Whether she’s racing through time and space in a little blue box or arranging a bombshell interview with Prince Andrew, I have always made a point of worshipping at the altar of any character that Billie Piper plays.

Yet, somehow, I missed one of her most iconic performances the first time around. So, when I saw that Secret Diary Of A Call Girl (some 17 years after its debut) had made Netflix’s top 10 list, I decided it was finally time to give it a whirl.

Instantly, I found myself transported back to an era of circle belts, slouchy boots, mini kilts, cigarettes in public places and iPod Shuffles. And Piper’s Hannah Baxter – a high-class sex worker who frequently breaks the fourth wall to explain, ever so frankly, why she loves her job – feels every bit as familiar, too, despite the fact I’ve never met her on screen before. Oozing charisma in spite of her resounding hot mess status, she is very much an early blueprint for Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag.

Now, there’s no denying that this is something of an alchemical concoction. We have nostalgia, for starters, and a healthy dollop of London at its finest: all expensive restaurants and hotels, with sweeping shots of the Thames and red buses pootling their way along it. On top of that, we have a woman boldly taking ownership of her innermost thoughts and feelings, and her narrative (almost a confessional) makes for compelling viewing. Right from the very first episode, she talks straight into the camera and lets me know, in no uncertain terms, that she’s a woman who loves the work she does. With lines like “I’m very high-class” and “I charge by the hour, and I charge a lot”, Hannah is a fully realised character taking charge of the work she does; she’s not a flat object of desire.

“An early blueprint for Fleabag”: how does Billie Piper’s Secret Diary Of A Call Girl stand up in 2024?