Tel it like it is

It’ll be one Tel of a sight – a UK nationwide search is under way to find 1,000 Terry Venables lookalikes.

The doppelgangers are being invited to a Tel Convention this summer to celebrate the life and times of the former England manager.

And Venables himself will be there to judge which of them bears him the best resemblance.

The wacky search is the brainchild of internet firm One.Tel, which is setting out to prove that there may be many lookalikes out there – but there’s only one Tel.

“Terry Venables has made a huge contribution to the nation over the past few decades,” said One.Tel spokesman Russell Craig.

“His ground-breaking approach to fashion was way ahead of today’s icons such as David Beckham.

“Successful candidates will need to pay homage to Tel’s distinctive approach to life.

“He is the unrecognised modern day equivalent of Leonardo Da Vinci – an innovator who can turn his hand to many things.”

During his colourful career, Venables has combined football with a variety of other ventures – releasing records, creating cult 1970s TV detective Hazell and running a nightclub.

Extra marks will be given to those who not only look like Venables, but talk and sing like him too.

They are searching for lookalikes of Tel through the ages, from his soccer-playing days in the 1960s to his most recent incarnation as a perma-tanned telly pundit.

Entries can be made via the website www.onetel.co.uk