Somewhere at the heart of our obsession with age is basic evolution,Ferguson says. “Evolution theorists would say it’s a side to humanity that’s ramped up because of social media but we are genetically programmed to favour youth,particularly in women,because we know they’re going to reproduce better than their ageing counterparts,” she explains.

“Perhaps unfairly,we don’t have the same expectations for men because,as base level,we look to them for provisions,to make us feel safe and to look after our children. It’s hard to avoid the simple truth that we’re part of the animal kingdom.” This is why we allow men to age without comment,yet cannot extend the same courtesy to our women.

While Dr Ferguson,is not a fan of celebrities side-stepping simple truths about their beauty regimes (“It’s disrespectful to the sisterhood because you’re effectively undermining people’s intelligence in order to make yourself feel better”),she does insist we need to extend the likes of Lopez our support rather than our venom.