In Billionaire’s Paradise: Inside Necker Island, interviews with the island’s attractive, bikini-clad staff include one with the head of finance who speaks of the joy of having soy sauce licked from her belly as a “hot girl” human sushi plate, while a chef jokes that his main job of the day is “being sexy in the pool”.

Branson tells the camera that a management team who suggested staff should not be allowed to drink or have relationships with guests did not last long, as this was not how the island was to be run.

The chief executive of Virgin Group is so notoriously publicity-hungry that he is unlikely to mind the odd critical review of the show which was broadcast on BBC Two last night.

In the opening segment, a couple who star in the documentary are being shown the view from their balcony just as Branson happens to be kite surfing close to the shore below.

But what is it really like to stay on the island, where a week’s stay costs more than £280,000? Necker is somewhere that, in the past, was a safe haven for royalty, with Diana, Princess of Wales, taking princes William and Harry to stay there.

Lisa Grainger, a Telegraph Travel and Ultratravel writer, visited last year.

“The whole point of Necker is you can do what you like - within reason,” she said. “That’s why you take it over as a whole, so you have privacy, can do precisely what you want when you want - and can be away from the prying paparazzi and let loose.

“Everyone - from presidents down - needs time out to joke, to muck about, to forget about their normal lives, and that’s what private islands give.

“When I went to David Copperfield’s Island, Musha Cay, the staff told me that Russian clients had demanded water pistols so they could shoot Cristal champagne into each other’s mouths. On an island, people want to live out their fantasy - whatever that is.”

She said Necker’s party island reputation is probably down to the fact that Branson loves a party as much as anyone else.

“The staff are good looking. There are high-adrenalin activities. Parties are encouraged. And there are condoms in the vanity kit, along with lip salve and sun lotion.

“It’s not selling itself as the Connaught or a place to show off and get dressed up. When I was there, was there sleaze? Not a hint. Richard may have mooned us from the beach when we were leaving - which was pretty unexpected - but it was all in the spirit of high jinks.”

It’s a cocktail that appears to be working. Celebrities and statesmen who have visited include Kate Moss, who recently held her 40th birthday party on Necker; Larry Page, the co-founder of Google, got married there and Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia’s co-founder, spent his honeymoon on the island. Other big names, from Nelson Mandela to Kate Winslet, have been on holiday to Necker.

Read more about Lisa Grainger’s stay on Necker Island with Richard Branson.

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