William Hanson’s Manners Blog

I watched some of the launch of the new series of Celebrity Big Brother last night to see the new housemates introducing themselves to one another. When Ulrika Jonsson entered she and the housemates kissed on each cheek but when she went to greet politician Tommy Sheridan, the latter backed away after one kiss, thinking that this was enough. There was then a moment’s confusion as Jonsson went in to kiss Sheridan on the other cheek but found he had moved away.

I’ve been asked this before. In Britain, what is the correct number of kisses in a social situation? The traditional rulebook says one. But most people (including myself) do two. It’s slightly, I must say, affected to do two. It’s a habit we have picked up from the Continent. In Belgium, they deem three as correct. And in some parts of France, four kisses are given. Again, the rulebook says that men should start by kissing women on the right cheek, although this stipulation is rarely known nowadays.

Having said all this, Jonsson and her fellow housemates were wrong in that on first meeting one should never kiss, a handshake will do…even if they are going to be living with each other for a few weeks.