As Kate Middleton is dumped, Spare a thought for the lookalikes who are out of a job | the Daily Mail
As Kate Middleton is dumped, Spare a thought for the lookalikes who are out of a job
The market for professional Kate Middleton lookalikes was beginning to flourish, with party organisers and companies keen to have the woman considered Queeninwaiting at their functions.
Tall, slim and beautiful girls were being signed by agencies for what promised to be a lucrative and exciting job. So, how do the Kate lookalikes feel about their careers ending so prematurely?
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Call me Kate: (from left) Kerry Taylor, Hannah Northedge, Lyndsylee Spence and Louise Lyne
Belle of the ball: The real Kate
Kerry Taylor, 31, was a full-time Kate Middleton lookalike. She lives with her husband Dean, 43, a professional Austin Powers and Borat lookalike, and their two children, Oliver, five, and Auston, five months, in Essex.
She says: A few months ago my husband Dean and I were browsing in Harrods when we overheard someone ask: "Is that Kate Middleton?" and point at me.
At first I just thought it was funny being mistaken for her. At that time, I was a full-time mum, running around after my little boys all day.
But the longer I thought about it the more it seemed possible. We have the same hair, same build and, like her, I have quite plain facial characteristics.
There's nothing about my face that jumps out at you, all my characteristics are in proportion and quite subtle.
Because Dean was already in the lookalike industry I knew how lucrative being a lookalike could be, so I thought I would give it a go.
Dean has loads of contacts, so he got me signed to an agency and gave me lots of advice and tips, to give me the best chance of success.
The most important thing he told me was to do my research and know as much as you can about the celebrity you're impersonating. So I pored over magazines like Hello! which always featured shots of Kate, and tried to copy her "look".
It was handy for me that she's a fan of High Street clothes because it meant I could buy exactly the same outfits as her when I was doing my impersonations.
I bought the Topshop monochrome dress she wore on her 25th birthday, and picked up a few pieces from one of her favourite shops, Katherine Hooker, on London's Fulham Road.
I tried to use an accent I thought would chime with her plummy Home Counties voice, though it was hard because we never really hear her speak.
Kate, I lost my Essex accent and just spoke in a very refined, polite tone.
You can imagine how upset I was to hear that she had been dumped by William. When my husband called to tell me the news I was devastated.
I'm sad for them as a couple, of course, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I was disappointed that my career as a lookalike has been cut short. What terrible luck.
I had already done a few corporate events and private functions, and they paid very well, usually around £400 a time, and because people seem to have warmed to Kate, I was always well received.
Not only am I now not going to earn the money, but I'm actually out of pocket as I've spent a couple of hundred pounds on buying a wardrobe similar to Kate's.
All I can hope is that they will be reconciled at some point, or that she'll end up with another high-profile partner and stay in the public eye. That way I can keep on being Kate.
Hannah Northedge, 27, a professional singer, lives in South-East London with her partner Graham Parker, 45, a guitarist. She was a Kate Middleton lookalike.
She says: My first impression of Kate was that she is quite natural, and not too contrived. She looks like she doesn't spend hours on her appearance - even if she does - and I like that.
Her dress sense is quite Sloaney, though - she looks quite conformist, the way I would imagine someone who studied at Oxford or Cambridge to dress.
She isn't particularly daring in her clothes, and looks old for her age. Yet she seems to be comfortable with her image and has probably found a style she will stick to.
Normally, I dress nothing like Kate. I prefer fashion from the Forties and Fifties, and wear a lot of vintage clothes.
I don't really buy designer or High Street brands - I can't afford designer wear, and I like to go for individual things that you can't find on the High Street. As Kate's public image grew and grew, I began doing work as her lookalike - I had already done a couple of photoshoots as her.
I'm really sad that the door to my future as a lucrative Kate lookalike has closed. I know I would have earned good money masquerading as Kate, but it's the experiences I'm going to miss more than the potential earnings.
