Secret Diary of a Call Girl is a British television drama broadcast on ITV2 from 27 September 2007 to 22 March 2011 based on the blog and books by the pseudonymous "Belle de Jour," starring Billie Piper as Belle, a high-end London call girl.
The series was written by Lucy Prebble, who is also 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.
Video Secret Diary of a Call Girl
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 aired 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.
Maps Secret Diary of a Call Girl
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, as well as 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.
Cast and characters
Main characters
- Billie Piper as Hannah 'Belle' Baxter (series 1-4): a young, attractive university graduate who, under the pseudonym Belle, has made a name for herself as a successful high-end escort. Hannah is secretive about her job to her family and friends, pretending that she is a night-time legal secretary, although she thoroughly enjoys her work.
- Iddo Goldberg as Ben (series 1-4): Hannah's best friend and former boyfriend from their university days. Ben is the manager of a London bar and is at first unaware of Hannah's real job. Ben is in a relationship with his girlfriend Vanessa who does not care for Hannah.
- Cherie Lunghi as Stephanie Charlton (series 1-4): Hannah's agent in the first series. Stephanie runs a successful escorting agency, Discreet Elite, and is a shrewd businesswoman who can sometimes come across as cold-hearted and unfeeling.
- Ashley Madekwe as Gloria 'Bambi' White (series 2-3): a naive young escort who is mentored by Belle and later becomes a close friend. Bambi has had a hard life and mainly wants to escort for the money.
- Callum Blue as Alex McLoud (series 2): a doctor whom Belle mistakes for a client. Alex is immediately attracted to Belle but does not realise that she is a prostitute.
- James D'Arcy as Duncan Atwood (series 3): Hannah's publisher after she has become a best-selling author. Although their relationship is strictly professional, Hannah soon starts to develop feelings for Duncan.
- Lily James as Poppy (series 4): Stephanie's daughter who does not know what her mother does professionally.
- Gemma Chan as Charlotte (series 4): one of the girls working for Discreet Elite. Charlotte is dominant, unfriendly, and used to getting what she wants.
- Paul Nicholls as Det. Sgt. Harry Keegan (series 4): a client of Discreet Elite who has an exceptional interest in Belle.
Recurring characters
- Toyah Willcox and Stuart Organ as Gail and Niall Baxter (series 1-2): Hannah's parents who are unaware of their daughter's profession.
- Joanna Bobin as Jackie (series 1-4): Hannah's sister who is unaware of her sister's profession. Jackie is married and has an infant son.
- Ace Bhatti as Ashok (series 1-2): One of Belle's favourite regular clients.
- David Dawson as Byron Seebohm (series 3): a young, rebellious aristocrat who hires Bambi as an escort and then falls in love with her.
Response
Critical response
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, accused 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
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 Brooke Magnanti, who had written under the Belle de Jour pseudonym, entitled, Billie and the Real Belle Bare All.
After the end of Series 3, ITV had not commissioned a fourth series, as well as 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, as well as 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
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 United States 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.
The series premiered in the United States 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 April 8, 2012, the Chilean network TVN premiered their own version of "Secret Diary..." entitled "Diario secreto de una profesional" (The secret diary of a professional).
A Dutch remake, called "Dagboek van een Callgirl" ("Diary of a Call Girl") started airing its first season on March 26, 2015 on Net 5. Sanne Langelaar portrays 'Anne', who secretly works as the callgirl 'Jolie'. The show is set in Amsterdam. The first season adapts several scripts from the first and second series of the UK series.
Notes
External links
- Secret Diary of a Call Girl at itv.com - United Kingdom 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 on IMDb
- Belle de Jour: Diary of a London Call Girl - Original blog, hosted on Blogspot.com, upon which the TV series is based.
Source of article : Wikipedia
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