Couple given expensive pearls and
enter VIP area of LA club frequented by Paris Hilton Fearing
'freeloaders' will damage their reputation, Becks and wife threaten
to sue
May 02,
2007
DID you have trouble identifying which were the real Beckhams in
the photos on this page?
Not surprising. There are many out there like you.
Andy Harmer and Camilla Shadbolt are two professional lookalikes
for the football star and his glamorous singer-model wife.
And they have been doing a good job over the years working with the
real David and Victoria.
So good that their latest act as lookalikes of the couple has upset
the Beckhams.
When David Beckham signed a £128million ($388m) deal to join the
LAGalaxy football team this summer, the lookalikes decided to test
the cultural impact that the couple is likely to make.
It was part of a TV documentary by Sky One.
Have the Beckhams achieved A-list status in the City of Angels, or
do they have a bit of a way to go?
The results were surprising - Los Angeles fawned on them. The
experiment showed that the Beckham brand is already a surprisingly
hot property in Hollywood.
The Times reported that Harmer and Shadbolt persuaded a Lamborghini
garage to let them test-drive a ãpounds;300,000 car.
They also managed to leave the exclusive HLorenzo boutique with a
£9,000 string of black pearls after assistants there told them
they could have 'whatever they want' for free (one assistant even
revealed that she had served Victoria Beckham just two weeks
before).
They were even ushered into the VIP area of a nightclub favoured by
Paris Hilton.
COVER BLOWN
But their luck ran out when they visited a restaurant that is
popular with Hollywood stars.
In the documentary, the couple arrive at The Ivy in a stretch
Humvee, surrounded by paparazzi. Waiters clear a space for the
'Beckham party', which incorporates a fake fengshui expert and an
acting coach.
Minutes later they are kicked out, after the manager, who has
greeted the real couple, spots that they are fakes and threatens to
call the police.
The producers of The Beckhams Go To Hollywood say that the
documentary is a harmless look at the couple's celebrity
status.
But 19 Management, which looks after the Beckhams, is concerned
that the image of 'celebrity freeloaders' could damage the couple
before they arrive in Los Angeles.
The Beckhams believe that their reputation has been damaged by the
'blagging' spree of the lookalikes.
Lawyers for the couple have threatened to sue the producers of a
film on the lookalikes, due to be shown on Thursday on Sky
One.
LEGAL WARNING
A spokesman for Sky One told The Times: 'We have received a legal
warning on behalf of the Beckhams. But we intend to screen the
programme as planned without further editing.'
The lookalikes, from Sussex, UK, have enjoyed a decade as
'rent-a-Becks', copying the pair's ever-changing hairstyles and
tattoos. They were once lovers, but have separated, blaming the
pressures of work.
Harmer is the most recognised double of Beckham worldwide. He has
worked closely on projects with the footballer, doubling for him in
films and commercials such as Bend It Like Beckham, Goal, Pepsi,
Adidas and Vodafone.
Harmer won the televised 2004 'Doubles Look-alike' award along side
Shadbolt, who has doubled for Victoria Beckham in Walkers
commercials.
Shadbolt, 25, who met Victoria during filming for an advert, claims
to have spent £70,000 maintaining her alter ego.
As the premier lookalike, she can earn up to £4,000 a month
through photo-shoots and public appearances.
According to the Mirror, Shadbolt's most bizarre experience was in
Japan in 2003, when she went into a shoe shop and was so swamped by
fans she could not even see any of the merchandise.
'In the end, the shop owner had to take me into a back room just to
get me away from the crowd.
'Then they treated me like royalty, bringing me all these different
styles and waiting on me hand and foot. It was embarrassing,' she
recalled.
What did she do with the black pearl necklace that she was given by
Lorenzo in LA?
'Of course I gave it back,' says Shadbolt. 'I couldn't believe it
when they offered it to me as a gift thinking I was the real
Victoria.'
In real life, she says she is Posh on a budget.
'I've never bought any designer clothes. I rely on finding high
street copies of what Victoria wears and get simple things like
vests and T-shirts from places like Topshop.'