Class acts: Posh or not - Would your manners give you away?; Take three gorgeous girls - upper, middle and working class, respectively - and one dashing aristocrat, and the scene for M's groundbreaking social experiment is set...

Byline: Kate Cohen 

Welcome to the M class challenge. We sent posh-as-you-like Lord Valentine Cecil, 48, on three dates to trendy London restaurant 192. His task? To identify which of the social classes our willing volunteers hailed from. Read on for the terribly scientific results.

Name: Helen Stewart Age: 22 Profession: Headhunts investment bankers 

Family background: Parents are Scottish landowners with a 200 acre estate in Perthshire.

Schooling: All girls' convent and boarding school in Perthshire, followed by Newcastle University and Lucie Clayton Secretarial College in London.

Interests: Horse eventing (cross-country, dressage and showjumping), skiing, wine bars, theatre.

`I'm upper class because my parents have money and bought me privileges,' says Helen. `They could afford to send me to boarding school, we went on expensive holidays and I had my own horse. Lord Valentine may confuse me with a middle-class girl because many of them now go to public schools when their parents do well for themselves. However, they usually have accents. Upper-class girls use the Queen's English. We also have better posture. My jewellery and bag may give me away. Upper-class girls inherit a lot of their jewellery, I wear expensive gold rings and pearl earrings. Lower-class girls are more likely to wear gold-plated jewellery from high-street jewellers.'

Name: Melanie Erlan

Age: 27

Profession: Television transmission controller

Family background: Mum is a charity advice worker and dad is a doctor. They live in a period four-bedroomed detached house in Suffolk.

Schooling: Private day school in Felixstowe, Suffolk, followed by Suffolk College in Ipswich.

Interests: Swimming, skiing, travelling.

`I'm middle class because my father is a white-collar professional as was his father and my mother's father,' says Melanie. `I had a comfortable upbringing with a good education at a fee-paying day school. On a good day, Lord Valentine could think I'm upper class. I dress well and can look and sound the part. I'm not intimidated by the upper classes and will treat him as I'd treat anyone. On a bad day I can be brash, swear and say what I think. If there's a lot of cutlery I get confused and usually grab any.'

Name: Stella Wood

Age: 25

Profession: Social services finance officer

Family background: Her mother is a customer services officer and her father is a mental health nurse. They live in a two-up, two-down terraced house in Preston, Lancashire.

Schooling: Comprehensive in Preston followed by Blackpool College.

Interests: Ice-skating, bowling, cinema.

`I'm working class. My parents are in low-paid jobs and I went to state school and have had to work hard to get where I am. My parents can't afford to bail me out if I can't pay the rent. I reckon he'll spot me immediately. Not by what I'm wearing - I dress in good-quality designer labels - but I've never met any posh people with pots of money before so I don't know how to behave. He'll probably think I'm common because of the way I hold my fork or drink my wine. I also don't speak with a plum in my mouth. I've got a trace of a Northern accent, which may be a giveaway.'

Who is Lord Valentine Cecil anyway? An old boy of Eton, he owns a telecommunications business in East Africa and his interests are flying, hunting, shooting and fishing. He spends half the year in Africa and the other at his London residence in Chelsea. The family stately home is in Dorset.

`It's difficult to put people directly into classes,' he says. `Society is more mobile than it was 40 years ago. People can move from the bottom to the top. John Major's father was a trapeze artist and Margaret Thatcher was a greengrocer's daughter. Who could have guessed that?'

So, what were Lord Cecil's conclusions?

On Helen: `There were great similarities between Helen and Melanie, so I had to concentrate on how they spoke, the expressions they used and what they talked about. They both looked like typical upper-class career girls, casually dressed for dinner. They were both confident and elegant. At the moment there's a tendency for upper-class girls to dress down, even when going to the theatre. They are more likely to wear well-made trousers than a dress.

`Helen wore trousers with a long black and white coat with a fur collar. She was tall and had style and innate class. I noticed she wore pearl earrings. "Girls with pearls" are a real giveaway for upper-class, country girls.

`I knew instantly Helen was used to eating out regularly. Her manners were impeccable. She held the wine glass correctly, by the bulb, and ate her scallops and wild rice delicately. She had nice, easy table manners. She wasn't nervous and didn't wait for me to start or fumble through the menu and was confident enough to choose a nice white Italian wine for our starter. Ironically it was me who had to ask the staff what something meant on the menu. They had written "celer" instead of "celeriac" soup.

`Conversation flowed with Helen. We talked non-stop about lots of different subjects, from banking to East Africa to psychology. Most upper-class girls have had a good education and can talk about anything. My background didn't matter a jot to her, which gave me the impression she was used to meeting people like me. She wasn't a shrinking violet.

`It was a very difficult decision between her and Melanie but overall I came to the conclusion Helen was more upmarket because of her use of language. Some of her expressions were very upper class.

`I'd guess her parents were professional people. She had a heavily disguised Scottish accent and I suspect that's where she grew up, probably in the country if her pearls are anything to go by. Perhaps they are farmers like my family were 450 years ago.'

On Melanie: `I thought Melanie's clothes were the most ideally suited to the restaurant, which was busy and casual. She wore cream trousers, a black and white top and red patent high heels. She had lovely red, glossy hair and made the best of herself. She had clear skin and lovely features and didn't put on too much make-up. She obviously took the time and trouble to look after herself. That's true of all upper-class girls, probably more so than middle-class girls. Upper-class girls are more high maintenance, even if they do prefer to dress in grunge.

