Secret Diary of a Call Girl

Based on the popular diary of the anonymous sex worker known only as Belle de Jour.

Genre: Drama

Cast:Billie Piper , Iddo Goldberg , Cherie Lunghi , Ashley Madekwe , Joanna Bobin , James D'Arcy , Callum Blue , Lily James , David Dawson , Nadia Cameron-Blakey , Gemma Chan , Roger Barclay , Paul Nicholls , Ace Bhatti , Toyah Willcox , Allyson Brown , Stuart Organ , Emily Butterfield

1Season 1

S1.E1 ∙ Episode #1.1

Thu, Nov 22, 2007

'Belle de Jour' introduces herself to us, talking directly to camera,as she will throughout the series, and 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 believe 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 fact that her apartment is split into two halves, depending upon 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. She is more professional with a favourite client called the 'horsey-man' whom she sits astride and hits with a riding crop.

2Season 1

S1.E2 ∙ Episode #1.2

Thu, Oct 4, 2007

At a prestigious party, Belle has to decide between dumping a smug, over-possessive client in favor of her dream date, but family matters intervene after she's made her choice, and her best friend gets a clue to her secret life.

3Season 1

S1.E3 ∙ Episode #1.3

Thu, Oct 11, 2007

Belle goes to a hotel room to have sex with Ash, who was her first ever client and for whom she has a soft spot. However Ash falls asleep, which allows Belle time to go downstairs and pick up another punter for a session in his room before returning in the early hours to Ash, who is blissfully unaware of what has happened.

4Season 1

S1.E4 ∙ Episode #1.4

Thu, Oct 18, 2007

Belle is taken aback when her accountant informs her that he is into punishment and would like to engage in a sado-masochistic scenario with himself as her slave. She is inexperienced and is put in touch with the domineering Madame Sirona, who turns up at Belle's flat with her 'slave', a scantily-clad, shaven-headed man, whom she humiliates to his satisfaction by way of demonstration. Before the accountant returns Belle meets her friend Ben, who tells her he is getting married. She is annoyed that he had not told her sooner, and further annoyed when he rings her as she is about to engage in her session with the accountant. In her anger she knocks him around more than she had intended and feels the need to apologize to him but he is perfectly satisfied, believing it to be part of her act.

5Season 1

S1.E5 ∙ Episode #1.5

Fri, Oct 26, 2007

Belle finds it difficult to share her favorite customer with Naomi, whom she has tried to befriend. Ben finds it difficult to accept the big revelation about his best friend,, and triggers her to reflect about how she got into The Life.

6Season 1

S1.E6 ∙ Episode #1.6

Thu, Nov 1, 2007

Belle gets a bad online review from a customer, and feeling down, accepts a midnight encounter which turns awry. Ben advises her to try her luck at a normal relationship, but has to bail her out when the guy overstays his welcome.

7Season 1

S1.E7 ∙ Episode #1.7

Thu, Nov 8, 2007

Belle is engaged by a couple who married very young and have been together for twenty years. To celebrate their anniversary they want to have sex with another couple but the brash young man Belle hires to make up the numbers lets her down and does not show. So Ben fills the breach and, despite his obvious feelings for Belle, is quite professional. However,Belle draws the line at their giving a repeat performance.

8Season 1

S1.E8 ∙ Episode #1.8

Thu, Nov 15, 2007

Seeking to promote herself, Belle has aspirations to become a courtesan, the high end of high class call girls, but being whisked off to Scotland by a powerful director turns out not at all what she hoped it to be, and she misses Ben.

1Season 2

S2.E1 ∙ Episode #2.1

Mon, Jun 16, 2008

On the eve of the christening of her sister's baby, Belle is pressurized by a tabloid journalist into exposing a married Member of Parliament, who is one of her clients. She also meets Alex, a young doctor, unaware of her calling and anxious to date her, and Bambi, who has read her blog and wants Belle to groom her as a call-girl.

2Season 2

S2.E2 ∙ Episode #2.2

Mon, Jun 23, 2008

Belle finally gives in to the persistent Alex and agrees to a date with him.

3Season 2

S2.E3 ∙ Episode #2.3

Mon, Jun 30, 2008

Belle is confronted in her own home by the wife of one of her regular clients and consequently finds herself unable to pleasure him as, in her own imagination, the wife keeps appearing to interrupt them.

4Season 2

S2.E4 ∙ Episode #2.4

Mon, Jul 7, 2008

Now dating Alex, Belle invites him to lunch with Ben but the boys do not really hit it off and the exercise is a failure. A threesome arranged by Bambi with a vulgar club-owner is also a fiasco as Belle keeps seeing Alex's face instead of the client's.

