In a frank and honest interview, Eddie Smith, famed Ricky Hatton celebrity lookalike, described the emotional turmoil he finds himself in as rumours of Hatton's likely retirement circulate in the media.
"No-one realises how hard this job is" Smith explained, "My weight is in a constant state of change. I have to match the physical state of Ricky otherwise no-one takes me seriously as a lookalike. That means bouncing between the build of a flyweight boxer and a northern trucker in monthly intervals. My wife Helen hates all the stress it causes."
"The second one of his fights finish I have to begin gorging on pies and chips. The second he goes into training, I have to flog myself silly losing all the weight."
"And now, after all that, Ricky may quit. What will I do then? I'm meant to be opening a Morrison's in Burnage a week on Tuesday."
Even more of a blow, Smith's neighbour who he has never got on with, Mr Sung Pan Yip, has just signed a significant contract with the same lookalike agency, as a Manny Pacquiao impersonator.
It was found out after the above had gone to press, that Mr Yip had been signed to open the Burnage Morrison's.
