TV review … My Granny the Escort

My granny the escort - Beverley, 64

I sat back last night to watch Channel Fours latest dip into the sex trade ‘My Granny the Escort’ with a tad bit of pervy interest. I have no sex hang-ups or problems with prostitution/escorting each to their own in my book, but why watch if you feel uneasy about the subject, you can guarantee the channel received complains.

I know one person lapping it up Iain Duncan Smith, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, who not content with sending the long-term unemployed out to work to earn their benefits, would surely be rubbing his hands having come up with a new idea to reduce the countries pension’s problems. An army of granny hookers taking the strain off the countries pension bill.

It was a full on programme and the old dears were happy to revealing their stories of sex for money, which is completely legal by the way if you work alone. Surprisingly the three mature escorts/older women featured in the programme work with their families’ knowledge with various degrees of support. They all said they were happy in the work and like sex, which is the bog standard reply for most sex workers who choose that line of work. I think I believe them, these three anyway.

Their clients are men of all ages, sometimes as young as 20, but what is the motivation behind some men’s desire to have sex with older women? Although I said earlier, I was ok with prostitution there is a dark side to this trade, which needs to be stamped out namely sex slavery. It has long be known that woman and children have slipped into the UK only to find themselves sold into the sex industry by sex traffickers. The woman in this programme were all independent escorts working for themselves.

My Granny the Escorts is a frank, intimate and revealing portrait of three of woman who choose to sell sex from hotel rooms and their homes – and all completely legally. As well as topping up their pensions, all of these women seem to be enjoying themselves in their chosen and often new profession, but the film also questions how such a lifestyle can co-exist with their family lives and their roles as mothers and grandparents.

It was quite funny that the interviewee had to wait in the kitchen while Beverley, 64, nipped upstairs to have sex with a client to sounds of a squeaky bed. She looked happy in her skin and when asked if her encounter was enjoyable she smiled and said it was ‘nice really’. Beverley charges £50 for half hour and £90 for a full hour for a home calls while ‘out calls’ tend to cost more plus expenses. Her previous life before escorting could be found in a single suitcase and she has little contact with her children.

Sheila Vogel-Coupe, 85, is the grandmother of an X Factor finalist, Katie Waissel. She was outed as a sex worker during the show where upon it became a big news story in the tabloid press. She still has some contact with a few of her family members. Before her recent operation, she was seeing up to 10 men a week in what was described as ‘posh hotels’ location and is eager to get back into action. She charges £250 an hour, £2500 a week at her most active having only entered the business four year ago. She was happy to show the filmmaker a CD of her on the job that one of her clients filmed. Of the three, she was the hardest to watch with her looking so frail every bit the granny you would expect.

Sophie, 57, who had recently moved to an isolated rural community to work full time, wore a mask throughout but I would think there was enough clues for an eagle eyed neighbour to find out her line of work if they didn’t know. When she hit 50 and has she put it, ticked the box on a number of adventures like flying planes and taking up sword fighting the other thing she wanted to tick was sex so she became an escort.Her phone was constantly ring and business with very brisk some much so she has no time to change out of her work clothes.

The saddest sight must have been the clients/punters in the programme both made me feel they could connect with younger woman and they were more or likely have mummy issues.