Participants then filled out a survey which asked them to describe each smell – still in the dark about what they were. The most-cited scent for the book essence was chocolate, followed by coffee.

His book makes Sweet Smell of Success seem like a heroic victory over its producers’ own worst instincts, and an even more remarkable achievement than we already thought it was.

Chatto has pre-empted Dr Ally Louks' "fascinating" debut book on the sense of smell entitled, The Politics of Smell.