Secret Diary of a Call Girl

Secret Diary of a Call Girl
Secret Diary of a Call Girl intertitle
Created by	Lucy Prebble
Directed by	Yann Demange Susan Tully Peter Lydon Fraser MacDonald China Moo-Young Alex Garcia Lopez Wayne Che Yip
Starring	Billie Piper Iddo Goldberg Cherie Lunghi Ashley Madekwe Gemma Chan Lily James Paul Nicholls James D'Arcy Callum Blue
Narrated by	Billie Piper
Opening theme	"You Know I'm No Good" (Instrumental)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	32 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Greg Brenman Avril MacRory Michael Foster Billie Piper
Producer(s)	Jacquie Glanville Elinor Day
Running time	22 minutes
Production company(s)	Tiger Aspect Productions
Broadcast
Original channel	ITV2
Picture format	16:9
Original run	27 September 2007 (2007-09-27) – 22 March 2011 (2011-03-22)

Secret Diary of a Call Girl is a British television drama broadcast on ITV2 from 2007-2011 based on the blog and books by the pseudonymous "Belle de Jour," starring Billie Piper as Belle, a high-class London call girl. The series was written by Lucy Prebble, who is also known as the author of The Sugar Syndrome and ENRON. The series has been compared to Sex and the City by many critics, mainly due to its humorous approach to sex.^[1][2]

Background

The rights to the blog were bought by Silverapples Media (Avril MacRory and Paul Duane), who co-produced the series with Tiger Aspect Productions. The series was initially developed with Channel 4^[3] and when Channel 4 passed on the project, ITV took over. The series airs in a late-night 10pm slot, as part of ITV2's "XXL Thursday" programming block.

The theme song is an excerpt of "You Know I'm No Good" by Amy Winehouse. The song runs whilst the intertitle plays, showing Belle applying make-up and getting dressed, interspersed with shots of urban London.

Plot

The series, set in London, revolves around the life of Hannah Baxter (Billie Piper), a seemingly normal woman, who lives a secret life as a call girl, under the pseudonym Belle. The series focuses on her professional and private life and its complications as they collide. However, she receives help and advice from her best friend Ben (Iddo Goldberg), in most situations. In the second series premiere, a new call girl Bambi (Ashley Madekwe) is introduced; Hannah becomes close friends with her, and frequently gives her advice regarding prostitution and her personal life.

Hannah, as the main character, also narrates the series, sometimes through voiceovers but more frequently she breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to the audience. During the first series the episodes are held together by a light story arc, however Series 2 and 3 have relied heavily on a story arc, usually in the form of Hannah's romances, namely with Alex and Duncan.

Characters

Hannah Baxter/Belle (Billie Piper)

Hannah is a university graduate living in London and – unbeknownst to her family – is also the high class call girl known as "Belle". Hannah is well educated, very eloquent and intelligent. She has expensive tastes and is at times slightly snobbish. She loves her job as a call girl as she is being paid handsomely to do something she does very well. She comes from an average middle-class family who live outside of London; she's close to her father but remains somewhat distant from her older sister who is married with an infant son. Hannah reveals she has tried several professions but struggles to keep down a steady job (as revealed in series two). Hannah is an expert at leading a double life, and is a meticulous planner – her specialty is role-playing fantasies. Hannah is a self-employed call girl, having left Stephanie's agency during the stories run.

Ben (Iddo Goldberg)

Ben is Hannah's best friend and ex-boyfriend from her university days. Ben is the manager of a London bar. His relationship with his on-and-off girlfriend Vanessa is made complicated by his feelings for Hannah. Ben was engaged to Vanessa but backs out of the wedding, instead opting to move outside of London with Vanessa in series two. He knows about Hannah's secret life, which causes much friction between the two at times. Ben has a tendency to stir trouble when he disagrees with Hannah's ways of dealing with things in her life and will often go out of his way to prove his point – especially if it involves other men in her life.

