The research, carried out by the University of St Andrews in Scotland, brings scientists closer to revealing the secrets of what women find attractive in men, it was claimed.

Psychologists believe that the resemblance might cancel out any issues of mistrust normally associated with strong masculine characteristics.

Tamsin Saxton, a postdoctoral research fellow, said: "Previous research has often found that women can be attracted to masculine men, but also a bit suspicious of them.

"However, women tend to trust men more if they look like them. So perhaps the resemblance cancelled out the women’s suspicions.

"Or maybe the women felt they were better matched with men who looked like them, because if two people resemble each other, they might both be attracted to each other.”

The research used computer digital techniques to manipulate men’s faces. Faces were made to look more or less masculine, and more or less like the women who rated them. Women rated each face for attractiveness.

Celebrity lookalikes which could fit the mould include Vanessa Paradis and Johnny Depp, David and Victoria Beckham and Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.

The study was carried out in collaboration with the University of Liverpool. Researcher Craig Roberts commented, “When people rate what’s attractive, they have to consider lots of different characteristics.

"What’s really interesting is that masculinity was more important to women’s judgments compared with whether the men looked like the women.”