Billie moves house... with 'Chris'

Billie Piper has taken up residence just yards from the home of her estranged husband Chris Evans. Not that she'll need reminding of who lives round the corner. Among the prized possessions that came off the back of the removal van was a framed photograph of Evans wearing his trademark glasses and sunhat.

The man removing it from the lorry - who may have been tempted to discreetly chuck it in a nearby bin - is Piper's new boyfriend Amadu Sowe. The 27-year-old was Piper's publicist when she was a singer with Virgin Records. He gave up the music business to become a law student.

Piper, having travelled the galaxies as Dr Who's latest assistant, is clearly going up in the world. The house is in one of Hampstead's loveliest and leafiest streets.

Meanwhile Evans, the 38-year-old television host and media mogul, is trying to rebuild his career. He is thought to have spent £50 million in the four years he was married to Piper. Their homes are now so close that Piper visited her estranged husband's home on at least one occasion during yesterday's move to fetch water for thirsty removal men.

She came out of Evans's home carrying two or three glasses, allowing the workmen a thirst-quenching breather.

Their marriage was a stormy one. She was a teenage bride and he was drinking heavily. That it lasted four years - they split last year - was perhaps longer than most people predicted.

Now 23, Piper, a former teenage pop star, has rejuvenated her career in much the same way that Dr Who reinvents himself every few years.

Her role as the Time Lord's assistant Rose, opposite Christopher Eccleston, has been critically acclaimed. She has gone from being the young wife of an ageing mogul to a star in her own right.

Not that it is all comfy sofas, scatter cushions and coffee tables in Piper's new home. There was still a hint of rock 'n' roll glamour among the possessions. As well as the photograph of her soon-to-be-ex, the removal men grappled with two giant framed Sex Pistols' posters.