![British men](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/columnists/2023/04/12/TELEMMGLPICT000331896893_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqsT8WkHhIIGcqf-eU4anH8bkcnEMN6jgniYeqwz6a86k.jpeg?imwidth=680)
![British men](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/columnists/2023/04/12/TELEMMGLPICT000331896893_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqsT8WkHhIIGcqf-eU4anH8bkcnEMN6jgniYeqwz6a86k.jpeg?imwidth=680)
Surely no one can fail to have noticed that Taylor Swift, the most-streamed woman on Spotify, has broken up with her boyfriend of six years, Joe Alwyn.
You may not be able to immediately place Alwyn – he’s an actor who was in The Favourite and Mary Queen of Scots – but we’ve taken a keen interest in him since his relationship with Swift because he is British. And of Swift’s seven previous, official boyfriends, guess what? Two – Harry Styles and Tom Hiddleston – are English and one, Calvin Harris, is Scottish.
![Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn have decided to end their relationship after six years](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/columnists/2023/04/12/TELEMMGLPICT000331780677_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqe6I2tHSmtDejncLD-Pxd2U0LoKc4qSRYG1k6EyxQm_I.jpeg?imwidth=350)
It’s quite a strike rate when you think about it. Swift is American, she can have her pick of beaux on any continent, and given the reputation of British men – which starts with bad teeth and includes reserve, emotional constipation, poor diet and lower than average domestic skills – you might think she would be better off checking out the egalitarian Swedes, or clean and efficient Germans.
But no. Fifty per cent of the time, the biggest popstar in the world has plumped for a British man (or boy, in the case of Harry Styles) and she is not alone in finding them to be a better bet – even if it hasn’t quite worked out yet.
Here are some of the British types that attract foreigners and the reasons why.
Public-School Boy (PSB) or Lovely-Manners Man
The appeal of the public-school boy was brought up to date with a floppy hairdo and tongue-tied bashfulness by Hugh Grant in Four Weddings and a Funeral and since then some version of the PSB has become the quintessential British Guy in the eyes of women all over the world.
![Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell in Four weddings and a Funeral in 1994](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/columnists/2023/04/12/TELEMMGLPICT000190080173_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqOjwtMIBfBvsmIG0UzgZgYNGmygSMXx0F6kNOzUL6Gw4.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Not saying all Public-School Boys have lovely manners, far from it, but that’s the root of their appeal (although if we catch a whiff of them playing on it, rather than being lovely-mannered as second nature, then it is game over).
The extensive PSB gamut
There’s a PSB spectrum, ranging from uptight Grant at one end to roguish Dominic West at the other, via sensitive Tom Hiddleston and smooth Damian Lewis, but they all have the lovely manners in common. These days, we’re not so much talking about walking on the road side of the pavement and opening car doors as not taking the comfiest seat in the room before banging on about how well you’re doing and how much your therapist likes you.
PSB is also, crucially, lovely-mannered with everyone, including dilapidated deaf old people and people whose being charmed will have no tangible benefit to them, ever. That’s the key, really, that and being calm and slow to anger. Cheerful Charlie from Clarkson’s Farm is one.
Geeky but cool man
This is not a category exclusive to the UK, but British men are experts in the field of being cool without taking themselves too seriously. Take Jarvis Cocker, not conventionally attractive, but thanks to his charm and refusal to fall in love with himself, he’s a sort of left-field indie heartthrob – at least for the 60-somethings.
![Jarvis Cocker](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/columnists/2023/04/12/TELEMMGLPICT000331780710_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq13ZEb00aHi469FjGH2TrgSEea6tGUnA4MesAlHd20jQ.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Yorkshire man
This man doesn’t have to be from Yorkshire, but he is the sort who might play cricket, could appear on Top Gear, and who would very much enjoy a physical challenge with plenty of silliness and risk thrown in.
Women aren’t impressed by any of the above (though we do like an athlete), but, increasingly, we would far rather have an element of Yorkshire man in the mix than, say, LA man or Loire man. In our opinion, what’s tipping the scales in favour of British men is their relative lack of vanity and refusal to spend big money on their haircuts, swimming trunks and karate classes.
We’re not saying we have a crush on Lewis Capaldi, but given the choice between hanging out with Capaldi or Brad Pitt, we know which we’d go for.
Silly Man
It does seem to be that our men are way ahead in the just-silly-enough league. Would any of Taylor Swift’s exes have dressed up as Humpty Dumpty/an Easter pixie to amuse their nieces? Not sure. But a lot of British men would, at the drop of a hat, with or without the nieces to impress.
We don’t want children’s entertainers, you understand, we just want to avoid the guy who is more interested in keeping his T-shirt clean than having a laugh. We’re talking about Jon Richardson, the comedian, rather than David Beckham. Baasit and Umar Siddiqui from Gogglebox before Bradley Cooper.
Essex Cheeky Chappie
No coincidence that in the last series of the TV cracker The White Lotus, the male sex interest was an Essex tourist played by British actor Leo Woodall. Portia, the American college graduate, could have fallen for her fellow American – the decent and good-looking Albie – but, naturally, bish-bosh, nudge-wink, super-flirtatious and up for some rule-breaking Jack (the lad) was the only one she had eyes for.
![Leo Woodall](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/columnists/2023/04/12/TELEMMGLPICT000331780715_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq_ZQoejuPq6h1h5MXuDNdWR0OASWaaE3INTylPasZpTw.jpeg?imwidth=350)
The ECC may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but he has a couple of qualities that all women appreciate in men – namely, he’d rather muck about than talk to you about your feelings. Contrary to rumour, women very much like to talk about their feelings, but only after they have been made to hoot with laughter and maybe piggybacked across a stretch of water when the tide has come in unexpectedly. We like a bit of jeopardy.
Why foreigners can’t resist British men
American Taylor Swift clearly has a soft spot for guys from across the pond – and she’s not alone