Half of adults admit to 'cheating' in a relationship - by skipping ahead on TV boxsets

A poll of 2,000 coupled-up telly lovers revealed 86 per cent of 'cheats' have had to rewatch a show to hide the fact they’d watched it already from their significant other.

And of these, an average of four episodes have been watched quietly so their clueless partner could ‘catch up’ after their boxset betrayal.

A massive 76 per cent have secretly watched the next episode of something they’re watching together, because they couldn’t wait to see what happened.

Sky TV commissioned the study, offering thousands of on-demand shows for couples to watch together - or separately.

Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead and The Day of the Jackal were among the top shows bingers enjoyed behind their loved ones’ backs.

Customers who fancy joining the sneaky group of binge-watchers can simply say ‘just one more episode’ into their Sky Glass or Sky Stream remote to find something to devour.

Sky’s Jamie Morris said: “We have so much gripping telly to choose from, and sometimes ‘one more episode’ is just too much to resist.

“We understand great shows can be addictive, but whether it’s The Day of the Jackal, or something from our extensive back catalogue of iconic series, there’s plenty to watch without having to go behind your other half’s back.”

“Sometimes, one more episode is just too much to resist”

Of those who have ‘cheated’, 51 per cent admit they feel guilty about it – with 43 per cent even watching a series finale in secret.

More than four in 10 (42 per cent) have outright lied to their other half about continuing to watch a programme they were meant to be viewing together.

A third (35 per cent), have even been unfortunately caught out by accidentally revealing a spoiler when they’d talked about something they shouldn’t have seen yet.

And 39 per cent have been caught red-handed halfway through an illicit episode – although 31 per cent of these people’s partners laughed it off, others weren’t so pleased.

One in five (21 per cent) demanded an explanation, while 17 per cent confessed to feeling ‘betrayed’, according to the OnePoll.com data.

On the other hand, 27 per cent of respondents have been in the same situation as the 'cheatees', with their partner ploughing on with a series they were meant to be watching as a couple.

It also emerged the typical TV viewer gets through six and a half series each year.