Billie Piper is back as Belle in a second run of Secret Diary of a Call Girl, set to air next month on ITV2.
Belle’s moved up in the world and is now a high-class independent escort who finds herself an unwilling mentor to wannabe call girl Bambi (Ashley Madekwe – Trial & Retribution, Drop Dead Gorgeous).
While Belle’s throwing herself into her work her best friend Ben (Iddo Goldberg), the only person who knows about her secret life, seems to be settling down into domestic bliss. But things change when Belle’s alter-ego Hannah meets handsome doctor Alex (Callum Blue – The Tudors, Dirt) and finds herself facing the question: can you keep having sex for money if you’re falling in love?
“This puts pressure on her to change profession and I think it really freaks her out. It starts to dictate everything she does and she finds that overwhelming” says Billie.
“I was keen for us to see the kind of affect this career has on Belle a lot more this time around – her struggle and her constant striving and that it’s not all plain sailing.”
“I think we wanted to explore Hannah a bit more because last year was Belle loaded. We are dealing with two very different people and in the first series she spends a lot of time pointing out how she emotionally disconnects and how different she is at work to when she is sat in her living room.”
Piper says spending more time as Hannah “ is nice because I’m not sat in the make-up chair for three hours being made up into a doll on a Monday morning at 6 o’clock. There is a slight relief to playing Hannah in most of the scenes. It is a different part to the character and it’s a lot more laid back and less try-hard. That means that when I am acting it is a bit more relaxed. “
Fans may be a little disappointed as Piper says the change of focus means “there’s not as much walking around in stilettos and underwear trying to look amazing and feel sexually empowered.”
Secret Diary of a Call Girl starts September on ITV2.
The first series of Secret Diary of a Call Girl is available to buy from the seenit.co.uk store.
