Billie Piper's high-end escort drama steams into Netflix Top 10

Billie Piper's high-end escort drama, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, has steamed into the Netflix Top 10 TV list.

The four-part drama originally aired on ITV over a decade ago, but has been added onto Netflix this week and has immediately won a big audience, currently sitting in the fourth spot. Back when it was originally shown it caused a huge fuss especially as Billie had become very popular for her role as Doctor Who’s Rose Tyler, with the show hitting the headlines because of its racy content.

Running from 2007 to 2011, the series dramatized the Belle de Jour blog and books about the exploits of a prostitute. The character's real name in the show is Hannah Baxter and she's seen trying to make sure that her work life and private life don’t collide. The opening scene sees Hannah/Belle walking across a bridge on The Thames, saying: "I love London. I love its rudeness, its lack of community, its impatience. I even love its weather. But most of all, I love the anonymity. The first thing you should know about me is that I'm a whore."

Talking about whether she was worried about taking the role, Billie told her official website: "I wasn't worried about taking on the role of Belle de Jour. I'm glad I wasn’t actually because if I'd have thought about it too much then I probably wouldn't have touched it because it's marmite for people. People either love it and really enjoy it for what it is, which is fun, naughty, suggestive and heightened. And then other people just downright hate and just think it’s the worst thing to ever grace on our screens."

The cast also included Iddo Goldberg, Lily James, James D'Arcy, Joanna Bobin and Cherie Lunghi.

Having met on Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Billie became friends with the show’s writer, Lucy Prebble and the pair many years later worked together again on Sky’s I Hate Suzie. Billie Piper of course continues to be a huge star, recently being seen in the Prince Andrew drama Scoop on Netflix (see our best shows on Netflix guide for more series to enjoy). Her other credits include Penny Dreadful, Collateral and Mansfield Park.