Out there in hunkland, something strange is afoot. Rampaging across our screens is a new breed of handsome gentlemen actors, who perhaps once wished that we would admire them for their crisp diction or fencing skills, but now seem perfectly happy to be judged on their physical appearance.

They are posh, clever, super toff, He-Totty men who are ready to rip off their shirts whenever the cameras start to roll.

Hot on the heels of Aidan Turner (who came over all blythe with his scythe in Poldark) and Grantchester’s surprisingly buff vicar James Norton (seen last week in his vintage skimpies after a swim), comes The Night Manager star Tom Hiddleston who is managing to squeeze a topless turn into the twists of a John le Carre plot.

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'Rampaging across our screens is a new breed of handsome gentlemen actors, who perhaps once wished that we would admire them for their crisp diction or fencing skills, but now seem perfectly happy to be judged on their physical appearance,' writes Jan Moir. Pictured: Aidan Turner in Poldark

It’s all part of a focus on beefcake close-ups that has given rise to a new kind of feminine lechery. The kind that is indulged in over prosecco and crisps as an obliging slab of muscled gorgeousness — whey-hey! — peels off his vest or vicar’s collar on the small screen.

These days, no hot actor is ever knowingly undersold when it comes to close-ups of his oiled pecs. Some may see it as sexist hypocrisy, others as an enjoyable payback for having to suffer decades of scantily clad starlets providing thrills for the guys — but not many spills for the dolls.

Today, actors have to work on their bodies and appearances even more than actresses. They have to be honed, toned and sculpted, in peak condition at all times.

The fact male stars have brains and brawn adds another welcome dimension to female appreciation. Has there ever been a better time to be a woman in charge of the remote control?

On Sunday night, there was no dramatic reason for Tom Hiddleston to run half naked across a beach. Or to clamber out of a swimming pool and drip alluringly in the sun — although millions of us were glad he did.

The precedent has been set, the die is cast, the shirt is off. So who is top of the He-Totty charts?

Tom Hiddleston attended the prestigious Dragon School in Oxford, before moving on to Eton

The charmer tipped to be 007

Tom Hiddleston attended the prestigious Dragon School in Oxford, before moving on to Eton. Tom, now 35, continued to Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he earned a double first in Classics.

He is 6ft 2in, lean as a whippet and equipped with timeless, leading-man qualities: clear blue eyes and a magnetic appeal. In the running to be the next James Bond, his education has given him impeccable manners, obvious intelligence and an appetite for hard work.

Posh Rating: Three stars

Hates being called posh. His father, James, a physical chemist, was a self-made man who wanted to give his son the best education money could buy. He is the great-great-grandson of food producer Sir Edmund Vestey.

Shirt Off Rating: Five stars

Tall and lean, a hard-packed physique with defined muscles, he could be sculpted from peeled bamboo. Some viewers claimed to have fainted at the sight of Tom in his trunks.

James Norton, 30, went to Ampleforth College, the top Roman Catholic boarding school in Yorkshire

Beefcake with a bible

James Norton, 30, went to Ampleforth College, the top Roman Catholic boarding school in Yorkshire, which is run by Benedictine monks.

Noted for his talents at tennis and drama, he was also fascinated by religion. Read theology at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, graduating in 2007 with first-class honours.

Troublingly sexy as an Anglican vicar, he put the chest into Grantchester with his topless turn last week.

A special mention also goes for his epaulettes trembling turn as Prince Andrei Bolkonsky in the recent BBC mini-series of War And Peace.

Posh Rating: Three stars

His parents, Hugh and Lavinia, were both teachers. His plummy accent makes him seem posher than he is.

Shirt Off Rating: Five stars

Some fans complained that James is too winter-pale and from some angles, yes, he does look like a sack of peeled spuds wrapped in cling film. However, bulging biceps and deep religious thoughts are a potent combination.

Eddie Redmayne was a prefect at Eton, and went on to study History of Art at Trinity College, Cambridge

Eddie the not so eager stripper

Teacher’s pet Eddie Redmayne was a prefect at Eton, alongside his contemporary Prince William. Eddie, now 34, went on to study History of Art at Trinity College, Cambridge. Many fans conclude the former Burberry model has polish and charm, but is more stylish than sexy.

Posh Rating: Five stars

Comes from a distinguished family whose wealth goes back to a 19th-century Bond Street linen company.

Shirt Off Rating: Two stars

In his latest film, The Danish Girl, playing real-life transgender trailblazer Lili Elbe, he had some nude scenes and says that ‘any time you get naked in front of a crew, it’s embarrassing.’

Dominic West went to Eton, where he was a contemporary of David Cameron, and to Trinity College, Dublin

Old Etonian who says he’s not a toff

Dominic West went to Eton, where he was a contemporary of David Cameron, and then to Trinity College, Dublin, graduating in 1993 with a BA in English Literature.

Recently made pulses race as the sex-obsessed husband in raunchy U.S. television drama The Affair.

