Wednesday, 10 January 2007

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Billie Piper told off by old headmistress

Sylvia Young has attacked the singer over book revelations

Billie looks glowing as she arrives at the National television Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in London

Drama teacher Sylvia Young has attacked former pupil Billie Piper over 'poisonous' stories about her school that appear in the star's autobiography.

Billie is one of Sylvia's most successful pupils - at 15 she was the youngest artist ever to debut at No 1 in the UK singles chart.

But in her book, Growing Pains, Billie claimed that many of the students had serious weight problems and that she was constantly told she 'should be lighter, smaller (and) thinner'.

She writes: 'I noticed after about a week of being there that the girls just didn't eat.

'In fact they'd go to the toilet to escape the smell of food wafting out of the canteen. There were kids walking around with ankle weights strapped to their legs and no one would say anything.'

But Sylvia, 67, has rubbished her claims, saying: 'I am very worried about Billie. I really wonder if there's something wrong, because to me, my staff and even Billie's former classmates, this sounds nothing like the girl we knew, nor the experiences we know she had here.

'She managed three years - so it can't have been that bad. I'm surprised she's come out with all this rubbish. It's extremely disappointing ... much of it seems poisonous and largely fiction.'