Stephanie (Secret Diary of a Call Girl)
Encyclopedia
Stephanie Charlton was a fictional character in the ITV
series Secret Diary of a Call Girl
. She is portrayed by the actress Cherie Lunghi
.
's madam
; she herself was once a call girl. Rich and glamorous, with a cutting sense of humour, and cynical attitude, she reluctantly looks out for the girls that belong to her agency. "Do you know what love is Belle? A marketing ploy, remember that".
Stephanie is portrayed as an independent woman with eyes only for money. She never reveals anything remotely personal to the call girls, however, it is assumed that she is not married, due to her various cynical remarks, such as "you do this job long enough – you want to kick the shit out of a man". She is intensely private to the extent that she insinuates that Stephanie is not her real name; however in Series 4, with the arrival of her daughter Poppy, who calls her Stephanie, it can be assumed that Stephanie is in fact her real name.
Stephanie is Hannah's agent throughout Series 1 until Hannah leaves to become a courtesan, and then an independent escort; as a result their relationship sours and becomes increasingly bitter, however Stephanie occasionally gives Hannah jobs during Series 2. During Series 3, when Hannah becomes an anonymous published author, Stephanie discusses the book with Bambi and describes the book's madam as a "pantomime
villain", without realising she is unwittingly describing herself. However, Stephanie's knowledge of Hannah being the author is left rather ambiguously, as in the next episode she confronts Hannah about her book, dubbing it "cheap" without any hints received from Bambi that Hannah is the author. Therefore, Stephanie could merely have been discussing the book to study Bambi's reaction, as Stephanie would be aware that Bambi has been informed of Hannah's authorship. During a conversation with Belle about the possibility of love and continuing prostitution, she reveals that she was once involved with a woman, who ended up taking advantage of her.
Belle: "Do you think it could ever work? Seeing someone and doing this job?"
Stephanie: "No. I thought it could once. Then she ran off with all my money. And my car."
Belle: (Realizing lesbian reference)"Oh! Right."
Stephanie: "Money's the only thing worth having, Belle."
Despite being rich, and controlling a lucrative business, which involves her taking 40% of the profits made by each call girl, Stephanie occasionally may still work as a sex worker
; after Hannah and Stephanie, coincidentally meet, whilst Stephanie is chained to a wall at a fetish
party Stephanie reveals that she is there on both business and pleasure. Lizzie Smith of the Daily Mail
described the scene involving Stephanie at the fetish party as "raunchy", saying "Lunghi
has performed the role [of Stephanie] since 2007, but these scenes are the raciest yet - and pretty brave too." In Series 4, Stephanie is imprisoned after being stopped by the police, who discover various fake passport
s, thousands of pounds in cash (and a sex toy
) in the boot of her car. Her surname is finally revealed in the finale, when her name is announced in the courtroom where she is being tried. She subsequently is found innocent.
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
series Secret Diary of a Call Girl
Secret Diary of a Call Girl
Secret Diary of a Call Girl is a British television drama broadcast on ITV2 from 2007-2011 based on the blog and books by the pseudonymous "Belle de Jour," starring Billie Piper as Belle, a high-class London call girl. The series was written by Lucy Prebble, who is also known as the author of The...
. She is portrayed by the actress Cherie Lunghi
Cherie Lunghi
Cherie M. Lunghi is an English film, television and theatre actress. She is probably best known for her role as Guinevere in the 1981 film Excalibur, as football manageress Gabriella Benson in the 1990s television series The Manageress and for starring in a series of adverts for Kenco coffee. She...
.
Character history
Stephanie is BelleHannah Baxter
Hannah Baxter is the lead semi-fictional character and protagonist of the British ITV2 television series Secret Diary of a Call Girl. Hannah secretly has a double life as a high-class call girl as her alter ego Belle, for which she acknowledges and comments directly to the audience, throughout each...
's madam
Madam
Madam, or madame, is a polite title used for women which, in English, is the equivalent of Mrs. or Ms., and is often found abbreviated as "ma'am", and less frequently as "ma'm". It is derived from the French madame, which means "my lady", the feminine form of lord; the plural of ma dame in this...