Stephanie Charlton (Cherie Lunghi)

Stephanie is Belle's madame in series one; she was once a call girl like Belle herself. Rich and glamorous, with a cutting sense of humour and cynical attitude, she reluctantly looks out for Belle, offering her advice and help. At times, Stephanie has a tendency to seem quite cold-hearted and unfeeling and will constantly advise her 'girls' away from having romantic attachments. In series three it is revealed that Stephanie had a lesbian relationship with a woman who broke her heart. Actress Cherie Lunghi has said "there's a maternal aspect to [Stephanie]."^[4]

Bambi/Gloria White (Ashley Madekwe)

Bambi started as a naive wannabe-escort who was mentored by Belle in season two. Fun-loving Bambi, who started as an escort for money, is now working for Stephanie. In season three, she deals with her rate being dictated by her race and becoming too close to one of her clients. Bambi has lived a notably harder life than Hannah and has been prone to bad relationships and subject to domestic abuse. Bambi has several scars on her upper arms that she generally hides with shrugs and wraps. In series three, Bambi meets and marries her client Byron, an outlandish aristocrat.

Duncan Atwood (James D'Arcy)

Duncan is Belle's publisher in season three, who is urging Belle to write a second book after the success of her first. Belle, despite claiming to have only a working relationship with Duncan and that she does not fancy him, has several on-screen liaisons with him. Belle then starts to have a relationship with him. But friction between Ben and Duncan causes Belle to fall out with Ben. Duncan then has a professional appointment with Bambi, who is at the time unaware that he is Belle's boyfriend. When this becomes known to Belle, she decides to end their relationship, on the basis that he may have slept with numerous other girls, both escorts and non-escorts. Duncan is portrayed as the stereotypical workaholic and a frequenter of call girls.

Alex (Callum Blue)

Alex is a doctor whom Belle initially mistakes for a client in season two. They date and begin a relationship, while Hannah keeps Alex unaware of her secret night life as the call girl "Belle". After discovering her secret, he leaves her, saying he can't deal with her chosen career. Hannah then gives up prostitution and tries to have a "real" job, but finds it tedious and unfulfilling. They mutually decide to separate as he feels she is not all she can be without prostitution, and she cannot fully be happy without her life as "Belle". Alex does not appear in season three.

Byron Seebohm (David Dawson)

Byron is an eccentric young gentleman who comes from an aristocratic family who falls outside of his kind by dressing in the general scruffy, bohemian style while finding various ways to bend the conventional stereotype of his birthright. He becomes one of Bambi's regulars in series three, after her wage is increased to £350 an hour. The pair fall madly in love with each other, much to Hannah's disdain. "Young guy, old money" is Stephanie's description of Byron, a reference to both his noble background and his apparent inheritance of a large sum of money, which would explain how he finances his visits to high-class call girls. In the finale of series three, Bambi and Byron get married.

Response

Belle turns to the camera and says, "Sex is really a numbers game. Group sex is complicated, but that's mechanics. For me, the hardest numbers have always been one plus one. Can never seem to make them add up." If that voice sounds familiar, it's because you heard Carrie Bradshaw use it in every episode of Sex and the City. The show also uses London in somewhat the same way Sex and the City used New York — we see a lot of bright lights, fancy restaurants, and expensive apartments — though there is a sadder, more wistful quality to the photography here, as if Belle were living in a kind of London fog, which, of course, she is.

The New Yorker, noting the similarities between the two shows.^[5]

The series was mainly well received by critics, with Tim Goodman of The San Francisco Chronicle saying, "there's surprise at how much you've underestimated its quality."^[6] It was graded A- by Entertainment Weekly, which said, "you will find a rather fascinating drama." Entertainment Weekly also commented on Billie Piper's portrayal of Belle, saying, "Piper is extraordinary, intermittently talking right to the camera in a straightforward, conspiratorial manner, the way a prostitute who's really good at her job would talk to a client."^[7] It was less well received, however, by The New York Times, which said, "Secret Diary has amusing touches, but not enough to sustain an entire series."^[8]

Whilst reviewing Series 3 of Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Gerard O'Donovan of The Telegraph opined that the show focuses too much on Piper's character, saying "All the characters, apart from Belle (Piper), are about as two-dimensional as cardboard cut-outs – and no more engaging."^[9]

Criticism

Belle leaves a chauffeur driven Rolls-Royce and prepares to board a private jet. Critics attacked the decadent and indulgent lifestyle Belle leads.