5Season 2

S2.E5 ∙ Episode #2.5

Mon, Jul 14, 2008

Still unaware that his girlfriend is a prostitute, Alex walks in on her in bed with disabled client Blake, and flounces out in disgust, seeking confirmation from Ben of what is going on. After Ben has put him wise he returns to her flat but walks out again, leaving her in tears.

6Season 2

S2.E6 ∙ Episode #2.6

Mon, Jul 21, 2008

To take her mind off Alex Belle gets her agent to book her and Bambi for a fancy dress party for wealthy diplomats in a country mansion. However she freaks out when a client demands that she lets him tie her up and, with Bambi, flees the house. She rings the ever-dependable Ben to come and collect them and drive them back to London. It is late and she lets him sleep on the sofa but feels mean and invites him into her bed. He does not refuse.

7Season 2

S2.E7 ∙ Episode #2.7

Sat, Oct 18, 2008

To impress a sceptical, moralistic Alex, Belle gives up escorting to become an office temp but she is terrible and quits after only one day. He returns to her but their night of passion is a disaster. Firstly he keeps imagining all her men lined up at the bottom of the bed. They are then interrupted by a drunken, miserable Ben who has thrown over his girl-friend and declares his feelings for Belle, unaware that Alex is in the next room and can hear everything.

8Season 2

S2.E8 ∙ Episode #2.8

Mon, Aug 4, 2008

Belle goes to a date with a rich punter called Simon. However it turns out to be Alex who has set a trap to test whether she has given up escorting. He concedes that she loves her job more than him and finishes with her. Bambi and Ben come to support her and, at Ben's suggestion, she writes a book about her experiences, which becomes a best-seller and she is seen going into a television studio to promote it.

1Season 3

S3.E1 ∙ Episode #3.1

Thu, Jan 28, 2010

Belle attends her book launch disguised as a waitress but leaves early to meet American client Jesse, whilst Ben is mistaken for the author by a lady named Camilla,who beds him before realising her mistake. Belle's publisher Duncan is so taken by sales that he asks her to prepare a follow-up though Stephanie, Belle's agent,is less impressed by her depiction in the book.

2Season 3

S3.E2 ∙ Episode #3.2

Thu, Jan 28, 2010

Belle's sister Jackie comes to stay, having left her husband, and Belle feels unable to tell her about her line of work. However, whilst Belle is out, Jackie is turned on by reading her book and gets very drunk, having sex with Ben who has come to call. Belle is not amused though, nor is Stephanie, who has now worked out that Belle is the author of the tell-all expose. Nor is Bambi, because black girls get paid less than white. However Bambi does hit it off with new client Byron, a mystery man whom she first encounters being chased down the street.

3Season 3

S3.E3 ∙ Episode #3.3

Thu, Feb 4, 2010

Belle's handsome publisher Duncan criticizes her writing style, feeling more stress should be given to what really turns her clients on. In the case of nervous young actuary Simon, it's farmyard noises, which Belle feels unable to divulge and she finds her writing is better when she imagines Duncan is her fantasy sex partner. Ben is now a frequent visitor to her flat, to sleep with sister Jackie, much to Belle's annoyance, and Bambi finds Byron is becoming more to her than just a paying punter.

4Season 3

S3.E4 ∙ Episode #3.4

Thu, Feb 11, 2010

Belle entertains Des, a young man who loves to be covered in messy foodstuffs, not the most erotic subject for her next chapter, so she turns to Duncan for the real thing. Bambi tries in vain to reject an ardent Byron, who buys her a bicycle and proposes to her whilst Ben breaks things off with Jackie.

5Season 3

S3.E5 ∙ Episode #3.5

Thu, Feb 18, 2010

Duncan tells Belle he is falling for her and comes on to her again but, visualizing regular client Al giving her advice, she puts him off, saying that escorts should not carry emotional baggage. So both she and Ben are amazed when Bambi and Byron announce their forthcoming marriage. Duncan persists in claiming that he can handle Belle's work if they become an item, so she finally gives in, even telling him her real name.

6Season 3

S3.E6 ∙ Episode #3.6

Thu, Feb 25, 2010

Belle gives total satisfaction to Stuart,who enjoys their enacting a James Bond fantasy. However,on a date with Duncan,she sees Stuart with his wife and feels that Duncan speaking to him will lose her his custom. To make things worse Byron and Ben, both drunk, turn up and harass Duncan. As a result she tells Ben their friendship is over.

