Netflix’s latest raunchy romp depicts the invention of the Netherlands first ever erotic phone line

Dirty Lines is based on a book written by Fred Saueressig, who spent time working as a marketing director for Teleholding. 

At the time founders George Skene was unemployed, while his brother Harold was selling lamps. 

After George came up with the idea in the 1980s, the line became an immediate success.

According to Quote.net, who profiled the brothers upon Harold’s death in 2020, they recorded a million attempts a day to call the phone line in its early days. 

Co-founder Henk Philipsen, who gave the brother an investment to start the line, recalled ‘in 1988 we had a turnover of two and a half million guilders per month.’ 

At the height of the business, about 90 per cent of phone line holders were female students. 

For the kinkier subject matters, Harald and George sometimes employed prostitutes. 

As the company grew, it soon received  150,000 calls a day on average. 

However it was a work-hard and play-hard atmosphere in the business.  

Marketing director Fred recalled: ‘We worked hard, drank a lot, and laughed even more. There was always something crazy.’ 

The brothers were so rich, that Harold had used to a Porsche 928 S on the even days of the month, and on the odd days a Ferrari 328 GTS.

At the height of their wealth, they would kill time with remote control boat races where they would try to sink each other as fast as possible, sometimes using air rifles.    

The success of the business led to rivalries within the original team behind the line due to the huge amount of money at stakes. 

Henk’s shares were bought from him in 1992 as the Skene’s brothers took on new advisers. 

One of the financial advisers from the early days recalled: ‘With money you can buy everything, but you get the wrong people and for nothing.

‘Every time George started a new project, I thought, there you go again. 

‘We had just concluded a million-dollar deal in Germany, such as one that will last for three generations, suddenly there had to be a distribution of leather products all over Europe. 

‘Friends were also involved who made a lot of money from it. That went bankrupt. No, it was not an uplifting circuit of people and activities.’ 

The company took up business in Switzerland, but eventually, a Swiss court found that the lines were against human morals, and froze the Teleholding assets. 

The company had to plea guilty in order to to regain half of their asset in a deal with the Swiss prosecution, but only £423,000 is returned. 

Eventually, George and Harald had to sell their shares of Teleholding, and only remained on board as commissioners for the company. 

Sex/Life

WHAT THE SHOW IS ABOUT: Netflix’s saucy series Sex/Life is based around suburban mother-of-two Billie (Sarah Shahi) who is involved in a love triangle with her husband Cooper (Mike Vogel) and old flame from her past, Brad Simon (Adam Demos).

The show, which sees Billie fantasise about her former partner before leading to some very wild sex scenes, is based on BB Easton’s novel, 44 Chapters About 4 Men, and was filmed in Canada.

A blurb for the book reads: ‘No one and nothing is off limits as BB revisits the ex-boyfriends – a sadistic tattoo artist, a punk rock parolee, and a heavy metal bass player – that led her to finally find true love with a straight-laced, drop-dead-gorgeous… accountant.’ 

THE RACY SCENES: Fittingly for a show with this title, the opening minutes see a flashback of Billie and Brad having sex in a nightclub. Billie leads Brad off the dance floor and into a private room where they get intimate – knowing there is a roomful of clubbers just a few feet away. 

Also in the first episode, Billie has a flashback to when she worked through the Kama Sutra with Brad. The show does not shy away from giving viewers a glimpse of some of the sexual positions involved, and also shows Brad performing oral sex.  

The sex-filled first hour continues with another character, Sasha, performing oral sex on a musician in a grungy nightclub moments after meeting. 

Later Billie flashes back to her first night with Brad, which saw them having sex in his penthouse pool. The couple also have sex in a car. 

A pool also appears when Billie and her husband Cooper have sex in a stranger’s house in the middle of the night.  

In another raunchy moment, Cooper follows his wife’s lover to the gym and spies on him as he goes into the shower.

But fans were left completely gobsmacked after gorgeous Brad turns towards the camera completely nude.

Elsewhere, there are saucy flashbacks to Billie’s wild party days, where snogging and rampant romps were plentiful.

She’s seen engaging in neon-lit sex in pools with her former lover, and being pushing up against corridors in racy trysts – all in just eight episodes. 

After no doubt catching the eye of all Sex/Life viewers, Adam spoke to Entertainment Weekly about his full-frontal scene.

‘I was okay with it because you read the script and know what you’re getting yourself into from the start, so I don’t think you would sign on to a show after reading the scripts and then say no last minute,’ he said.

Some on Twitter joked the new show makes Netflix’s steamy period romance series Bridgerton seem almost prudish by comparison.

However, one reviewer, via The Guardian commented: ‘Eight episodes of shagging strung together with the occasional splash of melodrama.’

Too Hot To Handle

WHAT THE SHOW IS ABOUT: The Netflix dating show, which is currently in its third series, promises a string of attractive contestants $100,000 – but only if they have no sexual contact with each other for four weeks.  