The series was attacked by some feminists, as Belle sells her body and some complained it objectified women.^[10] The series was also accused of glamorising and being a misrepresentation of prostitution.^[11] Feminist Rosie Boycott, writing for the Daily Mail, echoed the claims of others, accusing the programme of objectifying women and falsely portraying prostitution, saying "It is impossible to imagine that any one of these women entered 'the game' out of free choice. Yet according to Belle, the heroine of the series ... she loves sex and money and so prostitution was a natural career choice."^[10]

It has even been suggested that the series could inspire young women who had not previously thought about entering the escort industry to enter the trade through its glamorous representation of the work and lifestyle.^[12] In fact, some escorts now routinely use blogs as marketing tools for their escort services.^[13]

Piper hit back at the claims saying, "We've only been exposed to the drug-fueled, sex traffic side – but the fact is, there are middle-class, cultured, well-read women who take part in this job."^[14] Cherie Lunghi also noted the complaints and said in response "Series two is good because it brings the less glamorous side out into the open",^[15] as the second series dealt with serious issues such as the prospect of rape within prostitution.

Episodes

Main article: List of Secret Diary of a Call Girl episodes

Both series 1 and 2 consisted of eight episodes; the series was commissioned for a third series, even before the second series was aired. Series 2 became complicated to film due to Piper's pregnancy and body doubles were hired.^[16]

The filming of series 3 began at the start of 2009, once Piper had recovered after the birth of her son, Winston, in October 2008.^[17] Piper also stated she would be taking on the role of executive producer of the upcoming series as well.^[18] Ahead of the series 3 premiere ITV2 aired a one-off interview between Piper and Magnanti, the real Belle de Jour, entitled, Billie and the Real Belle Bare All.

After the end of Series 3, ITV had not commissioned a fourth series, and there was speculation, even amongst the cast,^[19] whether or not Secret Diary of a Call Girl would return. However on 4 May 2010, Katie Begley of the Daily Star reported that Piper and the cast would return for a fourth series, and that Piper would earn £2 million for the new series.^[20] The next day however, the Daily Mail stated that Piper had signed a £400,000 contract, earning £50,000 per episode of the fourth series.^[21] Piper has stated that the fourth series is to be the final,^[22] but Piper commented that there have been talks to create a film adaptation of the series.^[23]

Broadcasters

List of broadcasters 

Country Channel United Kingdom ITV2 Australia Nine Network Gem Arena Argentina I-Sat Belgium Vitaya Canada Showcase The Movie Network Czech Republic Prima Cool Denmark Kanal 4 Spain Fox Finland Nelonen France Téva M6 Greece Alpha TV Germany Passion Hungary RTL Klub Iceland Skjár einn

Country Channel Israel Yes Stars Drama Italy Fox Life Netherlands RTL5 New Zealand Prime UKTV Norway TVNorge Peru I-Sat Poland Fox Life Portugal FX Russia Muz-TV Slovenia TV3 South Africa MNET Series Sweden Kanal 5 Turkey Fox Life USA Showtime Latin America VH1 I-Sat Middle East Showtime Arabia

US promotional poster (Series 1)

The series was first broadcast on 27 September 2007 on ITV2 in Britain. It was watched by 1.9 million, a record (which has since been beaten by Bionic Woman) for ITV2.^[24]

In Canada, the first series began on Showcase on 22 November 2007. The second season debuted on The Movie Network on 19 January 2009.

In the United States, Showtime aired the first series of eight half-hour episodes beginning in June 2008, with a commitment for an additional 12 episodes.^{[citation needed]} Robert Greenblatt, Showtime's president of entertainment, initially considered buying format rights and recasting it with American actors, but he ultimately decided that the original was "fantastic"; Greenblatt also noted that "it's very hard to find American actresses who are comfortable doing nudity."^[25] The second season aired on 18 January 2009. On November 6, 2009, Showtime announced that the show's third season would return on January 25, 2010 at 10:00pm. Showtime has scheduled the fourth season to premiere April 7th at 10:30pm.

