An ex-drag queen became so fed up of being mistaken for Alan Carr that he lost four stone and underwent an amazing TV transformation.
Liam Halewood, a cabaret singer who performs up and down the country, has spent the past eight years being mistaken for the TV funnyman – famous for his signature large teeth and thick-rimmed glasses.
The former drag queen, who spent years performing as Miss Liberty in Liverpool’s Superstar Boudoir club, was regularly hounded by fans of Alan Carr for selfies and autographs whenever he’d leave the house.
His celebrity doppelganger status was first discovered on a family holiday to Benidorm – when people started taking pictures of a bewildered Liam as he tucked into some tapas with husband Lee.
Spot the difference! Liam, pictured right before his transformation, bears an uncanny resemblance to Chatty Man Alan Car (left)
The 31-year-old from Liverpool said: ‘It all started about eight years ago when I was in Benidorm. It was a family holiday and I’d just sat down and ordered tapas with my husband and I just felt something behind me.
‘I turned around and there was a kid jumping up be-hind me and his mum was taking pictures. I didn’t really understand what was going on – I was a cabaret singer, but I didn’t think anyone would want a picture of me.
‘When I asked them, they said ‘you are Alan Carr, aren’t you?’ and explained they hadn’t asked for permission because they didn’t want to disturb my dinner.’
Despite initially using his lookalike status as a way to get booked for shows, Liam said he quickly grew tired of the association – and even wondered whether he was being booked for jobs purely because of his resemblance to the comic.
He added: ‘As a performer, originally I started to use it as part of my act; I’d play up on it, but after a while you start to lose confidence and you start to think ‘am I only being booked because I look like Alan Carr?’
‘I’d spent long enough acting as an alter-ego when I was a drag queen and I wondered if I’d ever be accepted just as Liam Halewood.
Liam pictured after his remarkable transformation quickly growing tired of his resemblance to the TV comic
‘I lost four stone using Slimming World but even that wasn’t enough.’
Liam – who auditioned for the X Factor in 2015 – transformed his image for E4’s Bodyfixers.
He originally applied for the show to have his ‘deformed feet’ fixed after spending years squeezing his size 10 feet into stilettos as part of his drag act.
He said: ‘I’m 6ft 1in and I have size 10 feet. I’m not a small guy so I spent years squeezing my huge feet into stilettos for my drag act.
‘But, when they looked at my social media and saw I looked like Alan Carr, they decided to go down that route.’
As part of the show, Liam’s hair was dyed a trendy shade of grey and his usual Alan Carr-style wardrobe – suit jackets and loafers – was swapped for more contemporary baseball jackets, t-shirts and skinny jeans.
Although he sees the funny side of his story, Liam insists he sought the makeover for a serious reason.
He added: ‘I know it’s funny, because I’m a bit of a character, but I don’t want people to think I just did it for my five minutes of fame. I went on for serious reasons and I seriously wanted a makeover.
‘It has really made a difference and I’ve now for the first time been booked for panto under my own name.’