Peep Show [Paperback]

'Anyone who's a Big Brother fan should enjoy this funny and observant novel' (Hello 20011101)

'Sparks fly . . . This is a juicy reality TV read' (Heat 20011101)

'If you're missing BB, this is the perfect tonic . . . Hilarious' (OK! )

'Riotously funny' (Company, on RUBBER GLOVES OF JIMMY CHOOS? )

'Girl power which will make you giggle. A lot' (Company, on PINSTRIPES )

'A steamy rampage through London . . . No bed is left unturned in this brilliant comedy' (Daily Mirror, on RUBBER GLOVES OF JIMMY CHOOS? )

'Faith Bleasdale's vengeful tale of sacked 'secs' in the City is the best investment you'll make this year' (Chris Manby, on PINSTRIPES )

'A steamy rampage through London . . . No bed is left unturned in this brilliant comedy'

'If you're missing BB, this is the perfect tonic . . . Hilarious'

'Sparks fly . . . This is a juicy reality TV read'

'Riotously funny'

'Anyone who's a Big Brother fan should enjoy this funny and observant novel'

'Girl power which will make you giggle. A lot'

Tanya, a wannabe producer with big dreams; Harvey, an LA film guru with a big idea; four slightly odd flatmates in a big house; and the little secret that's about to turn all their lives upside down . . .

Harvey arrives in London and meets Tanya, who is desperately searching for her first big thing. Ambition meets avarice and somehow a film is born, starring Tanya and her unsuspecting housemates. Three boys and two girls are thrown together with their many, various hang-ups still fully intact, as the ultimate peep show begins.

But action is slow and Tanya is desperate . . . so she decides to turn their lives into one hell of a performance. And you just can't help but watch.

Faith Bleasdale's third novel is a sharp, clever, often hilarious look at society's current obsession with watching other people's lives in the name of entertainment. (20020817)

Faith Bleasdale grew up in Devon, did History at Bristol University and then moved to London. After sampling a huge variety of rubbish jobs, she decided that she would put her passion for writing to good use. She lives in South London with her tropical fish and writes full time. (20010801)

He had been doing this `job' for five years. He was something of a star, a person everyone wanted to know. He had an office, two assistants (who didn't have enough work to do), a nice house, a fast car and a number of adoring women.

He didn't have to work hard. Ideas were ideas and Harvey seemed to have enough of them to keep him in the lifestyle he had grown to love. He sat in his office (which was more for show than necessity) playing video games, watching films and talking to Cherry. Anna, his second assistant, answered calls, opened mail and did anything that needed doing. Cherry was more a companion, someone to lunch with, to talk to and to play computer games with. He also used her as a sounding-board for his ideas.

Harvey had obtained this role by mistake. It was a mistake job gained mainly because he was an excellent networker. He had lived all his life in New York, but by the age of twenty-eight he was in a rut. He worked for a television network selling advertising and had outgrown the challenge it presented. He took the drastic step of leaving everything and moving to Hollywood for no good reason apart from instinct telling him to.

Using all his skills, he managed to meet a number of movie people, charmed them and secured their interest. Knowing nothing about films, he suggested an idea to a director who accepted him as an expert. As he wasn't a scriptwriter, a producer or any of the other traditional film roles, he was hired as a consultant to the director. When he saw his first concept on the big screen he knew he'd found his niche. In Hollywood his first idea was a huge box office success, which made him hot property within the industry. He started to learn and always sold his services in a way that seemed to give him very little work and increasingly big rewards. The challenge that his job provided kept him running on adrenaline. However, now, years later, he was bored again. Bored and rich.

When the bosses of Poplar Films had approached him the previous month with a desperate need for the `next big thing', Harvey decided he could take this challenge and do something different. Poplar Films were on their knees and Steve Delaney, the studio head, needed to save his bacon. They had suffered from a number of big-budget flops and were fast running out of time in highly competitive Hollywood. They had exhausted every other possibility. Harvey was their only hope. They asked him for a concept, just one. One which would turn their fortunes around. Harvey said he'd think about it.

During this thinking period, Harvey decided that he would move on to a new phase in his life. He offered them a proposal. He would not just give them a concept but he would deliver a finished movie to them within a year. He said he would come up with the idea, find people to work with and direct the film himself. All he needed was their money and their confidence. He told them that he wouldn't discuss the idea with them until the film was finished.

This suggestion was ridiculous even for Harvey. The idea of throwing money at a film that they would know nothing about was totally unacceptable. He was pushing boundaries further than he'd ever pushed them before.

Steve reacted as expected. He said it was a preposterous request. He tried to argue with Harvey, who remained unmoved. Harvey patiently explained that they needed him, whereas he didn't need them. He held firm and watched Steve beg for mercy. They reached stalemate. Then, as was Harvey's style, he offered them a final concession: if the movie didn't produce the results he promised, he would give back all the money they had invested. A sign of his commitment. He didn't have a clue as to what he was going to do, but he knew that he would have fun doing it. He needed some fun.

After more negotiations, arguments and pleading, they agreed his terms. People trusted Harvey and more importantly they trusted his record of accomplishment. Luckily for Harvey, Poplar Films had very little choice. They had run out of options. It was a last attempt to save themselves and Harvey took full advantage of that fact.

For the first time in his life, Harvey had work to do. He had a film to make and yet he'd never actually made one before. Sure, he had been involved in plenty, he had watched people make films, but he had never done it himself. There is a fine line between belief in oneself and arrogance. Harvey appreciated this. He knew he was arrogant. As Harvey felt the surge of excitement rippling through his body, he knew he had made the right decision.