In the world of new female friendships, it seems age is nothing but a number. Rae Radford, 61, from Broadstairs, Kent, met one of her closest friends, Verity, at a spin class. Although there is a 20-year age gap between the pair, it doesn’t matter because an unbreakable bond was formed.

“We were chatting after a class and continued talking afterwards and it progressed from there,” Radford explains. “The age gap makes no difference. Verity is a courageous woman and a marvellous mother whom I love and admire deeply. You will meet a lot of acquaintances in life but few ‘friends’, so when you do find a special bond, move heaven and earth for each other.”

And exercise classes aren’t the only arena where friendships are forged. Connections can be forged in the most unlikely of places. Shona Abhyankar, 51, is associate director at Ed PR and met one of her greatest friends while on jury duty.

“It was a horrendously long stint in a six-month mortgage fraud case,” she recalls. “Luckily we were partnered up and have ended up being great mates ever since. We even saw each other on holiday one year. We clicked and kept each other going during some really tough times – she used to cover for me when I wanted to suck on a sweet as we weren’t allowed food, so she’d cough as I was unwrapping a Werther’s Original.

“It’s great because we both live in London and our daughters have the same birthday. Looking back, I don’t know how I would have got through that period without her.”

Gym classes and jury duty: how women form friendships outside of work and school