‘It was good while it lasted…’ So says Tony Badger, who, for the last ten years, has been the UK’s top Tony Blair lookalike. ‘I guess I was born with a golden face,’ smiles the 53 year old steam train enthusiast and part-time lingerie model from Kent. ‘Only I’ve had to make it more golden over the years to keep pace with Tony’s tan. That’s been the most difficult part of the job. From one week to the next, we never knew what colour he’d be. One day he’d be a Bermudan beige and the next a shade of Moroccan coffee.’

But now unemployment beckons for Badger, who, like many of his colleagues in the political lookalike business, will retire or seek out normal work. Badger admits it’s a difficult time. ‘I’d like to land a directorship in the city or do a lecture tour of America,’ he jokes. ‘But in all honesty, it’s probably back to working in the biscuit factory with the odd bit of work modelling baby-doll nighties in the evening.’ Asked if he’s enjoyed his notoriety, Badger ruefully admits that there have been times when he’s enjoyed the job more than others. ‘Before Iraq, people loved me. I’d have women throwing themselves at me among the vegetables in the local Tesco. Now, they throw tomatoes and not normal tomatoes. Tesco Value tomatoes. The whole thing has become a horrible soggy mess.’

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