Unlike it’s ITV2 counterpart Love Island, the show only rewards contestants if they are able to resist any form of physical contact, including kissing and caressing. 

If the singletons fail to follow the strict no-petting rule the total of their prize fund will drop and the rule break will be announced to the group. 

But – as the voiceover constantly reminds viewers – these are a group of ‘horny’ singletons who just can’t keep their hands off each other… so there are plenty of steamy moments in the bathroom, on the beach and in the Big Brother-style communal bedroom. 

THE RACY SCENES: The second series of the show was particularly steamy. Within hours of arriving at the sun-soaked paradise villa, the newly introduced singletons were busy commenting on each other’s assets, deciding who they would like to pair up with and even grabbing a cheeky kiss here and there. 

They broke the rules within minutes with couple’s sneaking off to share passionate kisses in their swimwear. The rule-breaking cost the group $21,000 of their prize fund. 

First to break the rules was Cam, from Wales, and London stunner Emily, who sneaked a kiss on the beach after their sexual tension got too much for them.

But once the rest of the group discovered their antics, it opened the floodgates for everyone – and soon the other contestants were locking lips too.

The previous series of the Netflix show saw the singletons perform raunchy dances for each other and even led to one couple having sex on screen.  

The competitors from across the globe entered a luxury villa in Mexico and 10 stars of the show managed to make it to the final and split the $75,000 prize.

While the total dwindled thanks to a number of rule breaks from randy contestants, the singletons were later given the chance to win back the money. 

Bridgerton

WHAT THE SHOW IS ABOUT: Netflix’s Regency-era romp Bridgerton has become a hit with viewers, at least partly for its raunchy sex scenes.

The first series follows Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) and the Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page) as they enter a complicated relationship with plenty of twists – and sexual tension. 

Alongside that there are the love stories of other couples, including Daphne’s brother Anthony Bridgerton, who is in love with a courtesan opera singer.  

THE RACY SCENES: The series was praised for a larger number of its sex scenes focusing on female pleasure, while critics suggested their were too many steamy moments for a period drama.

Within the first twenty minutes of the eight hour long series, Anthony Bridgerton – brother of protagonist Daphne – romps with a beautiful opera singer Siena against a tree. 

There are at least 12 different sexual acts across eight episodes – from innocent snogging to daring oral sex, with one fan-favourite moment being between Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) and the Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page) on the stairs.

The Duke of Hastings also performs oral sex on Daphne in the library of a country home during a sex-filled montage in episode six.

The couple also had sex in the garden, in an inn while travelling and had steamy sex in the Duke’s master bedroom.

There was also a controversial scene where Daphne refused to let the Duke pull out before climaxing, so that she could fall pregnant with his child.  

So raunchy were some moments that Netflix reportedly had to fight to keep the sex scenes off porn websites, after the news distressed castmembers.

The streaming giant had thought to have been ‘working tirelessly to hunt down pirates’ who uploaded the more intimate moments from the show, reports The Sun.

At the time, it was understood that many of the scenes had already been taken down from X-rated platforms after the cast were left feeling ‘horror and anger’ at seeing them online.

365 DNI

WHAT THE SHOW IS ABOUT: Polish film 365 DNI, also known as 365 days, tells the story of ‘fiery executive’ Laura Biel (Anna-Maria Sieklucka) who is kidnapped and imprisoned on a holiday to Sicily by mafia boss Massimo Torricelli (Michele Morrone).

The film, which arrived on the streaming service in the both the UK and the US in July 2020, features scenes of BDSM, voyeurism and multiple kinky sex scenes – and it has sparked furious controversy on both sides of the Atlantic. 

THE RACY SCENES:  In once scene, Laura is forced to watch mafia boss Massimo be pleasured by another woman while she remains chained to a wall, wearing nothing but a dressing gown.

Another scene sees the couple engage in some very steamy intercourse on the mafia boss’ yacht after Massimo saves Laura’s life.

Shocked viewers also watch Laura being tied to a chair on a private jet while Massimo teases her genitals. 

Laura also teases Massimo by sexually arousing herself in the glass-pannelled shower while he lies in the nearby bed.   

At another point the couple have sex against the window with the backdrop of Warsaw behind them.  

Despite the criticism, the film had plenty of viewers feeling hot under the collar and it has been widely compared to E.L. James’s Fifty Shades franchise. 

One viewer tweeted: ‘Fifty Shades can’t beat this movie at all. Massimo was a beast.’

Another fan then wrote: ‘If anyone is a Fifty Shades fan they NEED to watch 365 DNI… I’m sweating.’

A third added: ‘Honestly how Netflix approved that pornographic film called 365 DNI is beyond me. Ten minutes and my eyes.’

Ginny and Georgia

WHAT THE SHOW IS ABOUT: Released last year, Ginny & Georgia follows 15-year-old Ginny and her 30-year-old mother Georgia as the latter tries to give her children – which also includes son Austin – a better life.

