Watching: Secret Diary of a Call Girl (Recap - A Guy’s POV)

By Jeremy Monsayac
Fancast.com

Making its Showtime debut is Secret Diary of a Call Girl, a British show based on the blogs of London call girl, Belle du Jour. Starring Billie Piper, the show explores the challenges Belle experiences in straddling the line between her secret life and her public one as Hannah, a late night legal secretary. Not even her best friend Ben knows what she truly does for a living. Belle introduces us to her world and what makes her tick: sex and money. Being “fundamentally lazy”, life as a call girl seems ideal. However, keeping her personal and professional lives separate proves difficult.

Her two newest clients are a study in contrasts. The first john is middle-aged and awkward. As Belle tries to determine his ideal fantasy, she stumbles upon his “love” of horses, which sets him off quickly. Her second john, Daniel, is something else altogether. Belle tries to get him off, but it just isn’t happening and he inexplicably walks away abruptly, leaving her stunned. Belle later learns from her “agent” that Daniel booked another session with more of a “girl next door” type. Belle snags the booking and dresses and acts accordingly. This time, he’s clearly more comfortable and he pounces on her. The sex seems more intimate than with her previous john. What’s telling is the very personal post-sex talk she has with Daniel about his ex girlfriend. She relates to him so well that she inadvertently tells him her true name, which clearly vexes her after the fact.

In the end, Belle passes Daniel off to another girl and continues with the horse-loving john (who’s now gone all the way of the reservation and wears a saddle during their session). Unlike, Daniel, he exemplifies the perfect client: one where she never has to be herself.