Billie Piper does such a good job inhabiting the character of Belle de Jour on Secret Diary of a Call Girl, it’s hard to imagine anyone else as the saucy London escort. But a real woman lived those adventures — and blogged about them — well before Piper earned the role.
The Diary Season 3 premiere on Monday will feature Piper interviewing her real-life counterpart, Brooke Magnanti, who recently came out in the press. Turns out, the real Belle is a medical researcher with a Ph.D. who found the flexible hours and good pay of an escort quite appealing when she …read more

Last week, while the rest of us were gearing up for Season 6 of The L Word, members of the TV Critics Association were in LA hearing all about upcoming shows from the major broadcast and cable networks.
The winter TCA press event featured panels from Showtime about returning series The Tudors, Tracey Ullman’s State of the Union, The L Word and Secret Diary of a Call Girl plus new shows Nurse Jackie and United States of Tara.
Amid all the questions, a few Showtime folks stumbled. Their verbal gaffes were faithfully chronicled by Robert Philpot of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. A …read more

If you’re subscribed as a Showtime VIP Insider, you should have gotten an e-mail recently inviting you to catch the first two episodes of Secret Diary of a Call Girl before the series debuts June 18.
Not an insider? Don’t let that stop you. Just click this link and enter the phrase “back book” to watch the first two eps unedited. You can also read excerpts from the book that inspired the show and sign up to be a friend to high-class hooker Belle de Jour on the Secret Diary Facebook page.
Poster: Courtesy of Showtime 

Billie Piper, the British star set to make her Showtime debut with Secret Diary of a Call Girl in mid-June, has signed on for a third season of the racy show, which chronicles the adventures of high-priced hooker Belle de Jour.
News reports say Piper, who is several months pregnant by hubby and actor Lawrence Fox, asked for a body double to shoot nude scenes for Season 2 and may use one again early in Season 3, which is set to film days after she’s due to deliver.
We’ll have to wait for Seasons 2 and 3 to arrives stateside, but Season …read more

Billie Piper — the star of Secret Diary of a Call Girl, coming to Showtime this summer — sat for this interview, to build interest in the show.
Billie’s preggers, btw, but that’s no impediment to the series since we’re a season behind here in the states. It might be awkward for filming season 2, but she doesn’t seem concerned.
Among the knowledge she drops:
1) If she got to meet the Queen of England and ask one question, Ms. Piper would stay silent — dumbstruck in awe of the Queen Mum.
2) Her teen crush was Luke Perry, from Beverly Hills 90210
3) When …read more