A documentary exploring the murky world of sex work has shone a light on the young women raking in thousands sleeping with ‘shrivelled’ old men.
Channel 5’s First Time Call Girl looked at the lives of those who professionally offer the chance for people to share in a more intimate experience, as well as to understand why women from all different walks of life have chosen the career.
Under UK law, selling sex as an independent escort is legal, but escort agencies have to operate within strict guidelines.
Airing tonight, the hour-long film focuses on 22-year-old Alexis’s journey as she – disillusioned by online dating – makes her first foray into the sex industry and explores the reasons behind her choices.
Viewers also meet Kat, 32, who has been in the industry since she was 18 and often entertains multiple customers in one day, and high-end escort Cassandra, who lives in Notting Hill and charges clients £3,000 per day, as well as other women who reveal their varied paths into sex work.
After her first month of escort work, Alexis concluded she was delighted with her new career path and clients made her feel ‘like a new woman’ – but others were more conflicted about their choices…
Alexis, 22, Cardiff
Alexis, who did not give her full name, is one of the young women featured on Channel 5’s First Time Call Girl, which follows her first steps into the world of escorting in Cardiff
Speaking on Channel 5’s First Time Call Girl this week, Alexis, 22, said she was pursuing sex work in a bid to find ‘fun and excitement’ after a spate of bad experiences with men
Alexis told how becoming an £150-an-hour escort has made her feel like a ‘new woman’ after growing disillusioned with online dating.
The 22-year-old entered the murky world of sex work in a bid to find ‘fun and excitement’ after a spate of bad experiences with men, and told the cameras her first experience was not as ‘sleazy’ as she thought it would be – though later producers found her shuddering over an encounter with a ‘shrivelled’ older man.
She signed up to Cardiff’s largest escort agency – the name of which was not given – where she offered a 66 per cent cut of her hourly fee.
Alexis’s agency manager, Laurence, insists he is selling nothing more than ‘time and companionship’ – and anything that takes place during a booking is ‘mutually consenting’ between the woman and the client.
During their first meeting, he told Alexis: ‘You’ve got quite a unique look, we’ll present you as an ebony princess.’
Alexis takes part in a raunchy photo shoot to promote her services online. Cameras followed the 22-year-old during her first few weeks as a sex worker for Channel 5’s First Time Call Girl
Laurence advised the newbie to ensure her clients hands over cash at beginning of a ‘meeting’ and to wear ‘expensive and classy’ clothing.
Alexis – whose family and friends had no idea about her new career path – was quickly inundated with offers from clients and described her apprehension during a fraught taxi ride to her first booking.
‘I don’t really know what I’m getting myself into,’ she admitted. ‘I’m just nervous that it’s not going to be what I expected it to be.’
But after the hour was up, she was full of praise for her ‘really nice’ client – while conceding that he was ‘quite chubby’ and not her usual type.
Alexis speaks to fellow escort, Penny*, about their foray into sex work during Channel 5’s First Time Call Girl, which airs on Tuesday night. She was to ensure her clients hands over cash at beginning of a ‘meeting’ and to wear ‘expensive and classy’ clothing
‘It’s not as cheap or sleazy as I thought it would be given that he’s quite a bit older than me,’ she mused. ‘I felt like I was on an expensive date. I felt like I was his wife almost.’
Reflecting on the ‘awkward’ encounter later on, she said: ‘As soon as I gave him the money, he started taking off his shoes and put his socks on the radiator… he took off his jacket and was unbuckling his belt.
‘The things he was saying in my ear, it just felt good.’ Alexis concluded that for an hour’s company, it was ‘easy work’.
But when she caught up with producers a few weeks later, she was reeling from a rendez-vous with a ‘shrivelled and old’ 72-year-old.
Kat, 32, from Manchester
Cameras on Channel 5’s First Time Call Girl also followed Kat, from Manchester (pictured), who had been involved in sex work since the age of 18 and wanted to try something different
Mancunian sex worker Kat, who did not reveal her full name, gets ready before a client arrives on Channel 5’s First Time Call Girl. She will often entertain multiple customers in one day, raking in thousands of pounds a week
Call girl Kat, from Manchester (pictured clad in lingerie in her flat) said she got into sex work after being bullied at home because it made her feel ‘special’ on Channel 5’s First Time Call Girl
Cameras also followed 32-year-old Kat, from Manchester, who had been working as an escort since she was 18 and admitted sex work made her feel ‘special’ after being bullied at school.
She told how her clients – many of whom were married – enjoy the ‘girlfriend experience’ which involves kissing and cuddling, and sometimes no sex.
Charging £120 an hour, and entertaining around five clients a week, she also revealed that some men enjoy experimenting with phallic sex toys.
Kat took her first job as a teenager and has been working in the industry for more than 10 years.
Now she worries that if she changed careers, employers could easily look up her escort work by Googling her name.
Cassandra, from London
Cassandra, from Russia (pictured in her London home on Channel 5’s First Time Call Girl) got into sex work after her long-term boyfriend was killed when she was 19, and she struggled to recover from the heartache
Russian call girl Cassandra goes for a manicure in Notting Hill. She raked in £6,000 over the course of two days and was able to enjoy a shopping trip while her client was busy at work, as revealed on Channel 5’s First Time Call Girl
Producers spoke to Cassandra, a Russian call girl who charges £3,000 per day (or £500 an hour) and enjoys shopping sprees in Notting Hill while her wealthy clients are at work.
She specialises in fantasy and role play, and says most of her clients are wealthy older men.
Cassandra became emotional as she explained how she got into sex work after her boyfriend died when she was 19, leaving her penniless.
‘I thought maybe, if I won’t be able to love one person like this anymore then perhaps I can give everything I have to many people,’ she said tearfully, in broken English.
Like Kat, the majority of her customers are married men but Cassandra insisted she is ‘saving’ marriages because she is simply providing a service and does not get ’emotionally involved’.
First Time Call Girl airs Tuesday night on Channel 5, 10pm
The OTHER call girls who opened up on the sex industry for Channel 5
Channel 5 cameras also spoke to Penny, who works at the same agency as Alexis. She says she has been offered up to £1,000 by clients to have unprotected sex, but refused. She was speaking in new film First Time Call Girl, airing on Tuesday
Sex worker Hannah the ‘seductress’, from Plymouth, revealed she has been forced to screen all potential clients after her ordeal with a paranoid schizophrenic who has tried to rob escorts by making threats against their family and using pseudonyms to conceal his identity, she told producers on First Time Call Girl
Single mum Jasmine (pictured) has only been ‘escorting’ for two months and already has a full-time job, but she’s already enjoying the financial boost, she told Channel 5’s First Time Call Girl, which airs tonight