Cat first heard of Lady Gaga in January 2008 when a friend pointed out her resemblance to the singer. She says: “I was stunned by the similarity - we were the same height at 5ft 2 and both weighted 8st 7lbs.
“She was outrageous but also fantastic. I decided to try working as a lookalike and in June 2009 I contacted an agency. They said Lady Gaga tributes were so popular I could earn £500 a gig.”

Cat, who often gets asked by strangers if she’s the real Lady Gaga, then set out to make herself look as much like the American star as possible and funded it with credit cards and bank loans. Cat began by spending £1,500 on makeup, wigs and hairpieces, then spent £2,000 on several custom-made costumes.
In May, she spent £300 on professional pictures and forked out £2,000 recording and packaging five Lady Gaga tracks to help her launch herself as a tribute act. “I knew it was costing a lot, but I was sure it was going to pay off,” says Cat.

Single Cat says the toughest part so far has been losing weight to keep up with Lady Gaga’s new slimline look. “I noticed Lady Gaga was losing weight, so I cut back on carbs,” says Cat.
“It was hard, but over a year I lost a stone.” But the extreme dieting had an unwanted side effect. “My boobs deflated,” says Cat, who claims her friends are proud of her new look. “So a few weeks ago I had a boob job going from a 32B to a D. It cost £4,000, but my loans covered it.”