On Monday, Billie Piper popped into London from her English country home to visit with comedian and talk show host Paul O’Grady.

Her appearance was to promote the DVD release of Secret Diary of a Call Girl, but the Diary star had lots to say about rural life, filming during her pregnancy and what it’s like to be a new mom.

A few highlights:

• Billie and her husband, Laurence Fox, have two pigs and a bunch of chickens at their country estate.”Our chickens line up at the back door like dogs to be fed,” she said.
• Her baby, Winston, likes mirrors. “He can be sobbing, absolutely sobbing and he’ll walk past a mirror and then be half smiling and half crying.”
• The writers and cast of Diary do a lot of research, with primary sources: “We still speak to lots of call girls now. And we met the author of the book and blog herself, Belle.” Their stories are radically different from what we’re used to seeing on TV,  “and people sometimes find that offensive.”

Here’s the full clip:

Season 2 of Secret Diary of a Call Girl bows Sunday at 10:30 p.m. on Showtime.

Don’t get the finale blues, though. Season 3 starts filming in April!

Billie Piper carries her son, Winston, through Heathrow airport in January while her husband, Lawrence Fox, takes care of their baggage.

Our fave sassy British pop star-turned actress-turned new mom says motherhood pretty much has her knackered. Billie Piper recently finished production on Season 2 of Secret Diary of a Call Girl, which we’re enjoying on Sunday nights. She’ll start shooting Season 3 in March, and will serve as executive producer on a few eps, she said in a recent interview.

That’s about enough responsibility for the time being, the 26-year-old actress said. She’ll “cut her teeth” in the exec producer role to see if she’d like to move behind the camera full time in the future. And she said instead of seeking new TV series or films, she’s happy to spend time with her 3-month-old, Winston, and her husband, Lawrence Fox. “I don’t really want to rush into anything that isn’t right or doesn’t inspire me,” she said.

Being a new parent is exhausting but rewarding, she added. “You spend a lot of time awake,” she said, “(but) I think the worst of the bad sleeping is drawing to an end.”

Source: TV Guide via Celebrity Baby Blog

Image: Bauer Griffin

Last week, while the rest of us were gearing up for Season 6 of The L Word, members of the TV Critics Association were in LA hearing all about upcoming shows from the major broadcast and cable networks.

The winter TCA press event featured panels from Showtime about returning series The Tudors, Tracey Ullman’s State of the Union, The L Word and Secret Diary of a Call Girl plus new shows Nurse Jackie and United States of Tara.

United States of Tara panel at the TCA winter press tour

Amid all the questions, a few Showtime folks stumbled. Their verbal gaffes were faithfully chronicled by Robert Philpot of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. A sample:

“You get a lot more free Tudors stuff.” — Linda Wallem, executive producer of Nurse Jackie, after  star Edie Falco was asked about the difference between working for Showtime and her old network, HBO.

“She was welcomed with a warm embrace, and she was very — she was cool. She was really quite frightening, but she was — she was just very practical and, you know, took you through your paces. That was what we liked. And she’d get a cup of tea and sit down, and, you know, people really liked her company.” — Billie Piper, star of Secret Diary of a Call Girl, about what it was like to have a dominatrix visit the set and act as a consultant on the show.

“Well, I think six marriages does not make a man happy.” — Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who plays Henry VIII on The Tudors, on whether his character is going to get less likable as the series progresses.

Secret Diary of a Call Girl’s second season is airing now on Showtime. Season 3 of The Tudors is expected to premiere in mid-April, while Nurse Jackie will air June 8, paired with Weeds.

More photos from the press event are after the jump.

Photo: Monty Brinton/Showtime

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While on break from Secret Diary of a Call Girl, sexy star Billie Piper and her family took a jaunt to Miami, where Billie and husband Lawrence Fox doted on baby Winston.

Billie was photographed at the beach nuzzling the 2-month-old while her husband read and soaked up the sun. The couple recently celebrated their 1-year anniversary on New Year’s. While they seemed totally focused on parenting while hitting the beach, the Daily Mail notes that they stayed at the Shore Club hotel, a celeb haven and home to P Diddy’s legendary New Year’s party. Bounce to the Mail’s site for lots of beachside photos of Billie and Winston.

