| "Episode 1.1" | |
|---|---|
| Secret Diary of a Call Girl episode | |
 Hannah walking through London to meet a client | |
| Episode no. | Series 1 Episode 1 |
| Directed by | Yann Demange |
| Written by | Lucy Prebble |
| Original air date | 27 September 2007 |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Episode 1.1" is the series 1 premiere of the British television show Secret Diary of a Call Girl .
The episode begins with Hannah Baxter walking across the eastern Golden Jubilee Bridge, she is then seen entering The May Fair and heading towards the lift. Whilst doing so she narrates, telling the viewer that she is a "whore".
Hannah then wakes in her flat and begins directly addressing the audience, differentiating between herself and her alter-ego, Belle. She then continues describing her personal and professional life, her personal and professional living space and even her and Belle's contrasting fashion. However she is interrupted by a call from her agent, Stephanie, who informs her that a client will be round in 30 minutes.
The client arrives and as he does Hannah runs through her "rules" with the audience, telling what makes her a good prostitute. Hannah quickly establishes that the man has a public sex fantasy, in particular in fields and stables.
The scene then changes to a London café with red semicircular awnings , where Hannah meets her best friend and ex-boyfriend, Ben, who has no idea of her double life as a call girl and mentions the good tasting custard crusts, which he said are handmade, not machine made. Whilst walking past an estate agent's office, and Ben asks whether they should play a game of "spoilt little rich girl". The two view a luxurious London townhouse, and halfway through the tour of the property they run out.
She then meets another client at a hotel, a young man named Daniel; however, he leaves halfway through his appointment, whilst Hannah is performing fellatio on him. Stephanie, at the Floridita (closed in 2017, now the 100 Wardour Street Restaurant, Soho) later discloses that he wanted somebody with a 'girl next door' image. Hannah persuades Stephanie to book Daniel with him, yet this time she dresses in a simple manner to please him. Her next client is scheduled with her first client and when he arrives she pulls out a saddle and asks who should wear it. The episode ends with the client entirely nude aside from a saddle placed on his back as Hannah rides him like a horse.
The series premiere garnered an average of 1,997,000 viewers, [1] peaking at 2.1 million. [2] Secret Diary of a Call Girl received an 11% audience share for the 10:00 pm timeslot. [2] Episode 1.1 gave the highest audience rates ITV2 had ever seen from a non-sports programme. [2] Episode 1.1's viewing success has never been matched by a subsequent Secret Diary of a Call Girl episode; the closest to this was Episode 1.2 with 1,475,000. Not only was the episode a success, ranking at number 1 for ITV2's viewing figures that week, but the second highest programme that week, a Sunday repeat of The X Factor , was 870,000 viewers behind. [1] Additionally, Secret Diary of a Call Girl 's Sunday repeat ranked at 6. [1]
The episode was mostly well received by reviewers. IGN noted the similarities between the show and Sex and the City and Piper's skill whilst breaking the fourth wall. "Piper does lots of talking to the camera, a stylistic similarity to the early episodes of Sex and the City. While that show eventually dropped Carrie's on camera monologues, Call Girl is clearly borrowing the voice from Belle's [Dr Brooke Magnanti] writings – and Piper manages to pull off what would usually seem awkward." [3] To summarise, IGN stated it was "well written, well acted and stylish". [3]
Slant Magazine, despite giving a positive review, mentioned that Hannah's "frequent voiceovers and direct-camera addresses turn the awkwardly named show into a how-to guide for prospective prostitutes". [4] Concerns such as Slant Magazine's and whether the programme glamorises prostitution have been echoed throughout various publications. [5]
Entertainment Weekly 's reviewer Aubry D'Arminio stated Hannah's unwillingness to emotional engage herself with others was one of her favourite aspects of the programme, saying "Hannah doesn't want to connect with people at all.... Not allowing herself to "get close" or be "the real me" isn't a call girl's rule for Hannah (like it was for Julia [Roberts] in Pretty Woman ), it's a twisted compulsion. And that's why I love the show." [6] D'Arminio also praised Showtime, Secret Diary of a Call Girl's American broadcaster, for not simply buying format rights, saying "I'm just thankful that Showtime imported Call Girl without recasting it like its sister network CBS is doing with Worst Week of My Life or ABC did with Life on Mars ." [6]
Billie Paul Piper is an English actress and former singer. She initially gained recognition as a singer after releasing her debut single "Because We Want To" at age 15, which made her the youngest female singer to enter the UK Singles Chart at number one. Her follow-up single "Girlfriend" also entered at number one. In 1998, Piper released her debut studio album, Honey to the B, which was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Her second studio album, Walk of Life, was released in 2000 and spawned her third number-one single, "Day & Night". In 2003, Piper announced that she had ended her music career to focus on acting.
