While it doesn't rank up there with the unequal division of labour in the home or discrepancies in pay, the fact that women are hard-pressed to find some quality entertainment of the male variety while men can easily find such fun, is yet another example of inequality between the sexes. Just ask any women who has seen a stripper at a hen night.

But with Butlers in the Buff, the gap is narrowing. Billed as the 'male order company,' Butlers in the Buff provide handsome guys wearing pinnies, collars, cuffs and little else for hen parties, leaving dos and the like.

Invited to one of their events, my colleague Tanya and I had low expectations. She recalled the gorgeous, young blonde stripper she selected from a company brochure for a leaving do, and when he arrived he was…well let's just say he didn't do what he said on the tin. With my own experiences, the men were either laughable (a cliché fireman) or downright disturbing (a young man who was so scrawny and boyish he looked fresh from secondary school).

As we approached the leafy London square where the event was being held, we soon caught side of naked backsides. I felt a fit of giggles coming on, thinking there was no way I'd be able to go inside and have a semi-naked man serve me Champagne without openly laughing at the absurdity of it all, especially if the men were stereotypical beefcakes. Since most female strippers adhere to a male-fantasy stereotype (big breasts, high heels, lots of makeup) I expected the Butlers to be this in reverse (big muscles, greased up, lots of fake tan).

Well ladies, I'm happy to report I was pleasantly surprised. All of the men were trim and toned, but they all looked more 'handsome guy you spot on the street' than 'Mills and Boon cover model.' And more importantly, they were polite, lovely guys, who were easy to talk to, and put us at ease immediately.

Most of the guys do the work as a bit of extra money – some are students, others graduates, and one was even a secondary school teacher (if that doesn't tell you teachers don't get paid enough in this country, I don't know what does). More surprisingly, many Butlers get into the job through encouraging girlfriends or female friends who have heard about the company.

There was nothing sleazy at all about the event, and as the Butlers in the Buff website states, 'you can use your Butler for just about anything you need! However our Butlers are not strippers, and are not hired for activities of a sexual nature, this is pure tongue-in-cheek fun!'

This is not to say women don't try. One Butler recalled how a woman once purposely spilled a drink on his pinny to see if he really was naked underneath. But all of the Butlers seem to be nothing but true gentlemen, so much so that they can be hired fully-clothed if you wish, making them ideal for hen nights where the bride seems to be more Bree Van de Kamp than Edie Britt. For friends who are a bit shy, they are great fun and can be dressed (or undressed) to a level appropriate for the event.

Butlers in the Buff can even be hired to do domestic chores, with their website suggesting that 'if you're hiring a Butler why not get your house tidied, or your washing done?!' Maybe that division of labour in the home can be bridged after all…

For more information visit www.butlersinthebuff.co.uk