DVD release

The first series was released on 7 January 2008 on Region 2 DVD.^[26] Series 2 was released in the United Kingdom on 2 March 2009, and like the first series classified 18. On the same day, a four disc box set edition consisting of both series 1 and 2 was released.^[27] On both sets, much of the popular music was replaced due to high licensing costs.

In the U.S. the Region 1 version of series 1 was released on 6 January 2009, soon afterwards, in June, series 2 was released. Similarly, much of the music was replaced due to high licensing costs.^[28]

The television series is rated R18 in New Zealand as it contains sex scenes and offensive language.

Ratings

The first series averaged 1,242,125 viewers in the UK. The following weekly viewership statistics are from the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board:^[29]

ITV2 Ratings
Series number	Episode number	Date of first broadcast	Total viewers	Series average
Series 1	1	27 September 2007	1,997,000	1,242,125
	2	4 October 2007	1,475,000
	3	11 October 2007	1,098,000
	4	18 October 2007	1,108,000
	5	25 October 2007	1,077,000
	6	1 November 2007	1,003,000
	7	8 November 2007	1,194,000
	8	15 November 2007	985,000
Series 2	1	11 September 2008	1,074,000	975,500
	2	11 September 2008	1,044,000
	3	18 September 2008	1,081,000
	4	25 September 2008	879,000
	5	2 October 2008	896,000
	6	9 October 2008	969,000
	7	16 October 2008	959,000
	8	23 October 2008	902,000
Series 3	1	28 January 2010	924,000	837,125
	2	28 January 2010	875,000
	3	4 February 2010	731,000
	4	11 February 2010	805,000
	5	18 February 2010	941,000
	6	25 February 2010	889,000
	7	4 March 2010	806,000
	8	11 March 2010	726,000
Series 4	1	01 February 2011	829,000	TBA
	2	08 February 2011	665,000
	3	15 February 2011	614,000
	4	22 February 2011	572,000
	5	1 March 2011	661,000
	6	8 March 2011	674,000
	7	15 March 2011	582,000
	8	22 March 2011	595,000

The series premiered in the U.S. on Showtime to the highest ratings the cable channel had seen in four years for a television premiere. The series debut reached almost one million viewers, its closest rival, Dexter, premiered to 604,000.^[30] The showing held on to an impressive 70% of its lead-in audience that tuned in for the fourth-season premiere of Weeds.

