The Secret Diary of a Call Girl

I am in love with "Secret Diary of a Call Girl" it has definatly made its way up the ranks to become one of my new favorite programs. I am really surprised that up until a few days ago I had never watched this show before. I had heard lots about it, seen adverts for it on TV, but had never actually tuned in to watch it. I think this may have been because of the fact that it is shown on ITV. I have always thought that ITV was aimed at a slightly older audience, and the dramas that are aimed at my age range tend not to be very good, so i guess I never bothered to watch it. What a mistake that was!

Andy gave out the DVD's of the program to a couple of members of our class and we decided to make pancakes and watch an episode or two. I think that most of our class had never actually seen the show before and we were all pleasantly surprised with the quality of what we were watching. The Secret Diary of a Call Girl begins with glossy opening credits featuring close-ups of Belle getting ready and putting on make-up, and combined with a catchy theme tune than had me and Kelsey humming along. After watching only one episode I was hooked. I think we ended up watching about 6 episodes that evening and I didn't want to stop watching. I was slightly disapointed by the length of each episode as they are only about 22 minutes long. I think that it would have been much better if they were 40 minutes long as they could explore each storyline in more detail.

I think one of the major reasons why 'Secret Diary of a Call Girl' is so good to watch is because of Billie Piper who plays the protagonist Belle De Jour. I think that casting Billie Piper was a very good decision as she manages to play a prostitute who would not typically be considered a likable character, yet she manages to make Belle charming and endearing. I think it is important that they showed Belle to be a good person, because this is what makes the audience accept the fact that she is a call girl.

I find it interesting how the program shows prostitution in an unexpected light. Normally if this topic is featured on television it would typically show a young woman who has been forced into the trade due to desperation. However this is not the case within 'Secret Diary of a Call Girl' Belle is from a middle class background and has been to university. She has made a decision to choose this career over other job opportunities. She does it because she enjoys it, not because she has to. This is demonstrated when she chooses her career over her boyfriend. I think this is a good thing as she chooses to be a call girl, she is not forced into it. Belle is not a weak person and I think in general most of the females in this program are represented as strong women. It would be very easy to make the women passive within the show, being controlled by their clients and being forced into doing things they don't want to. However more often than not Belle is the one in control and it is the male client who is nervous and anxious. Belle comes as cross as someone who is very competent in her job, she is a role model for her friend Bambi who is new to prostitution. Belle is shown to be the best girl at the agency and is obviously doing well financially because of this. She has a nice flat and an amazing wardrobe. Some people may say that the program is misleading and shows prostitution in a positive light and in some respects I may agree. It does make Belle's life look amazing, she is pretty, successful and stylish. However it also shows the negative aspects of prostitution, Belle is not able to maintain successful relationships with men because of her career. I think she also struggles slightly with her identity as she is forced to lead a double life, hiding her career away from her family and in some cases her boyfriends. In my opinion it is a good thing that the show exposes both the positive and negative sides to prostitution as it makes it more realistic and sophisticated. If it had only portrayed the message that a career as a call girl is bad it may have appeared to be stepping on a moral high ground and being to preachy.

It is interesting to know that 'The Secret Diary of a Call Girl' is based on a book written by a real call girl. This is why the show can get away with showing the positive aspects of prostitution, because the author of this book has experienced them first hand. When watching the program I find my self wondering which stories and clients that Belle deals with are based on real situations and people that the author actually had to sleep with. One of the great attributes of the show is the comedy that many of the scenes possesses. This comedy often comes from the weird and outrageous situations that Belle endures in order to adhere to her clients fantasies and fetishes.

I think that the program manages to portray a good portion of Belle's life both inside and outside work. However some of the most successful drama can be seen when the two very separate lives collide. Many episodes show the internal struggle that Belle's character goes through and I think that many audience members would empathize with her character and root for her to be happy.

Overall I think that 'The Secret Diary of a Call Girl' has all the elements necessary to be a success. I think that the choice of music within the show, it is emotive, contemporary and not always your typical pop song. The use of costume is also great, female audience members would aspire to look like Belle and I am sure many male members would dream of dating someone like Belle. The show has a very contemporary feel, like a new edgier version of Sex and The City, the difference being that Belle gets paid to have sex and write about it and Carrie and her friends just sleep with many different men for pleasure. Somehow the latter of the two seems to be more acceptable and I think that this shows how the television industry has evolved from Sex and The City and has changed to please a more open -minded and modern audience. I am really pleased that I have found a British Drama that I enjoy so much as I often find myself drawn to watching American dramas. Now that I have started watching 'The Secret Diary of a Call Girl' i am totally hooked. Within a matter of days i have watched all of season three, most of season two and am really looking to watch season one. I am sure I could go on even further and talk about more of the reasons why I like this show so much, however I think that I have talked for long enough. What I will say is that I would recommend this program to anyone who has not watched it yet as I think it is fantastic.