Posh Rating: Three stars

Dominic, 46, claims he is not posh — his father George owned a plastics factory — but still felt the need to escape his Etonian education and a string of posh fop roles by going to America, where he ended up playing a working-class American cop in the hit series The Wire.

He has moved further up the social ladder by marrying Catherine Fitzgerald, daughter of an Irish aristocrat. Her ancestral home, Glin Castle in County Limerick, is currently for sale at £4.6 million.

Shirt Off Rating: Five stars

He is 6ft tall with a bad-boy twinkle and a pleasing eagerness to be naked in front of the cameras. He admits to having a make-up artist touch up his bottom, so to speak, for sex scenes.

Dan Stevens won a scholarship to Tonbridge School, an independent boarding school in Kent, when he was ten. He went on to study English Literature at Emmanuel College, Cambridge

Downton Dan, the clever man

Dan Stevens won a scholarship to Tonbridge School, an independent boarding school in Kent, when he was ten. He went on to study English Literature at Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

He is keen to cling on to his academic credentials, and helped judge the Man Booker prize in 2012, awarding it to Hilary Mantel’s Bring Up The Bodies.

Since quitting his role as heart-throb Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey, Dan, 33, has appeared in some forgettable films. Stars as The Beast opposite Emma Watson in the upcoming Beauty And The Beast.

Posh Rating: One star

Was adopted as a baby by his parents, who were teachers in Croydon. ‘I came out of the wash, I suppose, appearing to be much more upper-class than I really am,’ he says.

Shirt Off Rating: One star

Six-feet tall with blue eyes, Dan is just a shade too boyish to impress. Home Counties and a bit weedy, he can’t quite escape the long shadow of his Downton alter ego, goody two-shoes Matthew.

After leaving secondary school in Dublin, Aidan Turner worked as an apprentice electrician

He-man who made scything sexy

Aidan Turner’s not hugely posh and he didn’t do hugely well at school, but he has the kind of native intelligence and brooding charm that propels him to the top of this list.

After leaving secondary school in Dublin, the Irish actor worked as an apprentice electrician alongside his father before going to a stage school — and he’s never looked back. His shirtless turn as the scything Ross Poldark is a classic of the genre.

Posh Rating: Five stars

Aidan, 32, is about as posh as a Cornish pilchard, but he can play a gentleman like a dream.

Shirt Off Rating: Three stars

As Ross Poldark, he is the king of the muscly close-up. Extra points for the naked swimming scene in a Cornish cove, which he laughingly calls ‘my Timotei moment’.

Damian Lewis was educated at Ashdown House School in East Sussex and thence, my liege, to Eton

Star born to play a king

Damian Lewis was educated at Ashdown House School in East Sussex and thence, my liege, to Eton. Damian, 45, has said his time there prepared him for playing Henry VIII in the recent BBC drama, Wolf Hall.

‘There is no question that it helps having had the kind of schooling I’ve had to play a king. There is just the sort of court structure and hierarchies which I understand.’

He graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1993, after which he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. ‘There is something of the puritan work ethic about me that roles must sustain me on an intellectual level,’ he says.

Posh Rating: Five stars

His ancestors include a doctor to the Royal Family, and a Mayor of London. His father was a City broker and his upbringing was ‘like The Forsyte Saga’ — the remake of which he starred in.

Shirt Off Rating: Two stars

Has his fans but being semi-naked onstage is not his best look. Sometimes looks as though he is covered in red furze, like a moor in autumn.

Benedict Cumberbatch was a boarder at Brambletye School in West Sussex and then went to Harrow

The sexiest ever Sherlock

From the age of eight, Benedict Cumberbatch was a boarder at Brambletye School in West Sussex and then went to Harrow on an arts scholarship. Now 39, the Sherlock star took a gap year to volunteer as an English teacher at a Tibetan monastery in Darjeeling, India.

Posh Rating: Three stars

His parents, Timothy and Wanda, are both actors and raised their family in a Cotswolds cottage. He says his parents worked very hard to pay for his privileged education.

Shirt Off Rating: Three stars

Six-footer Benedict the beanpole is a big hit with the ladies, despite his occasional resemblance to an otter. Hunted and half-starved, he looks like an endurance athlete after a triple marathon.

Hugh Laurie was brought up in Oxford and attended the Dragon School before Eton and then Cambridge

Hugh’s that dishy chap?

Hugh Laurie was brought up in Oxford and attended the Dragon School before Eton and then Selwyn College, Cambridge.

There, he scraped by with a third-class degree in archaeology and anthropology. His poor academic record was, he says, due to the fact he was more interested in rowing than anything else. He took part in the 1980 Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race — his boat lost.

Posh Rating: Three stars

Hugh, 56, grew up in a large house in Oxford but was privileged, rather than posh. His father was a physician and who won an Olympic gold for rowing.

Shirt Off Rating: Two stars