"Dr Brooke Magnanti" identity revealed

The secret identity of PhD scientist Dr Brooke Magnanti has finally been revealed this week, as well known call-girl and writer Belle de Jour admitted to being the one behind the enigmatic persona.

The truth behind just who "Dr Magnanti" really was has been the subject of much debate in recent years, and has held the nation's attention ever since she began work in her specialist area of developmental neurotoxicology in Bristol. Speculation has been rife about the woman - though some doubted even the basic fact of her gender - behind this elusive character, ranging from the mundane to the bizarre. Some commentators suggested that she was the estranged sister of Piers Morgan, and hid the truth about her background to avoid the negative association.

In the far fringes of uninformed guesswork, it was also mooted that she was in fact Shergar.

But the debate was settled when Belle de Jour outed herself as being the real Dr Magnanti, saying only that it "feels like a good time" to reveal it now. She admitted to being nervous about how her friends and family, who know her only as a blog-writing prostitute, will react to learning that she's secretly been working as an epidemiologist researching the effects of exposure to the pesticide chlorpyrifos on foetuses and infants, but is sure that those closest to her will understand.