DVDs in Review

Secret Diary of a Call Girl Series 3

Title: Secret Diary of a Call Girl - Series 3 (2010)

Release date: March 15 2010

Certificate: 18

Format: DVD

DVD RRP: £24.99

Rating: 3/5

Billie Piper continues her career kick-start playing Hannah/Belle De Jour - London prostitute by night and legal secretary by day. She only does this dual life to make ends meet, but the push and pull of this dual life is both addictive and destructive in equal measure.

'Secret Diary of a Call Girl' attempts to explore this duality, and while it does make a fair old stab at meaty drama, it sometimes feels as if this is more of just an excuse for ITV to make some revenue from Billie Piper in some kinky outfits.

While the episodes never outstay their welcome, they sometimes have trouble keeping the momentum between the passionate, quick-cutting sex scenes of a woman determined to satisfy every raunchy need and the relatively dreary life of being just a girl next door, living a relative lie.

What this season does do, however, is to let Hannah's secret slip briefly and set up a nice sub-plot that deals with truth and how the hiding of it is attractive to some. Some may see Hannah's status as a predicament that has no happy exits; others could see it as a turn on and exhilarating escapism.  

However, there isn't enough friction, despite this outlook on two very different worlds and the focus on a beautiful, determined (and possibly more importantly, an intelligent world-weary) woman who straddles both. The idea is intriguing and oddly voyeuristic, but the dramatic side needs more work if this is going to continue for more seasons.

It's Piper who holds the whole show together, with what is actually quite a detailed performance that never relies on her looks, even if the show's success depends on her falling back on them.