`Her table manners certainly didn't give her away. But there were other clues which made me change my mind and think she was less upmarket than Helen. She was less confident about the wine and didn't know which one would go best with her pudding. She left it to me to choose for her. I recommended one from a vineyard I knew in a village in Provence, France. She wasn't familiar with my choice, and I thought that perhaps she didn't eat out as much as Helen because most upper-class people would have heard of this village.

`She seemed more self-assured and hard-nosed than Helen - possibly less sheltered - and she had done a lot of travelling after university on her own. A thoroughly modern girl with a gung-ho attitude to life, which was very refreshing. She struck me as comfortable with her background and didn't feel the need to pretend to be someone she was not.

`I think she was middle class. She struck me as someone who could move easily between different social groups. There was no stuffiness about her. She felt perfectly comfortable sharing a cab with me after the dinner because we lived in the same direction. There was no gap or awkwardness in our conversation.

`I'd guess her father is a professional man, possibly a lawyer or bank manager. Her mother gives to the community, perhaps as a counsellor.'

On Stella: `Stella wore a long dress which was overly dressy for the occasion and a large clue. There are fewer designer clothes worn in higher social circles - flaunting labels is considered poor taste. Most upper- class girls would dress down unless they were going to a wedding or a dance. Some can be quite scruffy and would think nothing about going out to dinner in jeans.

`Stella was by far the most nervous of the three and seemed worried about meeting me. I tried to calm her down and ask questions about what she liked doing. She took more work than the others to open up. However, after a while she settled down and came out of her shell.

`I detected a strong regional accent, although that isn't necessarily a giveaway. Lots of Etonians put on estuary accents. In fact it's impossible for someone who talks like me to get a job reading the news nowadays. It is inverse discrimination. But I didn't think Stella had the confidence to double bluff.

`When Stella relaxed she was by far the funniest of the girls. She had more character, made me laugh a lot and had very firm views. At one point she said, "I've heard you're immensely rich and an aristocrat." It was very amusing - even if I didn't quite know how to reply. But I liked the fact she was to the point. It makes a change from the upper-class women I meet, who wouldn't dream of being so direct.

`I couldn't get any clues as to her background from her table manners. There was no difference in the way she ate to the way I ate. She didn't eat with her mouth open or help the staff clear away the dishes, and there wasn't really enough cutlery or glasses for her to get muddled up. She had tuna for her main course, which didn't present any problems. If there had been asparagus or poussin on the menu, I doubt she would have known to eat it with her fingers.

`Her initial lack of self-confidence made me suspect she was working class because she wouldn't have had a lot of experience eating out or meeting people like me. She works in social services and came across as a very caring person who is good with people. I suspect she got those characteristics from her parents. I'd guess they are blue-collar workers. Maybe her mum is a nurse and her dad a shop assistant.'

The girl's reactions:

Helen: `I'm very impressed, and relieved, that he got it right. I'm flattered he thought I had style and class. But I bought my trousers from Warehouse - I deliberately wore them to try and put him off the scent. I'm surprised he thought I was tall - I'm a fairly average height. I think his impression must be down to the good posture drummed into me by my parents and school. I do eat out regularly - once a week - and I'm not afraid to take control of the menu. I can't think of any upper-class expressions I use. Maybe I just use longer words or am more grammatically correct than Melanie. I'm stunned he figured out my parents were farmers and that he detected a faint Scottish accent. I didn't think I had one. It's not as if I go around saying "Och aye" all the time.'

Melanie: `It's quite funny that he wasn't sure whether it was me or Helen who was upper class. It's rather nice being able to pass for an upper-class bird. I'm surprised he thought my table manners were good. I grabbed the fork to eat my pudding because it was the nearest to me. I wasn't sure it was right. But I reckon the smoking, drinking and swearing gave me away in the end! I don't know much about wine, but I'm not embarrassed about it and didn't mind asking his opinion. I was very flattered he thought I looked good. It's clear he has a good insight into how my class is reflected in my parents' jobs. My mum is a sort of counsellor and my dad has a profession similar to a lawyer or bank manager. He was very close.'

Stella: `I'm not surprised he guessed I'm working class. I felt I stuck out like a sore thumb and felt uncomfortable and underconfident. My dress was from a designer boutique, but it's odd that upper-class girls want to go out looking like scruffbags - I'd never turn up to a posh restaurant in jeans and a T-shirt. But he's wrong about me not being used to eating out. I go out to restaurants at least once a month. I think my accent was a big giveaway. Lord Valentine is a nice guy and I was surprised how easy it was to have a normal conversation - it was like chatting to a mate. He was nearly right with my dad's job too - he's very astute. But the date proved to me that class does make a difference. I just didn't feel I fitted in.'

CAPTION(S):

Stella was convinced Lord Cecil would think her `common' Melanie is middle class. But how different is she from upper-class Helen, right? Lord Cecil guessed Helen was upper class because of her language, confidence and table manners; Middle-class Melanie gave herself away when she didn't know what wine to order with her meal Lord Cecil found Stella by far the funniest and most to-the-point of the three women. `Upper-class women would never be so direct,' he says