Today named as Britain’s biggest day of the year for affairs

It has been dubbed ‘Unfaithful Friday’

(Getty Images)

Friday 17 November is the most popular day for people to have affairs, new research conducted by Illicit Encounters has found.

More than 500 adulterers were surveyed by the website, which is the UK’s largest dating site for married people; they found that nearly 80 per cent of participants intended to cheat today.

Managers behind the popular website think this is because it’s one of the last weekends people can engage in extramarital dalliances before the Christmas holidays.

The day has been dubbed “Unfaithful Friday” and is thought to be the grand finale to what has already been the one of the site’s busiest weeks.

They’d already had a 41 per cent increase in user activity by Wednesday and expect to see a 50 per cent peak for the entire week, reports Metro.

“Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. The thoughtful gift you appreciate but in your heart of hearts don’t honestly like. Stuffing your face full of turkey. It’s Christmas, and for an adulterer, that spells trouble," explains Christian Grant, an Illicit Encounters spokesperson.

“From Christmas shopping to nativity plays to seeing the in-laws, Christmas is undoubtedly the biggest stumbling block for anyone seeing their mistress or histress.

“That choke point leads to the inevitable: a premature year-ending romp to see out 2017 in style, albeit prematurely.

“So, if your partner is being coy about their plans this weekend, then it might be best to apply a bit of pressure to the wound and see what they’re really up to,” he said.

The website claims to have been used by more than 1.8m users since launching in 2003.

Despite its controversial nature, the majority of customer reviews praise the site for actually saving their marriage.

"Thank you for providing such a great and exciting service which I believe actually helps to keep marriages fresh and alive," wrote one user.

"It has almost certainly allowed us both to remain happy and married rather than just married," added another.