Character profile - Jan French

Name? Age? Place of birth? Residence? Occupation? Appearance? Dress? Strengths? Weakness? Obsessions? Ambition? Work habits? Hobbies? Illness? Family? Parents? Kids? Siblings? Friends? Pets? Politics? Tics? Diet? Drugs? Favorite kinds of coffee, cigarettes, alcohol? Erotic history? Favorite books, movies, music? Desires? Fears? Most traumatic event? Most wonderful experience? The major struggle, past and present?

Jan French

Aged 47

Born in Fulham, London

Lives in Cheltenham

Photographer - initially portraits, but now boudoir photoshoots

Short - 5'2". Quite chunky - size 16. Short red (naturally brown) hair, cropped, elfin style. Green eyes. Full lips. Very long gracious fingers.

Wears trouser suits for work - brown, blue but never black. Unfussy tops in cream or white. Patent court shoes with a small heel. Leather handbag. Very smart. At home she slobs out in jeans and gypsy tops, trainers or wellies when she walks the dogs.

Very professional at work, very organised. Polite but warm and welcoming. Discreet. Friendly without being overly chatty.

At home she is very much under the thumb of her older and domineering husband. Does as she is told. Occasionally gets slapped when she "misbehaves" - but not enough for her to consider she is being abused. Tries to do everything and ends up screwing up. Needs the order of work to keep her sane.

Very intelligent - won scholarship to private school when she was 10. But very insecure - father died when she was 13 and she went off the rails a bit, before latching onto David (much older than her) as a father figure. Relationship is difficult and abusive though to her it is normal.

Appears to be very happy but inside is slowly dying. Business and extramarital affairs are the only thing keeping her going.

Wants to be known as one of the best celebrity portrait photographers in the world. Sees the boudoir stuff as a means to an end, even though she loves doing it.

Works very hard, spends the last hour of every day cleaning the studio. Doesn't trust anyone to clean it as well as she can.

Very little time for hobbies but she loves reading and plays the occasional game of online bingo in the evening.

Had asthma and excema as a child but it seems to be under control now. Drinks a lot of aloe Vera jelly. Rarely ill but occasionally comes to work with visible bruises or scratches.

Lives with husband David, an accountant, 52 who has a secret gambling problem and a bad temper. Very dominated by him. Been together since they were teenagers - fell pregnant young, pressured to get married and never had the courage to leave - plus she does love him, despite their problems. Three kids - Sam (boy) is 29, married, lives in America and works for a bank. Sarah is 25, stay at home mum with two young children. Sophie is 13 and was a mistake ... Jan was planning to leave when she discovered she was expecting, and felt she had to stay.

Jans father is dead (lung cancer), mother is in a home with Dementia. She visits once a week but he doesn't know who she is. One brother, Benjamin, who lives in Scotland. A small group of friends from school, they meet in London once every few months and talk on the phone. No real friends in Cheltenham, but knows lots of people through business.

Two dogs - cocker spaniels.

Conservative but doesn't bother voting any more.

Has a habit of pushing her glasses up her nose - even though she wears lenses most of the time.

Battled with her weight all her life but now eats what she wants, and doesn't worry about it any more.

Doesn't do drugs, very anti drugs.

Drinks gallons of Douwe Egberts coffee. Secret smoker - menthol fags. Hides them at work and covers up the smell with perfume. Drinks white wine and Pimms.

Has been with David since she was 15 and he is the only man she's ever slept with - as far as he knows. In reality she has had three affairs and she is not convinced that Sophie is actually David's child. The third affair is current - with a younger man who comes to the studio sometimes while she is "cleaning".

Reads historical novels. Likes MOR stuff - take that, Rolling Stones, Michael Buble. Very rarely goes to the cinema but enjoys a romantic film at home now and then.

Gets hugely turned on by the photo shoots she does and harbours secret desire to see what it's like to go to bed with a woman. Has a very high sex drive, unfulfilled by David - hence the affairs, they are for the physical side entirely.

Terrified of being found out for all her secrets.

Was raped by David when she was in her early twenties. The shame is partly what keeps her with him.

Won an award for businesswoman of the year for her local area. Treasures the trophy.

Major struggle - to keep personal and business lives separate, affair and husband separate, keep secret about Sophie's paternity. Doesn't know David has his own secret - he is a heavy gambler and is about to lose their home.

Jan was used to hearing the confessions of the women whose photographs she took. As they posed on the chaise longue in their basques and boas they felt at ease with her, and free to talk about their lives. Yet Jan rarely spoke about her own life for fear that once she opened the box, the secrets would creep out and curl their devastatingly feathery tails around her family. Instead she hid the box away and busied herself as much as she could, filling her life with files and folders, receipts and invoices, appointments and liaisons.

It had been another busy day. Once the final client had gone home Jan set about her daily routine of tidying away the props, hoovering the carpet and polishing the mirrors. Satisfied the studio was ready for the following morning, Jan took a packet of cigarettes from a drawer, flipped one out and placed it between her lips. She didn't consider herself to be a smoker, but of all her guilty pleasures this one small treat a day was the least damaging to anyone's health.

As she exhaled a ring of smoke, Jan contemplated the evening ahead. What sort of mood would David be in, she wondered. Would he still be upset about last night? She tried her best to please him, but it wasn't her fault cooking wasn't her forte. And how was she to know he hadn't fancied sea bass? He'd always liked it in the past. She sighed, and rubbed absent-mindedly at the bruise on her arm. Hopefully this evening would be less tense.

Stubbing out the cigarette in a crystal ashtray, she tutted as she noticed a chip in her blood red nail polish. Another job to do tonight. She put the ashtray in the drawer, added the lighter, and locked it shut. Several squirts of Chanel and three Polos later she was in her car, a three year old Alfa Romeo Spyder, and on her way home.

"You're late," David said.

"Sorry. I had to stop on the way and pick up some bits," Jan said, hoping he couldn't see the heat she felt in her cheeks. The bag in her hand contained shopping, but sex with a stranger hadn't been on the list.

"You'd better get on with dinner. I wanted to have eaten before nine so I could watch a documentary." David frowned. "I hope you remembered what I said earlier."

"Yes. No more sea bass, I promise," she said. "So I got us some nice fillet steak today. Don't think we've-"

Her guilty cheeks burned even more as David's hand made contact with a sharp thwack. "Steak?" he roared. "What on earth made you buy steak? What's wrong with ..." he paused as he searched for an alternative. "chicken. That's what I want tonight. Roast chicken. Off you go."

Fighting back the tears, Jan dropped the bag on the table, ran out of the house and started the car. He'd always had a temper but two days running? She couldn't remember that happening before. She'd forgive him, she always did - but this turn of events was very worrying.