It was around 2003 or thereabouts when I took my first nervous stiletto-heeled steps into the world of Pro-Domming. At that time, I used to read a new blog by an anonymous London call girl called Belle de Jour.  Having learned that she had first started out as a Domme, I sent her an email asking for advice. She sent me back pages and pages of useful tips and we ended up writing to each other for quite a while about all sorts of things – but mostly about men, women, and horoscopes (I was going through a phase of avid skywatching after reading How To Spot A Bastard By His Star Sign). I used to talk to her about a woman I’d met (a Leo) who I’d fallen in love with, who I subsequently ended up going out with for a number of years, and for whom I abandoned by brief career in Pro-Domming within months of its genesis. Eventually, I lost touch with Belle. Her book followed, as did the Billie Piper television series, and a long time later, after my relationship with the Leo ended, I returned to Pro-Domming under the name I now use.

This weekend, Belle revealed her true identity as that of Dr Brooke Magnanti, a cancer specialist based in Bristol. The Daily Mail were about to run a story “outing” her after a tip-off from a vindictive ex-boyfriend, so Dr Magnanti beat them to it by approaching the Sunday Times herself. I never knew Belle’s true identity – I never saw any reason to ask. Yet I’m proud of her for coming forward as an intelligent, successful woman, and demonstrating that people who work in the sex industry don’t fit the stereotype that we are often hampered with in the media… I’m also very glad that she was able to get one over on the bastards at the Mail who lost out on their “exclusive” when one of their journalists was escorted off Dr Magnanti’s work premises by police… Most of all though, I’m grateful for the help she gave me in 2003 when I was starting out as a Pro-Domme. I’m not sure that I ever really thanked her properly, but I hope she knows how much I appreciate the invaluable contribution she made to the career I have now. Thanks, Dr Belle. Click here for the Guardian article.