Billie Piper to debut at National Theatre in Autumn

Billie Piper is to make her debut at the National Theatre in a new play by Enron playwright Lucy Prebble.

The Effect, starring Jonjo O'Neill, Tom Goodman-Hill and Anastasia Hille, will explore questions of sanity, neurology and the limits of medicine.

Directed by Rupert Goold, the new play will be a collaboration between his Headlong theatre company and the National Theatre.

It is due to open at the Cottesloe in the autumn.

Piper's most famous role came in 2005, when she was cast in the popular BBC One television series, Doctor Who.

She won several awards for her portrayal of the Doctor's companion Rose Tyler, including most popular actress category at the National Television Awards in 2005, opposite Christopher Eccleston and 2006, opposite David Tennant.

Piper, 29, also gained acclaim for ITV's Secret Diary of a Call Girl, in which she played the high-class London escort Belle de Jour.

The popular drama series, also written by Prebble was broadcast on ITV2 between 2007 and 2011.

On stage, Piper previously appeared in a revival of Christopher Hampton's Treats in the West End and played Carly in Neil LaBute's Reasons to Be Pretty at London's Almeida Theatre, a play which received rave reviews.

In a BBC Radio 4 review of the play, Piper was described as "fantastic, completely brilliant."

The Effect reunites Enron author, Lucy Prebble with Rupert Goold, who directed the award-winning play based on the 2001 scandal that led to the eventual bankruptcy of the major American energy company.

Produced by Goold's Headlong Theatre, Enron premiered at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 2009 before transferring to the Royal Court, and then to the Noel Coward Theatre in the West End.

The Broadway production of Enron lasted just over a month, closing on 9 May, 2010.