Cynthia Diane Payne (née Paine; 24 December 193215 November 2015) was an English brothel keeper and party hostess who made headlines in the 1970s and 1980s, when she was convicted of running a

brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...

at 32 Ambleside Avenue, in

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

, a southwestern suburb of London.

Life

Known as "Madame Cyn", Payne first came to national attention in 1978 when police raided her home while a sex party was in progress. Men paid with

luncheon voucher A meal voucher or luncheon voucher is a voucher for a meal given to employees as an employee benefit, allowing them to eat at outside restaurants, typically for lunch. In many countries, meal vouchers have had favorable tax treatment. Vouchers ar ...

s to dress up in lingerie and be spanked by young women.Hugh Davie
"Payne's sex party souvenirs for sale"
''The Daily Telegraph'', 14 December 2004 Police found 53 men at her residence, in varying levels of undress, including "a peer of the realm, an MP, a number of solicitors and company directors and several vicars". A cartoon in the press at the time, according to

Sarah Baxter Sarah April Louise Baxter (born 25 November 1959) is a British journalist. From 2013 to 2020, she was the deputy editor of ''The Sunday Times''. Early life Baxter was born on 25 November 1959 in London, England."Baxter, Sarah April Louise", ''W ...

in '' The Sunday Times'', "showed a vicar in bed with a prostitute, confronted by a policeman. 'I demand to see my solicitor,' said the vicar, 'who is in the next bedroom.'" When the case came to trial in 1980, Payne was sentenced to 18 months in prison, reduced to a fine and six months on appeal."1987: Mrs Payne is no brothel Madam"
BBC On This Day, 11 February She served four months in Holloway prison. In 1986 the police raided Payne's home again, this time during a "special party" she was hosting after shooting of the film of her life had been completed. Although she was acquitted on this occasion, the resulting court case in 1987 made headlines for several weeks with lurid tales, some details of which she aired on ''

The Dame Edna Experience ''The Dame Edna Experience'' is a British television comedy talk-show hosted by Dame Edna Everage. It ran for twelve regular episodes on ITV, plus two Christmas specials. This show was also aired in re-runs with Dutch subtitles in the Netherlan ...

'' in 1987, with co-guests Sir John Mills and Rudolf Nureyev, on which she also launched her book, ''Entertaining at Home''. The court case ended Payne's career as a party giver. On the programme, Payne expressed an interest in becoming a Member of Parliament in order to change Britain's sex laws, which she followed through by standing for Parliament as a candidate for the Payne and Pleasure Party in the Kensington by-election in July 1988, followed by her standing in her own area of

for the

Rainbow Dream Ticket Make Politicians History was a minor United Kingdom political party that advocated the abolition of Parliament in favour of devolution to city-states and decision-making by referendum. Its leader was Ronnie Carroll. Since the 1980s, the group sto ...

in the

1992 UK General Election The 1992 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 9 April 1992, to elect 651 members to the House of Commons. The election resulted in the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party since 1979 and would be the last time ...

. She did not gain a parliamentary seat. There are two comedy films that are loosely based on her life, both released in 1987: '' Wish You Were Here'', about her adolescence, with Emily Lloyd in the lead role, and '' Personal Services'', about her adult life, starring Julie Walters as Cynthia. Both were written by David Leland, who directed ''Wish You Were Here''. Payne made appearances as an after-dinner speaker and launched a range of "adult" services and products in 2006. Payne died at King's College Hospital on 15 November 2015, aged 82. Her family celebrated her life a month later with a colourful humanist funeral, in accordance with her wishes.

Selected works

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Cynthia 1932 births 2015 deaths English brothel owners and madams English humanists People acquitted of crimes People from Bognor Regis People from Streatham 20th-century British businesspeople

Life

Selected works

See also

References

External links