Meet my Friday night friend

Meanwhile, an "11th Hour Help" option allows members to find an amigo for an event that night or the following evening.
Now, obviously, an urbane boulevardier such as your correspondent has no need for such services.

But for the purposes of journalism, I give it a go, half-expecting to be assigned a friendless virginal 41-year old scout master. Instead, I get gregarious 23-year-old redhead Bec Whitby.

Bec is from Canada. She's an actress (previous plays: something called Urinetown), dancer, R'n'B chanteuse and erstwhile "volunteer fairy" who worked at children's parties.

Both her parents are "philanthropists" and she can talk the hind legs off a zeedonk. She's also, quite clearly, bonkers. After two minutes' conversation, I'm charmed but exhausted.

So what is a seemingly popular actress doing enrolling at a friend-making ­website?

"I moved here in July and most of my friends are actors, with really strange hours," Bec jabbers. "I'm invited to loads of parties but never have anybody to take, because all my friends are working. It's difficult meeting people in London — it's a closed city."

Indeed it is. It might be down to our inhibited Anglo-Saxon nature, the capital's cooler-than-thou attitude or the fact nobody wants to trek north or south of the river to see their mates, but as Victoria explains, "people are choosier in London".

A recent survey showed Londoners are the loneliest people in the country, with an average of five close friends each (in Yorkshire, they have 15).

It's no coincidence that in that other densely populated megatropolis, Tokyo, the number of "rent-a-friend" agencies is soaring, with lonely Japanese hiring stand-in best men for weddings or bogus uncles at school sports days.
It's not just Londoners typing "fridaynightsucks" into their internet browsers.

The website is an unexpected hit with tourists too. "Solo visitors to London don't necessarily want to sightsee," explains Victoria. "So they visit the site to find somebody to attend the theatre with, or hook up with real Londoners to get a local's insight into the city."

Do people ever hijack Fridaynightsucks' "platonic friendship" mantle as a way of securing proper dates? "Possibly," admits Victoria.

"But we promote Fridaynightsucks as a platonic site, which clearly states friendship only'. Plus, users can request friends of the same sex, or hang out in a group."

With the Gary Rhodes bash duly attended, my fake consort and I squirm our way into the launch of hairdresser Errol Douglas's Red Carpet Ready service in Belgravia. Set in a salon, people guzzle pink champagne and have eyelash extensions.

I lose Bec, finding her 15 minutes later nattering away to a celebrity dentist who repairs Fergie's molars.

Out of everybody we've spoken to tonight, nobody's twigged that the two of us aren't actually bona-fide buddies. Maybe this is down to Bec herself.

A natural ad-libber, she chats away to Emilia Fox one minute and Speech Debelle the next, despite not having the foggiest who they are (she's Canadian, remember). Were Bec a retiring wallflower, the evening could have easily fizzled out.

Hanging out with "randoms" like Bec shakes up the complacency you enjoy within your usual friend-set comfort zone, forcing you to enjoy events through an entirely new prism. You might feel crimson-faced hiring a pal for the night but at least there's no pressure to impress them (unlike normal dates).

The night ends with Bec tottering off to a Movida after-party. For her, the evening's been one serendipitous chain of events.

"Fridaynightsucks works because you never know where the evening might take you," she says. "Now, where's this party?"