Billie Piper relates to Britney Spears’ mental health struggles after admitting her early success in the music industry “negatively impacted” her life.
The singer-turned-actress shot to fame as a performer in ‘Scratchy & Co’, aged 13, and found success as a singer and at the age of 15, topping the UK charts with her debut single Because We Want To, in 1998
She went on to release two studio albums – ‘Honey to the B’ and ‘Walk of Life’ – but quit music in 2000 to pursue a career in acting.
And speaking to Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place podcast, Billie confessed the “trauma” of fame had a negative impact on her life, which still affects her today.
“I don’t know anyone who worked as hard as I did at 15,” she shared. “It was a combination of burnout, the trauma of becoming really famous, being disconnected with my family, a lack of control in my life – hence the eating disorder.
“I also felt I was a teenager and changing emotionally and psychologically so much. When I think of the life I lived as a child, with an 18-hour working day and never seeing my family, I see how it negatively impacted my life.
“My experience is one I just escaped from but it could have gone one or two ways. You think, ‘It is so easy not to come out of that alive or without any trust and without some crippling mental health issue.”
Britney has been the subject of headlines in recent months as she fights to have her father Jamie removed from her controversial conservatorship arrangement.
Her fight was the subject of the New York Times documentary ‘Framing Britney Spears’, which prompted fans and high-profile figures to continue to fight for Britney’s freedom.
A new hour-long special, titled ‘The Battle for Britney: Fans, Cash and a Conservatorship’, fronted by Mobeen Azhar, debuts on BBC iPlayer in the UK on Sunday, May 1.
It sees the presenter travel to Los Angeles and Spears’ home state of Louisiana and meet people involved in the Stronger singer’s lengthy court battle.
Mobeen also interviews people who know Britney, including her former choreographer and ‘The X Factor USA’ co-star Brian Friedman, her make-up artist Billy Brasfield, her lawyer Lisa MacCarley and celebrity blogger Perez Hilton.
He says: “I went to LA in search of the truth of how Britney Spears, one of the biggest pop stars on the planet, ended up in a conservatorship.
“I found myself in a world of lawyers, superfans and paparazzi and spent time with many of the people who’ve had a front row seat in Britney’s life.
“This film taps into the energy of the #FreeBritney movement and questions the industry, fandom and the laws that facilitate conservatorships.”
