Secret Diary of a Call Girl | |
---|---|
Genre | Drama |
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 Callum Blue James D'Arcy Lily James Gemma Chan Paul Nicholls |
Narrated by | Billie Piper |
Opening theme | "You Know I'm No Good" (Instrumental) |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language(s) | English |
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 |
Cinematography | Gavin Struthers (series 2) |
Running time | 22 minutes |
Production company(s) |
Tiger Aspect Productions Silver Apples Media Artist Rights Group ITV Studios |
Distributor | Endemol UK |
Release | |
Original network | ITV2 |
Picture format | 16:9 |
Audio format | Stereo |
Original release | 27 September 2007 | – 22 March 2011
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 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.
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.
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.