BILLIE PIPER - DOCTOR WHO'S SIDEKICK WILL RETURN

BILLIE PIPER's character ROSE TYLER is set to return to the BBC cult classic DOCTOR WHO at Christmas (DEC06), despite making a dramatic exit at the end of the British show's second series last night (08JUL06). Piper's character and her ex-boyfriend MICKEY, played by KIDULTHOOD star Noel Clarke, were battling the evil daleks when Rose was stranded in a parallel universe. But production insider tells British newspaper the Sunday Express, "Billie Piper's Rose had already been written in to the Christmas special before it was decided she should leave the show." A BBC spokesperson refuses to deny the leak: "I can't confirm or deny that story about Billie Piper. What I can say is there are lots of surprises in it. It is Doctor Who after all. There is already a lot of speculation about the Christmas episode, you can make your own conclusions."