However, Ginny feels like she’s more mature than her mother as the two explore different relationships in the comedy drama.

THE RACY SCENES: While the series didn’t match the level of sexy scenes in Bridgerton or Sex/Life, it did offer some scandalous moments for a show centered around a mother and her teenager.

Viewers were left gobsmacked after Ginny went from ‘never having kissed a guy’ to suddenly losing her virginity in the very first episode. 

Another shocking scene saw Ginny masturbate with a toothbrush as she began to discover her sexuality.

In episode four, she sends her boyfriend, Hunter, a photograph in her lingerie.

But after he doesn’t respond, she instead sends it to her secret lover and neighbour Marcus, who she lost her virginity to.

The two of them begin to exchange flirty messages, and start to both masturbate – but to the shock of fans, Ginny uses an electric toothbrush, with the bristles up.  

Bonding

WHAT THE SHOW IS ABOUT: Bonding is a Netflix original series about a woman (Tiff played by Zoe Levin) who moonlights as a dominatrix to pay her way through graduate school.

She is joined by her best friend Pete (Brendan Scannell), an aspiring comedian who falls into becoming her bodyguard and assistant.

THE RACY SCENES: The second series of Bonding began in early 2021, and saw Tiff being trained in BDSM and role-playing. 

One of the first scenes is of a man suspended facedown from the ceiling in full-body leather.

Dominatrix Mistress Mira (Nana Mensah) stands in front of him, harshly reprimanding Tiff and Pete before turning towards the men and asking ‘Are you all right, pet?’

Other astonishing scenes show Mira interacting with a client in a sleep sack while he has an apparatus controlling his oxygen flow.

In the first season, viewers witness Tiff tying up a client and engaging in Flintstones role playing.

Madame Claude 

WHAT THE SHOW IS ABOUT: She was a salacious icon of 20th century Paris – the brothel-keeper to the stars – so it was apt that Netflix’s 20201 film about ‘Madame Claude’ was filled with racy scenes of sex parties, full frontal nudity and bondage.

As the reigning Queen of Sex in the French capital between the 1960s and 1970s, the Madame, real name Fernande Grudet, offered a secret and forbidden sexual world to a famous client list which reportedly included John F. Kennedy, Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Pablo Picasso and Libya’s Colonel Gaddafi.

She dubbed her group of girls her ‘swans’, who boasted beautiful, elegant looks, classy charms and were often from fine French families.

But in the latest telling, the glamour in which her story was often shrouded in is stripped away to show a darker reality – showing unerotic sex used as a weapon to capture secrets from high-profile men.  

THE RACY SCENES:  In just the first ten minutes of the film, viewers witness several racy scenes – including a girl stripping off in front of the Madame during an interview, before she is seen being intimate with a man for a ‘test’.

Elsewhere, the brothel owner (played by French actress Karole Rocher) helps teach a young woman how to properly clean her private parts, while later in the movie, a prostitute is seen being tied up in an act of domination. 

Showing viewers just how ‘down to business’ the French film will get, Madame Claude opens with the brothel owner hosting a raucous party, filled with scantily clad women and professional men dressed in suits.

Within minutes, audiences at home see the coldly efficient businesswoman interview a new recruit, Sidonie (played by Garance Marillier), and telling her to strip. 

Dark Desire 

WHAT THE SHOW IS ABOUT: Mexican drama Dark Desire centres around married Alma, who spends a fateful weekend away from home which ignites a steamy tryst with a 23-year-old named Dario, before tragedy ensues and she’s left questioning the truth about those close to her.

‘What started as a minor adventure becomes an incendiary passion, and then a dangerous obsession, unravelling a chain of secrets of a past that fatally binds them all,’ read the synopsis of the show.

THE RACY SCENES: Fans went wild for the 18-part show, first released in summer 2020 – which features scenes of forbidden love, erotic stimulation and naked murder.

‘I don’t know why I started watching that #DarkDesire in the middle of the night – it’s 365 Days all over again! Some very passionate wrestling in there,’ wrote one.

A second penned: ‘Five minutes in and we have a murder and a cheating husband. This is already fabulous!’

In one scene, Alma arrives home and that night, has a dream whereby her husband Leonardo pulls a gun on her after catching her having a steamy encounter in the pool with a very naked Dario. 

Elsewhere, Leonardo ‘accidentally’ sprays Edith with the shower, making her white outfit see-through – before making love in the shower. 

Thorough the first few episodes, Alma tries to fight her lust for Dario, but is haunted by the steamy memories of their initial meeting. In a particularly erotic scene, Alma daydreams and has flashbacks of her night with Dario while she is in the shower.

Eventually, the pair meet again after Alma finds out about her husband’s affair, and share a passionate romp in Dario’s car repair shop, where the 23-year-old conveniently lives. lma succumbs deeper to her desire as Dario pushes her against a wall before taking her to bed and slowly undressing her.