Melissa Todd abandoned a prestigious Oxbridge future to work as a dominatrix, and her 61-year-old mother later joined the same profession. While many might hesitate to tell their parents about leaving a traditional career path, Melissa had no such concerns.
Her mum was so accepting that Melissa was allowed to see clients in her childhood home. Eventually, her mother, who prefers not to be named, followed in her footsteps at 61 after being made redundant just a few years before reaching state pension age.
Family Business and Natural Talent
Speaking on the Option One Podcast, presented by Babestation, Melissa shared details of the family business. "I got (Mum) into it when she was 61, she went on to her mid 70s," said the model, who has worked in the industry for around 20 years.
"I was using her house anyway to see clients and she got made redundant. So she thought, oh no, I'll do that as well." Her mother apparently had a natural talent for the job. Melissa said: "She was amazing. She was better than me. She made more money than me as well. It was really annoying."
A Strict Headmistress for a Diverse Clientele
Melissa, who performs under the name Miss Matthews, specialises in playing a strict 1950s-style headmistress. Wearing pearls and stockings, she scolds badly behaved adults and dishes out punishments with canes and paddles.
Her clients are not necessarily who one might expect. The former Oxford University student revealed that many of her customers are pensioners who save for months to afford their appointments. While they might arrive hoping for a good spanking, much of their time is spent having a friendly chat about their grandkids.
Asked how much she charges, Melissa said: "Oh, I'm really cheap. Actually, people always say I should put my prices up. It's usually about £150 an hour." She added: "Well, you'll normally see pensioners. There's a lot of chat and they like to show me pictures of their grandchildren. So it ends up being about 15 to 20 minutes of spanking."
From Stripping to a Job for Life
Melissa says she deliberately keeps her prices relatively low because some older customers struggle to afford the sessions. She said: "It almost feels like a public service. Which I know sounds ridiculous but often I do see pensioners, and they scrimp and save for months to be able to see me."
It is not just pensioners who have an interest in her services. Melissa claims police officers and politicians are among her clientele. She said: "I've got quite a lot of police officers as clients. I do get politicians as well."
Melissa has her own unexpected connection to politics. She attended the University of Oxford, where she studied politics, philosophy and economics, but quit after a year. "I hated Oxford, I went mad and dropped out after a year," she said. "I became a stripper instead, which was the right thing to do."
After around 12 years of stripping, she moved into professional domination, building a career around her stern headmistress character. These days, one particularly devoted customer even travels all the way from California to act as her personal butler. Melissa says the man spends a week accompanying her to expensive restaurants and the theatre, taking her coat and serving her martinis in bed.
And he pays for the privilege. She said: "He accompanies me to the theatre every night, and he takes me for posh dinners and things and takes my coat and stands up when I stand up." Asked whether the man pays for their outings, Melissa replied: "Oh, yes. Handsomely. And pays me too. It's really fun."
Melissa recently appeared on ITV's Nobody's Fool, hosted by Danny Dyer and Emily Atack, and is now taking her stories onto the comedy stage. Her stand-up show, Gag Writer, sees her perform as Miss Matthews, sharing outrageous tales from her work and scolding members of the audience. After two decades in the business, Melissa believes her age is an advantage rather than a drawback. She said: "The older I get, obviously, the better I get at it. They like older women, so it's a job for life."
