Belle de Jour revealed

Belle de Jour is the pen name of the blogger who wrote Diary of a London Call Girl. A TV series, based on her diaries, starred Billie Piper.

Bele has outed herself to The Times. Her real name is Brooke Magnanti, and her background is not what most would expect for a hooker – even a high class one.

Brooke, or Dr Magnanti, specialises in developmental neurotoxicology and cancer epidemiology. She has a PhD in informatics, epidemiology and forensic science and is part of a team researching the effects of exposure to the pesticide chlorpyrifos on foetuses and infants.

She took up prostitution, charging 300 pounds an hour, to help keep her out of debt, when she was studying for her PhD.