See also

• Bruna Surfistinha

Notes

1. ^ http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/television/2008/06/30/080630crte_television_franklin
2. ^ Goodman, Tim (16 June 2008). "'Secret Diary of a Call Girl' - watchable fun". The San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/16/DDRF119LNJ.DTL. 
3. ^ BBC News, Piper set to star in TV sex drama, 2007-02-12.
4. ^ Cherie Lunghi (2008). "Meet the cast". ITV. http://www.itv.com/Drama/contemporary/TheSecretDiaryofaCallGirl/Castinterviews/default.html. Retrieved 2009-04-18. 
5. ^ Nancy Franklin (2008-06-30). "Working girl - a British take on the world's oldest profession". The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/television/2008/06/30/080630crte_television_franklin. Retrieved 2009-12-22. 
6. ^ Goodman, Tim (16 January 2009). "TV reviews: 'Conchords,' 'Big Love,' 'Call Girl'". The San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2009/01/16/DDSL15AVBK.DTL. 
7. ^ http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20206297,00.html
8. ^ Stanley, Alessandra (16 June 2008). "Old Love, New Love, Ev'ry Love but True Love". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/16/arts/television/16secr.html. Retrieved 23 May 2010. 
9. ^ O'Donovan, Gerard (28 January 2010). "Secret Diary of a Call Girl, ITV2, review". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/7095052/Secret-Diary-of-a-Call-Girl-ITV2-review.html. Retrieved 23 May 2010. 
10. ^ ^{a b} Rosie Boycott (2007-09-25). "Why do so many modern women think being a sex object is cool?". London: Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-483699/Why-modern-women-think-sex-object-cool.html. Retrieved 2010-01-14. 
11. ^ Sherwin, Adam (8 September 2007). "Billie Piper drama is accused of glamorising prostitution". The Times (London). http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article2409847.ece. Retrieved 23 May 2010. 
12. ^ Wyatt, Edward (16 June 2008). "'Secret Diary of a Call Girl' series imported by Showtime". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/arts/17iht-girl.1.13733372.html. Retrieved 23 May 2010. 
13. ^ http://www.red-metal.co.uk/app/
14. ^ Deacon, Michael (6 September 2008). "Secret Diary of a Call Girl". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/3559918/Secret-Diary-of-a-Call-Girl.html. Retrieved 23 May 2010. 
15. ^ "Cherie Call girls are cold inside". The Sun (London). 3 September 2008. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article1644049.ece. 
16. ^ "Body double to fill in for pregnant Billie Piper as she reprises racy call girl role". Daily Mail (London). 16 May 2008. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-566767/Body-double-pregnant-Billie-Piper-reprises-racy-girl-role.html. 
17. ^ Beth Hilton (2008-05-27). "ITV2 orders third series of 'Call Girl'". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a96788/itv2-orders-third-season-of-call-girl.html. Retrieved 2008-05-27. 
18. ^ Billie Piper (2009-02-02). "Billie to cut workload after Secret Diary Of A Call Girl". ITN. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8yQk49GDRU. Retrieved 2009-02-02. 
19. ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a208288/secret-diary-cast-unsure-over-fourth-run.html
20. ^ Kaite Begley (200-05-04). "Billie Piper to get £2M for fourth call girl series". Daily Star. http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/133666/Billie-Piper-to-get-2m-for-fourth-call-girl-series/. Retrieved 2008-05-05. 
21. ^ "Billie Piper is the world's highest paid 'prostitute' as she signs a £400,000 deal to reprise her role as Belle de Jour". London: Daily Mail. 2010-05-05. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1272934/Billie-Piper-worlds-highest-paid-prostitute-signs-2million-deal-reprise-role-Belle-Jour.html. Retrieved 2010-05-05. 
22. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-tDzEB39oE
23. ^ Blackburn, Jen (11 June 2010). "The Secret Movie of a Call Girl". The Sun (London). http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/3009262/Billie-Pipers-Secret-Dirary-of-a-Call-Girl-set-to-be-Hollywood-movie.html. 
24. ^ http://primetime.unrealitytv.co.uk/the-secret-diary-of-a-call-girl-a-ratings-hit/
25. ^ US networks look to British TV for content that can be Americanized into domestic hit, an Associated Press article via the International Herald Tribune
26. ^ Secret Diary of a Call Girl: Season 1 (UK - DVD R2) in News > Releases at DVDActive
27. ^ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-Diary-Call-Girl-1-2/dp/B001LFGV6U/ref=pd_cp_d_h__1
28. ^ http://uk.dvd.ign.com/objects/143/14340631.html
29. ^ "BARB Weekly Ratings". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. 7 November 2007. http://www.barb.co.uk/viewingsummary/weekreports.cfm?RequestTimeout=500&report=weeklytop30. 
30. ^ Plunkett, John (18 June 2008). "Secret Diary of a Call Girl's US debut is a hit with viewers". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jun/18/tvratings.television?gusrc=rss&feed=uknews. Retrieved 23 May 2010. 

External links

• Secret Diary of a Call Girl at itv.com – UK Official Website on ITV (Videos of episodes cannot be viewed from outside the UK).
• Secret Diary of a Call Girl – Official Website on Showcase (showcase.ca) (Canada) (menu provides link to its blog).
• Secret Diary of a Call Girl – Official Website on Showtime (sho.com) (United States) (menu provides links to characters and their fan-edited "Wiki guides").
• Secret Diary of a Call Girl – Official Website on The Movie Network (Canada).
• Secret Diary of a Call Girl at the Internet Movie Database
• Belle de Jour: Diary of a London Call Girl – Original Blog, hosted on Blogspot.com, upon which the TV series is based.

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