The money is great, but the reason I became a lookalike was for the parties you attend, the people you meet and the acting skills you develop.
I'm sad for Kate that their relationship is over but not particularly surprised. William is a young lad who clearly doesn't want to settle down just yet.
He has a life of restrictions ahead of him and for now he wants to go to bars and dance with pretty girls. I don't blame him, but it's better he does this as a single guy.
Lyndsylee Spence, 19, is studying English Literature at Belfast College. She lives in Antrim with her parents, Tracy, 39, and William, 44, and brother Mark, 14.
Lyndsylee says: I am really disappointed that there won't be a market for Kate lookalikes any more. I used to be a model and really enjoyed it, but life as a lookalike would have been amazing - travel, money and best of all, being a Royal for the day and enjoying their lifestyle.
Before the split I had earned quite a bit doing photoshoots as Kate, so I'm sad that my career as a Kate lookalike has been cut short before it really began.
I first saw her in a magazine when she was wearing a dress from Topshop. I remember thinking how cool she was - she was going out with a prince, the future King, but hadn't let it get to her head.
She seemed to have everything, but this weekend I've felt really sorry for her. Breaking up with your boyfriend is hard enough without the world's Press camped on your doorstep. I must be the only person in the world who wasn't surprised to hear Kate and Wills had broken up. At the end of the day, she was just an ordinary girl who had to cope with a lot and maybe it all just got too much for her. She's had a lucky escape, if you ask me.
Louise Lyne, 26, is a freelance writer from Manchester and was a part-time Kate lookalike.
She says: Becoming a Kate Middleton lookalike, for me, was about having fun and opening doors to new experiences.
Ever since Kate burst on to the scene three or four years ago, people told me I looked like her.
I, too, have long dark hair and a clear, pale complexion. I also dress like Kate in day-to- day life, in smart High Street dresses, boots and tights, and I love wearing hats - though I don't get to wear them as often as her as she goes to more formal events.
It was a friend who encouraged me to become a lookalike. I approached an agency she recommended, and they signed me up immediately.
I then had a meeting with Alison Jackson, who creates spoof celebrity scenarios for television. I really hoped that could lead to some TV work.
Now, it's all turned to dust. My dad sent me a message on Sunday morning to tell me Wills and Kate had broken up but, at first, I thought it was a joke. The timing seemed too cruel. It was only when I turned on the radio that I realised it was true.
It's extremely disappointing for me; I was looking forward to some overseas travel and earning some extra money - potentially hundreds of pounds for each event I went to as Kate.
I also thought it would be something I could write about to enhance my career. I'd registered with a lookalike agency just a few weeks ago.
Now I'm resigned to the fact that their relationship is over and, with it, her time in the limelight. That means it's curtains for us lookalikes.
I'm sure she'll be around for a while and the Press will be interested in her life post-William, but no one is going to want a lookalike of a former Royal girlfriend at their party, are they?
And they're not the only ones
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Memorabilia: Determined not to be taken by surprise by the couple's engagement, Woolworths spent months on product development, ordering samples of souvenirs to commemorate Kate and William's happy day. The store estimated the market for spin-off products from a new royal wedding could be worth up to £10million. It now has a substantial hole in its coffers.
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Documentaries: As Kate's public profile has flourished and media interest in her has reached fever pitch, a documentary Kate: The New Diana? was scheduled to be screened on Sky One on Monday, May 7, with contributions from Princess Diana's former lover James Hewitt and paparazzi king Darryn Lyons. The documentary will no longer be broadcast, but it is thought that Sky One might use some of the footage at a later date. •
Gamblers: Bookies rubbed their hands with glee at news of the split. William Hill was preparing to pay out £50,000 to punters who had backed the couple to wed. It is now offering 10-1 that the couple will reunite and marry, 5-1 that William will marry another "commoner", and even money that his wife will be an aristocrat.
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