Actress Billy Piper, who played the role of Belle de Jour in “Secret Diary Of A Call Girl.”

The mystery woman behind the television show “Secret Diary of a Call Girl” has come forward to reveal her identity: her name is Brooke Magnanti and she is a 34-year-old cancer and developmental neurotoxicologist at the University of Bristol in England. That’s quite the resume. Magnanti says she began working as a high class call girl to pay the bills while she was working on her PhD and living in London in 2003. She also blogged about her experiences as “Belle de Jour,” and earned such a huge following that it led to a book deal and the primetime UK show. Her story is fascinating, and she says she chose her line of work after realizing that she had no qualms about being paid for sex. Magnanti also says she enjoyed working as a prostitute more than working as a computer programmer.

An erotic blogger whose double life as a prostitute became a hit TV series has ended years of fevered speculation by revealing her most intimate secret — her true identity. Brooke Magnanti, a cancer specialist at a university in western England, unmasked herself in a British newspaper as the woman behind “Belle de Jour,” the salacious online diary of a high class call girl.

“It feels so much better on this side. Not to have to tell lies, hide things from the people I care about,” the 34-year-old wrote on her blog after the Sunday Times published its interview with her. Magnanti’s frank and sometimes funny accounts of working as a call girl earned her a huge following, a lucrative book deal and legions of critics who variously accused her of glamorizing the sex industry, making it up — and of being a man.

The 34-year-old said she became a call girl in 2003 to support herself in London while completing her doctoral thesis after realizing she had no qualms about being paid for sex. She contacted an agency, working as a prostitute until late 2004, describing it as “so much more enjoyable” than an earlier job as a computer programmer.

Her online chronicle of her experiences attracted a huge following, prompting the publication of a bestselling book which was serialized on UK prime time television in 2007’s “Secret Diary of a Call Girl,” starring actress of Billie Piper. The success led to wild speculation among Britain’s literary community over her true identity — with several well-known authors wrongly accused. Meanwhile Magnanti had put her call girl career behind her and was quietly working as a cancer and developmental neurotoxicologist at the University of Bristol.

She said she finally broke her silence to answer her critics, including senior Church of England clergy, and because she feared an ex-boyfriend was poised to go public. “I don’t want this massive secret over me any more,” she told the Sunday Times.

Magnanti said she was most upset by the accusation she wrote fiction. “You can’t say I’m not real, and that my experience isn’t real, because here I am,” she said, adding that while some sex workers have “terrible experiences” she was “unbelievably fortunate.” Magnanti, who has declined to give further interviews, also told the Sunday Times that her colleagues, all female, had been “amazingly kind and supportive” when she revealed her past.

[From CNN]

The director of communication and marketing at the University of Bristol said that Dr. Magnanti’s job is not in jeopardy and her “past is not relevant to her current role at the university.” While she obviously feels like a weight has been lifted, it’s got to be strange walking around now, knowing everyone knows her secret.

The Guardian has a good article pointing out that while Brooke Magnanti glamorized prostitution, she was one of the very, very lucky few women who come out of the business unscathed. And she really did – think about it, not only did she come out okay, but she has a famous blog, a book, and a television show based on her experiences. And there’s no indication she has any regrets. It’s hard not to be fascinated by her story – it’s so unusual and intriguing. She really is fortunate to have gotten out alright. It makes for good entertainment, but most are not so lucky.