Cuddle parties are the creation of Reid Mihalko and Marcia Baczynski, a pair of New York relationship experts, who launched them in the US two years ago. We are touch-deprived, so wear your pyjamas and join the party, they say; so far their "structured, safe non-sexual workshops" have attracted 10,000 people.

On my way to the house in west Hampstead where London's newly launched cuddle parties take place, I find myself feeling anxious. Although these gatherings are meant to relax and de-stress, hugging total strangers is not exactly an opportunity I would usually take, even if drunk.