If you thought being labelled a telly addict was a badge of honour amongst us square-eyed types, or simply a reference to the 1980s game show, think again. The term has taken on an altogether more serious connotation, as Britain has just recorded its first officially diagnosed cases of TV addiction.

A report in the Daily Telegraph reveals that people are seeking professional help in a bid to kick their excessive binge-watching habits.

Viewers battling box set cravings are attending psychotherapy sessions at London’s Harley Street clinics, where they receive a combination of counselling and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), according to the newspaper.

Patients undergoing treatment included a 35-year-old man who admitted to watching crime dramas for seven hours a day, affecting his sleep patterns and, consequently, his work performance.

The popularity of binge-watching has undoubtedly been helped by the surge in availability of on-demand programming. Let's be honest, it's so much easier to watch just one more episode of your favourite show when you don't even have to get off the sofa or out of bed to walk over to the DVD player and change discs. Add to that the bonus of not having to wait until the following week to see the next episode, and you have a winning formula on your hands.

Streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Now TV, Apple TV+ and latest addition BritBox have boosted television's entertainment offering to unprecedented heights — just imagine a world without The Crown or The Man In The High Castle — and viewers are loving every non-stop minute of it. Netflix alone has seen subscriber numbers leap from 44 million to 150 million worldwide in the past six years.

But might it be tempting to lay any blame for the reported addiction cases directly at the doors of the digital providers? Surely we can take responsibility for our own actions.

I accept that some people are more predisposed than others to becoming hooked on pastimes that create emotional and/ or physical highs; I must also say that I admire those — like the ones seeking therapy for their telly fix — who acknowledge they have an addiction and take appropriate measures to deal with it.

Fortunately, most people enjoy binge-watching in moderation, if that isn't too much of a paradox. For some, it's a race to the finish before any spoilers hit social media; for others, it's the simple indulgence of a few hours of comfort viewing on a Sunday afternoon.

Will the new phenomenon of television addiction have an impact upon the way in which  services are offered in the future? I for one can't wait to see what happens next.