Recent research undertaken for McVitie’s shows that the UK is fiercely divided over the top time to eat a biscuit, with ‘Biscuit O’Clock’ falling between 3 and 4pm (for 19.6% of people polled) or 10 and 11am (19.5%). But the real ‘crunch time’ was found to be 3:10pm, with school ending and teachers, children and even parents resorting to a quick pick-me-up.

According to the McVitie’s ‘Bonkers About Biscuits’ report, ‘Biscuit eating etiquette’ depends on whether the biscuit eater is alone or in public. Nearly half of the British consumers surveyed enjoy dunking biscuits in a hot drink in private (48.4%), or admit to eating them very quickly and consuming most of the packet! (15.9%).  In public however, many changed their approach, taking fewer and smaller bites with one-in-six people surveyed (15.5%) saying that they would never eat biscuits in business meetings.

When it comes to sharing, four-in-five Brits are willing to offer their last biscuit to others, however nearly a quarter (24.6%) would kick themselves if someone actually accepted the offer!

And finally, after a bad day at work or an emotional break up, it’s the good old-fashioned chocolate digestive that tops the list for comfort (42.8%), closely followed by a chocolate HobNob (23.7%) and Jaffa Cakes (23.5%), while chocolate chip cookies (21.9%) and shortbread (21.5%) complete the top five favourites.

Sarah Heynen, from McVitie's who commissioned the survey said: “It is clear that everyone has their own quirky habits when it comes to biscuits. Biscuits fill many roles from giving you a mid-afternoon boost to sharing with a friend.

“How we choose to enjoy our favourite biscuit varies vastly from area to area and between the different ages and sexes, but one thing is sure, people are not

about to get tired of biscuits anytime soon.”

Chairman of the Biscuit Appreciation Society added: “With a big passion for biscuits myself, McVitie’s Chocolate Digestives being my favourite, it has been really interesting to see what the McVitie’s Bonkers about Biscuits survey has uncovered and has proven that many consumers in the UK are fanatical about biscuits!”