; she herself was once a call girl. Rich and glamorous, with a cutting sense of humour, and cynical attitude, she reluctantly looks out for the girls that belong to her agency. "Do you know what love is Belle? A marketing ploy, remember that".
Stephanie is portrayed as an independent woman with eyes only for money. She never reveals anything remotely personal to the call girls, however, it is assumed that she is not married, due to her various cynical remarks, such as "you do this job long enough – you want to kick the shit out of a man". She is intensely private to the extent that she insinuates that Stephanie is not her real name; however in Series 4, with the arrival of her daughter Poppy, who calls her Stephanie, it can be assumed that Stephanie is in fact her real name.
Stephanie is Hannah's agent throughout Series 1 until Hannah leaves to become a courtesan, and then an independent escort; as a result their relationship sours and becomes increasingly bitter, however Stephanie occasionally gives Hannah jobs during Series 2. During Series 3, when Hannah becomes an anonymous published author, Stephanie discusses the book with Bambi and describes the book's madam as a "pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
villain", without realising she is unwittingly describing herself. However, Stephanie's knowledge of Hannah being the author is left rather ambiguously, as in the next episode she confronts Hannah about her book, dubbing it "cheap" without any hints received from Bambi that Hannah is the author. Therefore, Stephanie could merely have been discussing the book to study Bambi's reaction, as Stephanie would be aware that Bambi has been informed of Hannah's authorship. During a conversation with Belle about the possibility of love and continuing prostitution, she reveals that she was once involved with a woman, who ended up taking advantage of her.
Belle: "Do you think it could ever work? Seeing someone and doing this job?"
Stephanie: "No. I thought it could once. Then she ran off with all my money. And my car."
Belle: (Realizing lesbian reference)"Oh! Right."
Stephanie: "Money's the only thing worth having, Belle."
Despite being rich, and controlling a lucrative business, which involves her taking 40% of the profits made by each call girl, Stephanie occasionally may still work as a sex worker
Sex worker
A sex worker is a person who works in the sex industry. The term is usually used in reference to those in the sex industry that actually provide such sexual services, as opposed to management and staff of such industries...
; after Hannah and Stephanie, coincidentally meet, whilst Stephanie is chained to a wall at a fetish
Sexual fetishism
Sexual fetishism, or erotic fetishism, is the sexual arousal a person receives from a physical object, or from a specific situation. The object or situation of interest is called the fetish, the person a fetishist who has a fetish for that object/situation. Sexual fetishism may be regarded, e.g...
party Stephanie reveals that she is there on both business and pleasure. Lizzie Smith of the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
described the scene involving Stephanie at the fetish party as "raunchy", saying "Lunghi
Cherie Lunghi
Cherie M. Lunghi is an English film, television and theatre actress. She is probably best known for her role as Guinevere in the 1981 film Excalibur, as football manageress Gabriella Benson in the 1990s television series The Manageress and for starring in a series of adverts for Kenco coffee. She...
has performed the role [of Stephanie] since 2007, but these scenes are the raciest yet - and pretty brave too." In Series 4, Stephanie is imprisoned after being stopped by the police, who discover various fake passport
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
s, thousands of pounds in cash (and a sex toy
Sex toy
A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate human sexual pleasure. The most popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals and may be vibrating or non-vibrating...
) in the boot of her car. Her surname is finally revealed in the finale, when her name is announced in the courtroom where she is being tried. She subsequently is found innocent.
Call girls
Stephanie is agent to an array of call girls, only a few of which are seen or mentioned. Below is a list of the various girls managed by Stephanie:- Hannah BaxterHannah BaxterHannah Baxter is the lead semi-fictional character and protagonist of the British ITV2 television series Secret Diary of a Call Girl. Hannah secretly has a double life as a high-class call girl as her alter ego Belle, for which she acknowledges and comments directly to the audience, throughout each...
(under the name Belle; formerly managed) - Bambi
- Rachel
- Yolanda
- Tanya
- Naomi
- Gabriella
- Charlotte
External links
- Secret Diary of a Call Girl at Showtime