His remains, which are kept in Bari in southern Italy, were last exhumed half a century ago when the Vatican granted an anthropologist permission to examine them. Manchester University anthropologist Caroline Wilkinson, who was involved in the research, which forms the basis of a BBC2 documentary, The Real Face of Santa, to be screened on Saturday, created a clay model of the saint from a three-dimensional computer generated model based on x-rays and measurements taken from the saint's remains in the 1950s. However, according to the researchers, he did sport white hair and a beard - as was the fashion for 4th century religious leaders. He stood at 1.68 metres (5ft 6in) and had a broken nose. The real Saint Nicholas is likely to have had olive skin, dark brown eyes and a wide chin and brow. Using forensic technology more often used to reconstruct a facial image from rotting remains, scientists have pieced together an image of Saint Nicholas that owes more to his 4th century Turkish roots and bruiser lifestyle than the 20th century Coca-Cola advert, which introduced the red suit. According to new research, Saint Nicholas did once exist, but he was short, olive-skinned and had a broken nose.
Children expecting the ruddy cheeked, blue-eyed, elderly Father Christmas to pop down their chimneys on December 25 are being misled.