ITV2 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the five analogue terrestrial stations, a claim now held by its sister service ITV3 both of which are freely available to a majority of households.
Trisha Goddard, formerly called Trisha, is a British tabloid talk show hosted by Trisha Goddard. It initially aired on ITV in the mornings from 1998 to 2004 before moving to Channel 5, where it was broadcast until 2010. It was also shown on ITV's digital channel ITV2 with a spin-off show called Trisha: Extra and a double bill of the main Trisha show every afternoon. The programme was moved to Channel 5 and aired from January 2005 to December 2010.
Lacey Amelia Turner is an English actress. With a career spanning two decades, she made her acting debut in the television soap opera EastEnders for her role of Stacey Slater, a character she initially played between 2004 and 2010 before returning in 2014.
"The Girl in the Fireplace" is the fourth episode of the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 6 May 2006. Written by Steven Moffat and directed by Euros Lyn, the episode is inspired by Audrey Niffenegger's novel The Time Traveler's Wife.
Brooke Magnanti is an American-born naturalised British former research scientist, blogger, and writer, who, until her identity was revealed in November 2009, was known by the pen name Belle de Jour. While completing her doctoral studies, between 2003 and 2004, Magnanti supplemented her income by working as a London call girl known by the working name Taro.
Secret Diary of a Call Girl is a British drama television series that aired from 27 September 2007 to 22 March 2011 on ITV2, based on the blog and books by the pseudonymous Belle de Jour. It stars Billie Piper as Belle, a high-end call girl in London.
CelebAir is a reality television series in which 11 celebrities perform the duties of cabin crew and check-in attendants. The series was presented by Angellica Bell and aired on ITV2 from 2 September 2008 until 23 October 2008, when Lisa Maffia was declared the winner.
Lucy AshtonPrebble is a British playwright and producer. She has received numerous accolades including three Primetime Emmy Awards as well as nominations for a BAFTA Award as well as two Laurence Olivier Awards.
Hannah Baxter is the lead semi-fictional character and protagonist of the British ITV2 television series Secret Diary of a Call Girl. Hannah secretly has a double life as a high-class call girl as her alter ego Belle, for which she acknowledges and comments directly to the audience, throughout each episode.
The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl are memoirs of a former London call girl written by Dr. Brooke Magnanti, under the pseudonym Belle de Jour.
"Episode 1.8" is the series 1 finale of the British television show Secret Diary of a Call Girl.
Peter Andre: My Life is a British television fly on the wall reality show broadcast on ITV2, that focuses on British-Australian singer and television personality Peter Andre, as cameras follow him throughout his everyday life. Originally born from a pilot entitled Peter Andre: Going it Alone, which focused on his divorce from model Katie Price, ten series of the programme were broadcast.
Billie and the Real Belle Bare All is a one-off television programme that aired on ITV2 on 25 January 2010, ahead of the Series 3 premiere of Secret Diary of a Call Girl. The programme, which took place at The May Fair, consisted of Billie Piper, who stars as Hannah Baxter in Secret Diary of a Call Girl, interviewing Dr. Brooke Magnanti, a former call girl who, until November 2009 remained anonymous, known only by the pseudonym, "Belle de Jour."
Stephanie Charlton is a fictional character in the ITV series Secret Diary of a Call Girl. She is portrayed by the actress Cherie Lunghi.
"Pilot" is the pilot episode of The CW television series, The Vampire Diaries, as well as the first episode of the series. It originally aired on Thursday, September 10, 2009. The teleplay was written by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec and it directed by Marcos Siega.
"I'll Always Remember You" is the ninth episode of the fourth season, and 94th overall episode, of the Disney Channel sitcom series Hannah Montana. It was written by Andrew Green and Maria Brown-Gallenberg. It originally aired on November 7, 2010. The episode title is a reference to the Hannah Montana song "I'll Always Remember You". The one-hour episode is notable for being the first time Miley Stewart admits her secret to the world that she is Hannah Montana.
Switch is a British supernatural comedy-drama centring a quartet of witches known as "The Witches of Camden" who try to make their way in London. Created by Touchpaper Television for ITV2, the show stars Lacey Turner, Nina Toussaint-White, Hannah Tointon and Phoebe Fox. Its six-episode run began on 15 October 2012 at 10pm.
The Big Reunion is a British reality-documentary series that began airing on ITV2 on 31 January 2013. The show featured chart-topping bands who were big in the UK pop music scene between the 1990s and early 2000s, and the programme followed them as they reunited for the first time in a decade and went through their two weeks of intensive rehearsals before finally stepping back on stage for a comeback performance.