Friday, 9 November 2007

Denise Van Outen slams Billie Piper

Rent star furious about criticism of stage school

Denise Van Outen has slated Billie Piper for slagging off the Sylvia Young stage school.

Amy Winehouse, Emma Bunton and Leona Lewis are all ex-pupils of the academy - as is Denise.

'I was a big Billie Piper fan but in her book she was very negative about Sylvia and the school, and I think that is wrong and unfair,' says Denise.

Doctor Who star Billie claimed in her autobiography that being at the drama school was a factor in her developing an eating disorder. She also insisted that she felt out of place among her posh classmates.

But 33-year-old Denise thinks Billie should be grateful.

'If it was not for Sylvia, she would not be where she is,' the Rent star tells the Stage newspaper. 'She got all her breaks during her schooling years.'