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The fact that 'opposites attract' has been common knowledge for some years. But science, it seems, has been refusing to acknowledge the idea for decades... until now.

Of course, their studies were based on monkeys but it would seem the theory could be transferred to humans too.

Anthropologists from the University of Durham, have been busy studying the courting rituals of mandrills deep in the rainforests of Gabon in central Africa.

Apparently, the female mandrills use their acute sense of smell to discern exactly which males are genetically dissimilar to themselves and are naturally drawn to their whiff.

This process of selection means their choice of partner results in healthier babies with stronger immune systems.

Dr Jo Setchell, who led the study, published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology, said: "Mandrills are quite closely related to humans – we're both anthropoid primates – so our results support the idea that humans might choose genetically compatible mates.

"This theory has been quite contentious in the scientific world so the fact that we have backed it up in a study of monkeys that are closely related to us is significant."

"In a mandrill population there is always a dominant male who you would expect to be getting all the females but when you scratch below the surface you realise that is not the case."

Who knows... it could even explain Bernie Ecclestone's appeal.