7Season 3

S3.E7 ∙ Episode #3.7

Wed, Mar 3, 2010

To gain a client's perspective for her book Belle visits male escort Connor, who,to start with, is not very good but, after Belle has revealed her job and taught him a thing or two, the session hots up. Still blanking Ben for his treatment of Duncan Belle feels uncomfortable about writing the chapter and prefers to have sex with Duncan,who claims he loves her. However Belle is unaware that he has visited Bambi professionally.

8Season 3

S3.E8 ∙ Episode #3.8

Wed, Mar 10, 2010

Belle and Duncan attend Bambi's wedding to Byron where Belle is hesitant about accepting Stephanie's offer of work in the Maldives because of her commitment to Duncan. However her attitude changes when Bambi tells her Duncan is one of her regular punters and she is unconvinced when he explains that, though he loves her, he sees theirs as an open relationship. She turns to Ben for consolation and they send an email to Duncan's firm exposing him as a prostitute's client. She then flies off to the Maldives, with a note from Ben which says that he loves her.

1Season 4

S4.E1 ∙ Episode #4.1

Tue, Feb 1, 2011

Now a house owner, Belle entertains young barrister Liam, whose downstairs problems she alleviates with a little wig-and-gown role play. Through him she learns that Stephanie is remanded in custody for money laundering. Whilst reluctant to take over the business she agrees to host Stephanie's daughter Poppy, who is innocent of her mother's work. Then Ben proposes to her.

2Season 4

S4.E2 ∙ Episode #4.2

Tue, Feb 8, 2011

Belle reluctantly takes over the business from Stephanie but finds herself being challenged by stroppy Charlotte,who almost gives the game away to Poppy. She feels under pressure and confides in Tim,a boy who has gone with her to prove to himself that he is gay. After meeting Ben's mother - who takes her aside to tell her she knows what she does and has read her book - she agrees that Ben should move in with her.

3Season 4

S4.E3 ∙ Episode #4.3

Tue, Feb 15, 2011

Belle has a new client, Harry Keegan,a detective sergeant who is handsome but slightly creepy since he knows a lot about her and is keen on having sex in dangerously public places. Poppy finds out at last that her mother and Belle are high-class call girls and the discovery leaves her shocked and angry. Belle's sister Jackie also drops by and,given their history,she is cool towards Ben.

4Season 4

S4.E4 ∙ Episode #4.4

Tue, Feb 22, 2011

Belle postpones a trip to New York to meet the director of a film based on her book to accompany Poppy on a prison visit to Stephanie. Mother and daughter merely end up rowing. Despite taking on one of Charlotte's clients, a middle-aged man who like to dress as a baby,Belle takes the moral high ground when she catches Poppy in bed with a boy she picked up in a bar. This leads to an argument with Ben and Belle taking the next plane to New York.

5Season 4

S4.E5 ∙ Episode #4.5

Tue, Mar 1, 2011

Belle lives it up in New York where the female star and male producer of her projected film adaptation get a little too carried away enacting the scenario. She misses Ben and the feeling is mutual as he fights off the attentions of Poppy, whom Charlotte has tried to recruit as a call-girl. Belle is ultimately appalled that the finished screenplay of her book is no more than cheap, shallow porn and returns to England.

6Season 4

S4.E6 ∙ Episode #4.6

Tue, Mar 8, 2011

Belle returns from America to find Charlotte running the business. Furthermore Poppy has climbed into bed with Ben,giving Belle the wrong idea. She immerses herself in work,pleasuring a Japanese client who likes wrestling as well as winning back star client David from Charlotte. She also wins back Ben after Poppy admits he was innocent but this leads to him accusing Belle of double standards.

7Season 4

S4.E7 ∙ Episode #4.7

Tue, Mar 15, 2011

After Poppy has moved back to her mother's house Belle goes to a hotel for a vampire role play with film critic Ambrose but he literally dies on the job. In a panic Belle rings Ben but,after their recent cooling off,he has accepted a platonic date with Poppy. The appearance of Harry provides Belle with a shoulder to cry on but she resists his advances and returns to Ben.

8Season 4

S4.E8 ∙ Episode #4.8

Tue, Mar 22, 2011

Belle has an awkward session with a client who recognizes her from school and a post-coital chat with him leads her to ponder her future. At a party given by Stephanie to celebrate her release Belle meets Harry,who wants her to move in with him but she refuses. She also turns down Ben's proposal,explaining that he is too good for her and that first and foremost she is a career girl.