Andy Harmer has changed his hairstyle more times in the past two years than most men would in a lifetime.

Andy, 22, who lives in Eastbourne, used to work as a car valeter at Whitley Bridge Car Sales.

But since being told he looked like David Beckham two years ago when he had a floppy, blond fringe, Andy has been a full-time lookalike.

To keep up with the footballing supremo, he has had to shave all his hair off, grow a goatee beard, shave that off too and consider getting a mohican.

Andy is one of the most successful Beckham lookalikes in the country. One thing that sets him apart is his ability to keep the ball in the air indefinitely, although his skill on the pitch doesn't quite mirror that of his hero.

Like his celebrity counterpart, Andy has had the most successful year of his career so far. As David Beckham's fame has soared, Andy's fortunes have risen too.

He said: "Thankfully I became a lookalike after David got sent off in the World Cup and after the sarong incident, so I missed out on the low points of his career."

But this year, Beckham not only scored the crucial goal against Greece in the 94th minute to ensure England went through to the World Cup, he was also named BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

For Andy, the highlights of the year were a little less public. "The high point of 2001 for me was appearing in a few adverts with David.

"In the ad for the David Beckham football game on PlayStation, you can see my legs resting on the table. I also did two Pepsi adverts, but they haven't been shown yet."

For one of the cola commercials, Andy was flown out to Madrid for two weeks and lived the high life with his girlfriend.

In fact, Andy's romantic life is the one main area where he has diverged from David Beckham this year.

He used to be in a relationship with a Victoria Beckham lookalike, Camilla Shadbolt, also from Eastbourne.

Unlike Posh and Becks, however, their relationship did not remain solid and he is now seeing someone else.

The lookalike can't think of any lows to match David Beckham's ordeal in court when the man who stole Victoria's Louis Vuitton luggage was sentenced to 15 months in a young offenders' institution.

But Andy has found the increased attention difficult sometimes. Most of the time he doesn't mind heads turning wherever he goes, but sometimes it grates on his nerves.

"It doesn't bother me too much but I do have to watch what I do in public. The best part is being able to get into places for free."

For both Andy and David Beckham, 2002 looks set to be better than ever.

The footballer should be at the peak of his powers as he plays in the World Cup in Japan. Andy will be jetting over too to cover engagements the man himself can't do.

In a different region of the world of celebrity, Lily Neeley, 46, is a Lily Savage lookalike who lives in Hove.

Lily, whose real name is Helen, first discovered the bombshell from Birkenhead when she was out shopping.

As she walked past a TV in a shop, she heard a voice which stopped her in her tracks. "I thought: 'Hang on a minute, I haven't done anything to get on TV'."

The voice belonged to Lily Savage and was identical to Helen's own Liverpudlian accent.

Helen thought it would be a laugh to dress up in Lily's costume. When she saw herself in the wig and tarty clothes, she couldn't believe it.

This year has been her busiest since she started acting as Lily five years ago.

Helen is constantly travelling around the country. She was in Newcastle, Birmingham, Ilford and Heathrow in just the week before Christmas.

She said: "I feel like I spend my life on the train. It can be very wearing."

Paul O'Grady, who plays Lily Savage, has also had a busy year. His show Paul O'Grady In America was screened on ITV as a follow-up to his trip to Thailand earlier in the year.

He presented the Royal Variety Show and created Lily Savage's one-woman show Lily Live! But he also broke away from his comic creation and struck out on his own.

Helen has been performing as herself more frequently than before this year, too. She said: "I've done a few things not as Lily, which has been great. I used to be an actor so it was good to get back to that.

"I'm not one of those lookalikes whose career is totally dependent on how well the star is doing.

"I've detached myself from being a second-best version of Lily Savage and now I'm a successful performer in my own right."

At the suaver end of the showbusiness spectrum, smooth-talking Sean Conway is in demand for personal appearances impersonating the former 007 actor who almost shares his name.

Sean, a retired engineer who lives in Eastbourne who has changed his name to sound similar to his hero's, has made 15 public appearances as Sean Connery this year.

The highlight was being flown out to the Algarve to drop in on a party for 3,000 people.

Sean Connery has had a relatively quiet year. He was named the second greatest Scot of the last 100 years (after Ewan McGregor) and is tipped to star in a new Bond film as the infamously suave spy's father.

His only major film release was Finding Forrester, in which he played the part of a literary genius in the Bronx.

But his lookalike has been in bigger demand than ever.

Sean said: "At 63, I am eight years younger than Sean Connery, but I seem to be ageing while he keeps looking young.

"I decided to become a lookalike for a bit of fun after retiring from my engineering firm in Crawley. People kept on saying I looked like Sean Connery, so I thought I would take advantage of it.

"I was once with a film engineer who had worked with Sean on the Bond movies, and he was convinced I was Sean "

Among pop superstars, Geri Halliwell had a year of ups and downs in 2001.

Her former best pal Robbie Williams called her a 'demonic little girl' and her album failed to make it to number one.

Worst of all, she was forced to flee from her London home after thieves broke in and caused £80,000 of damage.

On the other hand, the feisty former Spice Girl played for British troops in Oman as part of a morale-boosting exercise and her single, It's Raining Men, topped the charts in May.

For Emma Simmonds, a Geri lookalike, model and dancer from Portslade, 2001 has been steadier.

Emma, 21, has been busy all year. She said: "As Geri is more in the limelight, I get more work. There is definitely a direct relationship between the two. Every time she's on the front page, I get a call."

When Geri was still Ginger Spice, Emma also had dyed red hair. She said: "That was when people first started to say I looked like Geri. But when she went blonde it was even better, because I am a natural blonde."

Emma has followed Geri in two significant areas of her life this year. She has taken up yoga and moved in with her boyfriend Simon Jones.

Time will tell if Geri will also get serious with her new millionaire boyfriend, Bobby Hashemi.

The Coffee Republic-founder is a keen polo player who stables his horses at Midhurst. So one day the lookalike may bump into Geri on the Downs.

To contact the lookalikes, telephone Splitting Image on 020 7286 8300, Lookalikes on 020 7274 0666 and Fresh Agents on 01273 711777.