Meanwhile, Season 2 of Secret Diary is sure to be packed with adult action, as Belle trains a new protege and Hannah struggles with a new romantic relationship while navigating through potential conflicts with Ben. Season 2 premieres Jan. 18. Here’s a sneak peek:

Along with the ladies of The L Word, we’ll be able to welcome back our favorite lady of the night in January, when the second season of Secret Diary of a Call Girl returns to Showtime.

Here’s what we can look forward to, according to The Insider: Belle will be working harder than ever, training a new call girl, Bambi, who will be played by the lovely Ashley Madekwe.

Bambi’s a bit clingy, which may cramp Belle’s style. But she has some other worries — namely, a doctor named Alex. The dashing M.D., played by Callum Blue, is a client but Belle has feelings for him. How can she reconcile taking his money for sex when she’s falling in love?

Bille Piper as Hanna/Belle

Ashley Madekwe as Bambi

Callum Blue as Alex

Season two of Secret Diary of a Call Girl premieres Jan. 18 at 10:30 p.m. Eastern.

Photos: Ed Miller/Showtime

When last we saw British pop star-turned-actress Billie Piper she was whippet thin in her skivvies on Secret Diary of a Call Girl. In the intervening months, Billie and husband Lawrence Fox have celebrated an ever-growing baby bump. This week, after 26 hours of labor, Billie had a c-section to produce … 6 lb., 11 oz. bambino Winston James.

Billie delivered the baby on Tuesday, but I held off on this post for a few days hoping to find photos of the new mom and son. Turns out she’ll be in the hospital most of the week recovering, so the best I could do are pics of Lawrence, family and friends on the day of Winston’s birth. You can find them after the jump. I’ll update y’all when baby photos come online.

Season 2 of Secret Diary of a Call Girl comes to Showtime Jan. 18. Read more

Whew! This week’s Secret Diary of a Call Girl was hotter and funnier than ever. Belle must be such a fun character to play — but actress Billie Piper says the role cost her the sweetheart/girl-next-door image she built as a teenaged star in the UK.

Piper recently spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the sexual underworld the show portrays, what it’s meant for her career, and how she feels about filming the explicit sex scenes. Oh, she also admits to keeping some of the frilly lingerie from her wardrobe on the show — not for use at home, but because she thinks it’s beautiful.

As for the sex scenes, she says, “You can emotionally disconnect from the clumsy, awkward scenes. The intimate emotional sex scenes are really tricky. Basically, you hold your breath and go for it. . . . I really wanted to play the role. I knew there was going to be a certain level of sex and intimacy because I was playing a prostitute, so I had to go with it early on.”

Photo: ITV2/Showtime 

Billie Piper, the British star set to make her Showtime debut with Secret Diary of a Call Girl in mid-June, has signed on for a third season of the racy show, which chronicles the adventures of high-priced hooker Belle de Jour.

News reports say Piper, who is several months pregnant by hubby and actor Lawrence Fox, asked for a body double to shoot nude scenes for Season 2 and may use one again early in Season 3, which is set to film days after she’s due to deliver.

We’ll have to wait for Seasons 2 and 3 to arrives stateside, but Season 1 is due June 16 right after Weeds.

Billie Piper — the star of Secret Diary of a Call Girl, coming to Showtime this summer — sat for this interview, to build interest in the show.

Billie’s preggers, btw, but that’s no impediment to the series since we’re a season behind here in the states. It might be awkward for filming season 2, but she doesn’t seem concerned.

Among the knowledge she drops:

1) If she got to meet the Queen of England and ask one question, Ms. Piper would stay silent — dumbstruck in awe of the Queen Mum.

2) Her teen crush was Luke Perry, from Beverly Hills 90210

3) When her parents see the sex scenes on Secret Diary, they find them “icky.”

Intrigued? Watch the whole clip: