Secret Diary of a Call Girl is a British television drama series created by Lucy Prebble, co-produced by Silverapples Media and Tiger Aspect Productions and starring Billie Piper as Belle, a high-class London-based call girl. The eponymous call girl is based on the blogs of Belle de Jour.
The series aired in the UK on ITV2 from 28 September, 2007 to 22 March, 2011. There are 32 half-hour episodes in four seasons.
Secret Diary of a Call Girl premiered in South Africa on M-Net on Sunday 8 February 2009, at 23h00. It later aired on DStv's M-Net HD channel and M-Net Series channel (Season 4 only). See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Synopsis
Taken from best-selling, real life blog diaries, this eye-opening insight into the life of a high-end call girl leading a double life became an immediate ratings winner in the United Kingdom.
Secret Diary of a Call Girl centres round the diary of the anonymous sex worker known only as Belle de Jour.
Belle introduces herself directly to camera (as she will throughout the series), explaining that she is a call-girl, working through an agent - partly for safety reasons but also because she does not come cheap.
Her real name is Hannah and her family believes that she is a legal secretary, which she told them as she imagined they would find it too boring to ask her about.
She explains the need to keep her two lives separate, even to the point that her apartment is split into two halves, depending on who she is for which visitor.
However, she does break the rules when entertaining a shy young man called Daniel, revealing her true name to give him encouragement.
The real Belle (whom Piper met and worked closely with pre-and during production) published her diaries in 2005 and, despite many attempts to discover her true identity, remained anonymous for years. In November 2009 she was revealed as Dr. Brooke Magnanti, a research scientist, blogger and writer.
Seasons
Note: Season 3 did not air on M-Net. The first two seasons did not air on M-Net HD. The first three seasons did not air on M-Net Series.
Season 1 (8 episodes)
Channel: M-Net | Premiere: 8 Feb 2009 | Finale: 1 Mar 2009 | Sundays, 23h00 (double bill)
Season 2 (8 episodes)
Channel: M-Net | Premiere: 8 Mar 2009 | Finale: 29 Mar 2009 | Sundays, 23h00 (double bill)
Season 3 (8 episodes)
Channel: M-Net HD | Broadcast: 2010 (dates unknown)
Season 4 (8 episodes)
Channel: M-Net | Premiere: 6 Dec 2011 | Finale: 24 Jan 2012 | Tuesdays, 23h30
Channel: M-Net HD | Premiere: 6 Dec 2011 | Finale: 24 Jan 2012 | Tuesdays, 23h30
Channel: M-Net Series | Premiere: 16 Mar 2012 | Finale: 13 Apr | Fridays, 22h30