Charming, perky, and Not Safe for Work. In typical British fashion , when the author's identity was revealed, the university that she worked for barely blinked an eye. Hannah Baxter Piper is every bit the usual young single professional: educated, sophisticated, and a bit reserved.
But unbeknownst to her family, she's not actually a legal secretary. She works as Belle de Jour , a glamorous call girl with a massive price tag who adores her job. Along with her male best friend Ben who has resigned himself to Belle's profession and her rather over-eager sex-worker-in-training protegee Bambi, we get to see Hannah navigate her work, taking care of finances, dealing with customer retention and satisfaction issues, and attending interviews for "promotion".
Hannah also loves her job. She has no moral qualms with having sex with men who are in monogamous relationships β after all, she always cheated on her boyfriends as well. However, her own wants and needs still make it difficult for her at times to stay professional. Throughout the series, she struggles with catering to fetishes she's not into, she finds it hard to make normal friends, she occasionally skips out on clients, and keeping everything a secret from her family isn't always easy.
So basically, it's a cross between a Work Com and Sex and the City. And yes, this is a post-watershed show, so be prepared for tits, ass, cocks, and fetishes aplenty. The show drew the ire of some critics and feminists for glamourizing the sex industry and showing it as safe and prestigious, while glossing over the drugs, violence, and exploitation that plague the trade.
Other feminists praised the show for its powerful female character, who is completely unashamed of her sexuality and uses it totally to suit her ends, though not always in an ethical way. This show provides examples of: Actor Allusion : In series 4, episode 5, Belle posts a notice on her website saying "Call now for a classic English Rose. Attempted Rape : Happens to Belle in series 2. Bedroom Adultery Scene : Two different events in series 2. One involving a spouse, one involving Alex. In the end, she chooses neither.
