Dramatic revelations about parentage might be staples of salacious soap operas and reality TV shows, but new research has suggested that unknowingly bringing up a child who isn’t yours is much more common than you might think.

1 in 50 British fathers may be unwittingly raising a child which isn’t their biological offspring, the study suggests.

Researchers at Leuven University in Belgium said that they decided to conduct the first ever in-depth study after being surprised and intrigued to learn that the issue has received little serious scientific consideration, despite being a concern felt by many men. The study has been published in the journal ‘Trends in Ecology and Evolution.

The world's top 20 countries to raise a family Show all 20 1 /20 The world's top 20 countries to raise a family The world's top 20 countries to raise a family The world's top 20 countries to raise a family 1 - Austria. The list was created by InterNations using the Family Life Index. Getty The world's top 20 countries to raise a family The world's top 20 countries to raise a family 2 - Finland. The FLI ranks countries according to their results in availability of childcare and education, costs of childcare and education, quality of education, family well -being as well as childcare and education options. The world's top 20 countries to raise a family The world's top 20 countries to raise a family 3 - Sweden Getty The world's top 20 countries to raise a family The world's top 20 countries to raise a family 4 - Israel Getty The world's top 20 countries to raise a family The world's top 20 countries to raise a family 5 - New Zealand Andrew Deer The world's top 20 countries to raise a family The world's top 20 countries to raise a family 6 - Singapore ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/Getty Images The world's top 20 countries to raise a family The world's top 20 countries to raise a family 7 - Germany The world's top 20 countries to raise a family The world's top 20 countries to raise a family 8 - France Reuters The world's top 20 countries to raise a family The world's top 20 countries to raise a family 9 - Australia The world's top 20 countries to raise a family The world's top 20 countries to raise a family 10 - Luxembourg Leonid Andronov The world's top 20 countries to raise a family The world's top 20 countries to raise a family 11 - Denmark Visit Denmark The world's top 20 countries to raise a family The world's top 20 countries to raise a family 12 - Spain GETTY IMAGES The world's top 20 countries to raise a family The world's top 20 countries to raise a family 13 - Poland AFP/Getty The world's top 20 countries to raise a family The world's top 20 countries to raise a family 14 - The Philippines The world's top 20 countries to raise a family The world's top 20 countries to raise a family 15 - Mexico The world's top 20 countries to raise a family The world's top 20 countries to raise a family 16 - Canada Destination British Columbia The world's top 20 countries to raise a family The world's top 20 countries to raise a family 17 - Norway AFP/Getty The world's top 20 countries to raise a family The world's top 20 countries to raise a family 18 - South Africa Getty The world's top 20 countries to raise a family The world's top 20 countries to raise a family 19 - Bahrain Getty The world's top 20 countries to raise a family The world's top 20 countries to raise a family 20 - Costa Rica

The researchers hypothesised that 10 per cent of fathers might be affected and said they were pleasantly surprised by the low figure of 2 per cent. Report author Maarten Larmuseau said: “Media and popular scientific literature often claim that many alleged fathers are being cuckolded into raising children who biologically are not their own. Surprisingly, the estimated rates within human populations are quite low- around 1 or 2 percent”