Personal Services Personal Services Personal Services is a 1987 British comedy film directed by Terry Jones and written by David Leland. It is the story of the rise of a madam of a suburban brothel which caters to older men. The story is inspired by the real experiences of Cynthia Payne, the legendary "House of Cyn" madam. Christine Painter (Julie Walters) is a sexually naive waitress and single-mother who pays for her teenage son's tuition by renting flats to local call girls. She later becomes a call girl herself – joining her friend Shirley (Shirley Stelfox) and their "maid" Dolly (Danny Schiller)
Ronald Payne Ronald Payne Ronald Payne, a.k.a. Ronnie Payne, (1926-2013) was a British journalist and espionage author. Ronald Payne was born on 6 February 1926 in Ripon, Yorkshire, England. His father was a Primitive Methodist minister. Payne was educated at the Bedford School. During World War II, he served in the Royal Marines. He subsequently attended Jesus College, Oxford. Payne began his career as a journalist at the "Reading Mercury". He subsequently wrote for the "London Evening Standard". In 1953, he joined the "Daily Telegraph", first as a reporter and later as a foreign correspondent in Paris. He wrote about French Algeria