Secret Diary of a Call Girl Information

Secret Diary of a Call Girl is a British television drama broadcast on ITV2 from 2007 to 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.

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 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. 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 series' 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]." Stephanie features in series four, having been placed in jail. Hence, she asks Hannah to temporarily run the agency during her sentence, and to look after her daughter Poppy (Lily James), who is unaware of her mother's real job or her true whereabouts.

• Bambi/Gloria White (Ashley Madekwe)

Bambi started as a naive wannabe-escort who was mentored by Belle in series two. Fun-loving Bambi, who started as an escort for money, is now working for Stephanie. In series 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. Bambi does not appear in series four.

• Duncan Atwood (James D'Arcy)

Duncan is Belle's publisher in series 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 McLoud (Callum Blue)

Alex is a doctor whom Belle initially mistakes for a client in series 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 series three, neither is he explicitly mentioned, though, like other former characters, is implicitly referenced in the series three finale, when Ben tells Hannah his view on all her previous boyfriends.

• 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. Byron does not appear in series four.

Response

Critical response

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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." 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." 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."

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."

Criticism

The series was attacked by some feminists, as Belle sells her body and some stated that it objectified women. The series was also accused of glamorising and being a misrepresentation of prostitution. 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."

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." 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", as the second series dealt with serious issues such as the prospect of rape within prostitution.

Episodes

See List of Secret Diary of a Call Girl episodes for more information

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.

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. Piper also stated she would be taking on the role of executive producer of the upcoming series as well. 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, 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. The following day the Daily Mail stated that Piper had signed a 400,000 contract, earning 50,000 per episode of the fourth series. Piper has stated that the fourth series is to be the final, but Piper commented that there have been talks to create a film adaptation of the series.

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	Tva M6
Greece	Alpha TV
Germany	Passion
Hungary	RTL Klub
Iceland	Skjr 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

The series was first broadcast on 27 September 2007 on ITV2 in the United Kingdom. It was watched by 1.9 million, a record (which has since been beaten by Bionic Woman) for ITV2.

In Canada, the first series began on Showcase on 22 November 2007. The second series 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. 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." The second series aired on 18 January 2009. On 6 November 2009, Showtime announced that the show's third series would return on 25 January 2010 at 10:00pm. Showtime scheduled the fourth series to premiere 7 April 2011, at 10:30pm.

Home media

The first series was released on 7 January 2008 on Region 2 DVD. 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. On both sets, much of the popular music was replaced due to high licensing costs.

The entire series is also available to download on iTunes and to stream on Netflix UK and Lovefilm UK.

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

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:

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	1 February 2011	829,000	649,000
	2	8 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. The showing held on to an impressive 70% of its lead-in audience that tuned in for the fourth-series premiere of Weeds.

International versions

On 8 April, TVN (Chile), premiered their version of "Secret Diary..." entitled "Diario secreto de una profesional" (Secret diary of a professional).