Yes, Channel 4 has been telling porkies again. I reported the other day that one of the few original dramas to survive its budget cuts was the story of anonymous London call girl, Belle De Jour. Based on a successful blog and then book, the drama was to star Billie Piper.

The good news is that it’s still going to star Billie Piper, but it’s not going to be on Channel 4 anymore. It seems the curious prospect of the ex-Doctor Who actress getting up to all sorts wasn’t enough to save it from the big, bad Channel 4 axe.

But despair not! ITV has stepped into the breach and will take the whole project over, so say The Guardian. What’s more, the project will constitute ITV2’s first ever, original drama commission. In fact the channel hopes it will be the first of quite a few original commissions.

ITV’s director of television, Simon Shaps, said: “We’re bringing a major star to ITV2, Billie Piper. We want ITV2 to feel like a big channel. Belle de Jour is based on the diaries of a working prostitute. It’s like a modern day Moll Flanders.”

Get rid of the pointless reality TV follow-ons and then we might just take the channel seriously. Certainly, this eight-part series is a huge step in the right direction – the life of the posh girl who led a life of secret and extreme naughtiness was a huge hit with perverts everywhere.

And that Billie Piper, she’s everywhere. If it isn’t Doctor Who, it’s this weekend’s ITV adaptation of Mansfield Park. Gotta love her work.