1 in 10 know skint pal selling sex to pay fees

MORE and more medical students are turning to prostitution to pay their way through university, it was claimed yesterday.
One in ten wannabe doctors has a friend who sells sex to meet rocketing tuition and living costs.

That's up from just four per cent in 2000 and six per cent in 2006.

The Student British Medical Journal fears students may be attracted to a life of vice by Billie Piper's ITV2 hit Secret Diary of a Call Girl in which she "oozes glamour and sophistication" as a high-class hooker.

Youngsters ignore the perils of prostitution as they struggle with debts of £30,000 to £50,000 over a five-year course.

The burden could soar to £70,000 next year as fees increase.

Hundreds of medical students 'use sex to pay bills' following glamorous portrayal of industry in TV show

Hundreds of medical students are turning to prostitution to fund their education after the seedy world’s glamorous portrayal in Secret Diary of a Call Girl, a report reveals.The Billie Piper TV drama in which the dangers are sidelined and she ‘oozes glamour and sophistication’ may have added to the trend, a medical journal claims.

One in ten trainee doctors claims to know someone who is selling their body because of increased living costs and rising tuition fees.

This is two-and-a-half times the number ten years ago, when only 4 per cent were aware of a peer placing themselves in the sex industry.

Jodi Dixon, a final-year medical student at the University of Birmingham, says in an editorial in the Student BMJ that it is no coincidence the boom coincides with soaring tuition fees.

When universities begin charging fees of up to £9,000 a year, the British Medical Association estimates medical students’ debts could increase to almost £70,000.

Miss Dixon, 24, said: ‘With escalating debts, students in the United Kingdom may view prostitution as an easy way to get rich quick.

‘This view could be fuelled by recent coverage of prostitution in the media – for example, the television dramatisation of the popular book Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

‘The show makes prostitution seem alluring.’

A survey published in 2010 found more than a quarter of 315 undergraduates at a London university knew of a student who had worked in the sex industry.

They listed pole or lap dancing as the most popular type of sex work, followed by stripping, but prostitution was the next most common.

About ten percent knew of someone who had worked as a prostitute or escort, and when asked why they thought students undertook sex work, 93 per cent gave the need for money as the main reason for doing so.

A Secret Diary of a Call Girl was based on the real life experiences of its author Brooke Magnanti, now a research scientist.

Medical schools do not believe prostitution among students is widespread.

They have no specific rule on this matter but do suggest medical students act within the General Medical Council’s guidance for medical practice, ‘Duties of a doctor’.

Pregnant celebs show off their bumps

Billie Piper has been keeping out of the spotlight as she enjoys being pregnant with her second baby.

But even celebrities have to run errands sometimes and Billie was recently spotted struggling to work around her growing baby bump whilst shopping.

Billie, 29, who is about 7 months pregnant, is expecting her second son with actor husband Laurence Fox.

New Billie project with Kevin Morosky

Further into the year, actor Billie Piper will be the focus of an exploratory project, documenting her life as she makes the transmission from stage to motherhood; a collaboration with Urban Outfitters to raise money for the Amy Winehouse Foundation is in the offing; plus Kevin will be reunited with clothing label GRIND and founders Youssef and Barney to launch Cafeune, a t-shirt line incorporating a digital platform showcasing ‘a messy beautiful heap of imagery, thoughts and words.’ Kevin has also recently documented Kelly Rowland, shot musicians Ghostpoet and Marques Toliver, as well as acclaimed sculptor Andrew Logan, playwright Polly Sternham, actresses Mischa Barton and Ashley Madekwe, and celebrities like Peaches Geldoff.

“Every picture is a freestyle,” he says. “I shoot on film mostly, so I don’t have the luxury of looking to see if I got the shot or not. It's a one take affair. Photography with feeling – that’s much more inspiring than run-of-the-mill re-touched images.”