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. The film was banned in the
Republic of Ireland upon theatrical release. At the time, there were four films that were banned in Ireland, and Terry Jones had directed three of them (
Personal Services,
Monty Python's Life of Brian, and
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life).
The film stars
Shirley Stelfox and
Julie Walters as "Christine Painter", a thinly disguised
Cynthia Payne.