Chris and Billie in marriage split

Unlikely celebrity couple Billie Piper and Chris Evans have called for a trial separation in a bid to save their marriage.

The former popstar and TFI Friday presenter have called time on their three-year union after a series of furious rows, according to reports.

Billie, 22, is currently filming the new series of Doctor Who in Cardiff with actor Chris Eccleston, and is reported to be angry at her husband's perceived lack of support for her burgeoning acting career.

"Chris and I have decided to split up. We will make sure it's amicable. He's changed - we're so different from how we used to be. We're not having any fun any more," the Sunday Mirror reports Billie as telling her friends.

Evans, 38, has seen his star fade in recent years: the media mogul has suffered an embarrassing string of TV flops and his presenting days look to be behind him.

Chris and Billie married in Las Vegas in 2001 in a shock marriage that few gave a chance of survival.

But the couple — who became notorious for their scruffy dress and drinking binges — had defied the critics who said it would not last, until now.