Celebrity Lookalikes are big business these days. Peter Ling runs as agency that hires at Lookalikes ordinary people who look like famous stars, for parties, family dinners, weddings, and so on. Listen to Peter talking to Julie, his assistants then fill in the information sheet about each of the lookalikes they discuss.
Peter: Let's have a look at our figures for last month and see how we're doing. How many bookings did we have in total?
Julie: Last month we did quite well, a hundred and thirty-seven bookings in all. That's up on last year's figures for the same month. It was the Justin Bieber bookings that gave us the increase. In fact, we need to get another Biebs lookalike. We had to turn down fifteen requests last month because our JB was already booked. He's very popular.
Peter: Who were our top four last month?
Julie: Justin Bieber, President Obama, David Beckham and Queen Elizabeth II. Bieber, thirty-two bookings, Obama twenty-five, David Beckham twenty... no, twenty-one, and her Majesty the Queen of England nineteen.
Peter: How are the numbers for next month shaping up?
Julie: The same four are still top of the list so far for next month. Bieber already has four more bookings than this month, Obama three fewer and Beckham and Queen Elizabeth are already two more bookings up each on this month.
Peter: Good. Good. So what's the overall popularity position for each over the last six months, in terms of popularity?
Julie: Bieber number one, President Obama next and then Beckham, then Queen Elizabeth.
Peter: What sort of events is each one popular for? Is there a pattern?
Julie: Yes, there is a pattern. Bieber is booked mostly for teenage parties. It's sports events that book
David Beckham, as you'd expect. Both the Queen and the President are booked for a mix of events each. No real pattern with those two
Peter: How long have we had the Bieber lookalike on our books? And you say we could use another?
Julie: We've had a Bieber for the past eleven months. Beckham for five years and Queen Elizabeth for twelve. Those two don't lose their popularity. We've had an Obama for two years.
Peter: Do we get positive feedback on each of them?
Julie: No. Not all the time. Some bookers do tell us they're a bit disappointed. But what do they expect? The real thing? In fact our Justin only has thirty-five percent positive feedback. Obama is the best with eighty percent, The Queen has ten percent less and Beckham is the same as Her Majesty.
Peter: That's not bad. Have we got anything we need to sort out with any of them?
Julie: Yes. We need to buy the Queen a new costume. Her dress and robes are looking a bit worn. We need to buy a much better wig for Justin Bieber. The one we use is not right now that the real Biebs has changed his hair style. President Obama says we don't pay him enough. He wants a pay rise. And David Beckham wants us to increase his travel allowance. That's it.