SWINDON-BORN star Billie Piper brought one Welsh street to a standstill when she and the Tardis dropped in to film scenes for Doctor Who.

The former Bradon Forest pupil and co-star David Tennant amazed residents and passers-by as they filmed part of the hit BBC1 series in Florentia Street, in Cathays, Cardiff.

The street, which adopted the fictional name Florizel Street, was decked out with bunting and transformed into a 1950s paradise.

Vintage cars were parked along the street and an old advert for HP sauce adorned a street wall.

Billie's character in the show, Rose Tyler, met the new doctor, played by David Tennant, in a Christmas special shown on BBC1.

She said: "David is a lot different in the role of The Doctor than Christopher Eccleston was.

"He dances more with the role. I guess he's a bit more like a baby deer.

"He's my little Bambi."

The 23-year-old first shot to fame as a popstar in the 1990s and notched up a string of number ones before moving into acting.

She starred in the BBC's adaptation of the Canterbury Tales, and appeared alongside Orlando Bloom in The Calcium Kid.

Last month Billie, who was voted most popular actress at the National Television Awards, landed her first lead role in a new BBC drama, an adaptation of Philip Pullman's Sally Lockhart stories.

The new series of Doctor Who is due to hit television screens in the spring.