Billie Piper has spoken candidly about the pressure of motherhood, admitting: “Raising kids is terrifying.”
“I don’t know a single parent who isn’t either holding their nerve or losing their s***,” the actor, writer former pop star tells The London Standard in an exclusive interview.
The 42-year-old is a mother of three children: Winston, 15, and Eugene, 11, with ex-husband Laurence Fox, and five-year-old daughter Tallulah, with Tribes frontman Johnny Lloyd.
Piper is candid about how parenthood has changed everything, including her approach to work.
“Before, I felt like to be taken seriously you almost had to destroy yourself — work yourself to the bone. That was what I’d equate to success,” she says. “When I had kids, I realised that sort of perfectionism is exhausting and totally unnecessary.”
In fact, letting go of that pressure has helped her become more instinctive — and better — as a creative. “I’ve worked on things where I haven’t done the f***ing backstory, the playlists, the diary inserts of a character — and it’s better work. You have to rely on your instincts.”
But it’s not just work that’s evolved. Piper says parenting today comes with a fresh set of challenges — particularly when it comes to raising boys in the age of Andrew Tate, unfiltered social media, and a growing online manosphere.
The former Doctor Who star’s daughter is still too young to be online, but her sons are at the age where conversations around masculinity are crucial.
“Not telling a boy to be brave all the time is pretty powerful in and of itself,” she says. “Not stifling vulnerability is more powerful than people think. A lot of the problems start with shaming around being tough.”
She admits it’s a delicate line to walk.
“It’s hard to strike the balance between keeping them away from bad forces and not making them feel like arseholes.”
Still, Piper says she isn’t trying to be perfect, just present.
“We all worry sick,” she adds. “But I think being open, being human, and letting go of the idea of being flawless — that’s the best we can do.”
Read the full interview in The London Standard, available for free pick-up across the city from Thursday.
