Queen's lookalike who starred in Doctor Who is giving up her job after 34 years 'out of respect' for late Monarch | The Sun
A QUEEN lookalike who stared in Doctor Who is giving up her job after 34 years "out of respect" for the late Monarch.
Mary Reynolds, 89, has been dressing as Her Majesty since 1988 but was first told she looked like the Royal when she was 17.
And now, following the death of the Queen, Mary is stepping back from her impersonating career – which she has called a "great privilege".
However, she will keep her outfits in memory of a woman who "felt like part of the family".
The Essex woman has appeared in many TV shows and films dressed as the Monarch.
Some of her standout memories include starring in the 1990 comedy film Bullseye with the late Sir Roger Moore, as well as an episode in the 25th anniversary series of Doctor Who in 1988.
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Mary told the PA news agency she felt "lucky" to look like the Queen, but that her days as a doppelganger are over.
She said: "It's been a great privilege to look like her because I think she's so incredible.
"I mean, it's a change of an era now, it's all going to be very weird.
"I was watching the television the day before and felt that there was going to be some bad news, which of course eventually came and it makes you feel very, very, very sad.
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"And then you do sort of realise that will be the end as far as I'm concerned… out of respect, I don't think one should do anything."
Mary said she had been approached on Thursday following the Queen's death, asking her to don her impersonator outfit.
She said: "There was something about a Russian television company wanting to do something with me and they wanted to see me dressed up and I said 'the only way I would dress up as the Queen would be in a black dress'."
She said the decision to leave her lookalike career behind made her emotional, adding: "I've just moved home… and I've got two boxes full of hats and I've just found somewhere to put them and I thought 'I'm not really going to need them any more'.
"It makes you feel very sad."
It comes as…
- The Queen has begun her final journey after her coffin was taken from her beloved Balmoral
- The website of the firm on the side of the Queen's coffin crashed just seconds after it appeared on TV
- Princes William and Harry and wives Kate and Meghan dramatically reunited yesterday in tribute to the Queen
- Princess Kate revealed son Louis' poignant reaction after she told him the Queen had died
- The full details of the Queen’s dignified final journey from Balmoral to London have been revealed
- Senior royals faced a mysterious hour-long delay as they raced to be with the dying Queen
Mary added that she will probably keep her outfits as "they've been part of my life for so long".
She said she had two separate wardrobes for her normal and royal outfits, but would dip into "the Queen's" closet if she was going "somewhere special".
Recalling moments from her career, Mary noted the excitement some members of the public would experience when they saw her.
She said: "We went to Uganda for British Airways and Sheraton Hotels and they had a racing event on the shores of Lake Victoria.
"I was just walking around and an African woman dressed up in her robes was going 'ooh' every time she saw me because I was 'the Queen'."
It's been a great privilege to look like her because I think she's so incredible.
Another moment she recalled was having to be rescued while filming for an Indian movie in London because "there were so many people wanting pictures".
Despite never meeting the Queen, Mary said that she was present at several of her most important milestones.
She said: "I was in the Mall when she got married and I was just off of the Mall for her coronation.
"I slept overnight in the road with my boyfriend, in tents.
"We got very wet and we got very lucky because one of the buildings there had a radio so we actually heard the whole of the service.
"And as they put the crown on her head, the heavens opened."
She just felt like part of the family, almost.
Mary added that she always tried to "act like the Queen and to be nice to and respect people".
She added: "She was a person who was so much light and she was a very well-loved person and friends with everybody.
"She just felt like part of the family, almost.
"I've had all these years of doing the work and it has helped me earn some money, but at the same time it was a pleasure for people to see you and say: 'It's the Queen.'
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"Wherever you went in the world, it was the Queen – not Queen Elizabeth, not the Queen of England, it was the Queen.
"There will never be anyone like her."
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