The notion that Boots has discovered a miracle cream with exceptional anti-wrinkle properties has been undermined - by the scientist who helped to create the furore.

It may sound like heresy to the women who spent yesterday scrambling for a bottle of Boots No7 Protect and Perfect serum. But Chris Griffiths, the dermatology professor whose tests at Manchester University are behind the anti-ageing claims, warns there is too little clinical evidence to support public hysteria.