've had calls from agents, but you still have to go and audition - they don't just happen. I really have no idea what comes next. For the moment I'm just going to focus on being a mum and that's kind of a relief because it means I don't have to think about…the rest of my career.
What about Doctor Who? You must be coming back, surely?
Maybe. I haven't thought about it.
Before this past series, when you said you didn't know if you'd be coming back, did you really know that you would?
Yeah. But now I really don't, and that's not a lie. People love Doctor Who and I love being there but at some point you've just got to let go. The only thing that's stressful is walking down the street when schools are out. I don't know how David [Tennant] does it. Sweet as they are, kids en masse are kind of frightening. Every child just thinks you're Rose and you don't want to spoil the illusion. I really feel for David because that's his life - everywhere he goes is slightly chaotic.
In the last episodes of Doctor Who some people thought you were speaking funny…
Yeah, what was that about? Someone said that I had a speech impediment! I got really paranoid. Maybe it was really cold and my lips were tense, because we were shooting in the middle of winter and I'm always in a tiny leather jacket. But it seemed fine when I heard it. When I went to work the next morning the make-up guy said, "Your speech sounded really funny." I wonder whether it was something in the final mix. Strange.
One final question: let's talk baby names. Presumably, being married to Laurence Fox, you'll want a fox-related pun?
What, like Silver?
I was thinking Cunning.
True! Or Sly…Sly Fox! Ha! No, we're really rubbish. It's funny. You go, "That's a nice name", then you say it aloud three times and you go, "That's awful." It's a lot harder than I thought.
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Now take a look at our full guide to Secret Diary of a Call Girl.
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