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PROSTITUTES were paid to help on this new BBC thriller.
The drama is set in Australia and focuses on the murder of a sex worker whose body is found in a suitcase washed up on Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
Before filming took place, crews carried out research inside brothels. And hookers were paid – just like they would be by clients – to give a behind-the-scenes insight into the dangers and horrors of sex trafficking.
The drama’s director Jane Campion said: “We had to pay the girls. We had to pay them for their time.” Some of the stars from the show – whose stellar cast includes Hollywood actress Nicole Kidman, Mad Men actress Elisabeth Moss and Game Of Thrones’ Gwendoline Christie – even visited a brothel in Sydney and spoke to staff.
And a few even helped out on the reception desk and dealt with calls from punters wanting to meet “ladyboys”.
Jane added: “We got to know the girls. They shared stories with us.
“We loved them. But I feel for those women and the way they are exploited to use their bodies to make money.”
Last night a spokeswoman for the show stressed that it was the production firm and not the BBC that paid the prostitutes.
She said: “For research purposes, the production company paid some contributors small fees to recompense them for their time.” Revolution, Armageddon,
¬ÊTop Of The Lake launches on Thursday, July 27 on BBC Two.