Sue Elliott Nichols has been investigating the world of the professional celebrity lookalike. She spoke to Jimmy Jermain and Barbara Kealy, aka Cliff Richard and Joan Collins, as well as Debbie McClaren (Fergie) and Pete Johnson (Chris Tarrant) who are married to each other....

Jimmy Jemain as Cliff Richard

Barbara Kealy was in a nightclub with friends when it was suggested that she could easily be a Joan Collins lookalike. She sent her photos to an agency who represents celebrity lookalikes and it all went from there.

Barbara feels that she has a head start because she and Ms Collins have similar body language. "I put that down to me being half-Italian and she being half-Jewish". Barbara likes the fact that Joan is a survivor and has put the older woman on the map. She sees Joan as a fighter, a quality she identifies in herself because she comes from a family of seven children.

Jimmy Jermain says he really just wanted to 'be himself'. He coincidentally attended the same secondary school as Cliff Richard, and while he was there his drama teacher picked up on the fact that he looked and sounded like Cliff. She mentioned the likeness, and other pupils picked up on it - it took off from there.

When Barbara puts on her Joan Collins outfits she feels she just blends in with her, and forgets she's 'all dolled-up'. Jimmy feels that, in a way, he knows Cliff and saw him for years as a role model. Jimmy agrees that it's a strange job : "It is an odd thing to do. It's a bit abnormal really, it's a bit weird isn't it, to be living your life by someone else's career I guess. I want to be me and sing my own stuff. I want to do original stuff and be me, but because people see you in a different light to how you see yourself at the end of the day you've got to turn things around and say, okay if that's what you want then I'll be Cliff Richard".

When Barbara goes out dressed as Joan and speaking as Joan she feels nevertheless that she's always herself in her head, whilst being conscious that she's portraying someone else. "I probably turn into her in quite alot of ways, but I do not have trouble coming back to me".

Pete as Chris, and Debbie as Fergie

Debbie McClaren, who 'does' Fergie, and Pete Johnson who 'does' Chris Tarrant, are married to each other. It started for Debbie around the time of Fergie's wedding when people stopped her to point out the resemblance. "I don't think you see it yourself. You don't actually see yourself as looking like somebody else, but when she got married we all sat down and watched the wedding and I could see the resemblance".

Pete Johnson remembers more and more people telling him about his resemblance to Chris Tarrant. He decided he could either "take it on board and so something with it, or blank it and I just chose to go with it. It is good fun, there's no two ways about it, it's a great social life". Pete and Debbie actually met at a lookalike party, both in the same marital situation of being separated and going through divorce. They knew each other 'on the circuit' and were very compatible. Pete feels they're a little bit of a novelty act walking round the supermarket. Someone has chased Pete round the aisles and asked for his autograph, which he found most disconcerting.

Pete and Debbie's friends and family did think it rather funny when they got together. Debbie has actually met the real Chris Tarrant, which felt very strange because she felt it was like meeting Pete's brother. Alot of Debbie's work is with American tourists. They do ask her 'how's Beatrice and how's Eugenie and what's your relationship like with Andrew?'. Pete says "You pick up on things and aspects of their life that you can relate to your own life, and you feel as if you know where they're coming from".