The number of single parents adopting children hit its highest ever figure in 2018 at 962 - a rise from 904 in 2017. Experts told The Telegraph that adoption by single parents has hit a record high because of a combination of “greater societal acceptance of single-parent households” as well as celebrity single-parents who have adopted children.

This includes Angelina Jolie’s adoption of two sons and a daughter, Madonna’s adoption of four children - including twin girls from Malawi last year - and Sandra Bullock’s adoption of her son.

The analysis of Office of National Statistics (ONS) and Family Court data carried out by Wilsons, a private client law firm, revealed that in 2012 there were 876 adoptions by single parents in 2012.