Another day, another 50 Shades of Grey story. So what is the latest development being attributed to the popularity of E L James' sadomasochistic tale, now the fastest-selling paperback of all time?
Well, a baby boom allegedly. That's right, women up and down the country are so turned on by the story of Christian Grey and his submissive, Anastasia Steele, that apparently everyone's at it like rabbits.
It's a wonder anyone's turning up to work at all. Ellis Cashmore, a professor of culture, media and sport at Staffordshire University, has predicted a spike in the number of newborns in Britain next year as a result of the erotic book (and its two sequels).
"With the millions of copies it has sold, it makes complete sense to assume that in nine months' time we are going see a baby boom," he says. "It's not a difficult equation: more sex equals more pregnancies, which equals more babies."
So far the "50 Shades of Grey effect" has been credited for reviving ailing marriages (we should expect an announcement about declining divorce levels any day now; all E L James' responsibility, natch) as well as being the reason everyone's getting into bondage, apparently.
