EXCLUSIVE: Lisa Appleton tries to convince tourists she's Kate Middleton in hilariously awkward video outside Buckingham Palace

By Dan Cain For Mailonline

Published: 11:39 EST, 13 December 2016 | Updated: 17:03 EST, 13 December 2016

She's more Royle family than Royal family.

But Lisa Appleton, 48, did her best Kate Middleton, 34, impression as she took to Buckingham Palace in a bid to persuade unsuspecting tourists she was the Duchess of Cambridge.

Despite her best efforts, visitors from as far afield as Dallas, Texas, were left bemused as Lisa introduced herself as the much-loved Kate.

Royle or Royal? Lisa Appleton, 48, did her best Kate Middleton, 34, impression as she took to Buckingham Palace in a bid to persuade unsuspecting tourists she was the Duchess of Cambridge

Reactions to the Big Brother star ranged from indifference, to tongue-in-cheek bows and curtsies outside the royal dwelling.

Accompanied by Big Brother star Andy West, Lisa said: 'I actually got stopped by a woman who said "Was I kate?" I was in Chester. In a bar. 

'The older generation, like pensioners, do think I am either Catherine Zeta Jones of Kate Middleton.'

Not buying it: Despite her best efforts, visitors from as far afield as Dallas, Texas, were left bemused as Lisa introduced herself as the much-loved Kate

Lisa put on a glamorous display for her royal outing, wearing a lavish faux fur gilet and a full face of makeup.

If her styling saw her potentially succeed in winning over passers-by, then her knowledge of the Duchess undid her good work.

Bubbly Lisa forgot the names of Kate's children George and Charlotte, referring to them instead as Bill and Ben. 

While her prank was a bit of light-hearted fun, Lisa also opened up about the difficulties she faced after finding fame in Big Brother. 

'I had suicidal thoughts I hit rock bottom,' reflected the busty TV personality. 'After Big Brother and all the success, I lost it all. I was signing on in Warrington, I was on benefits and I was living on about £30 a week. My marriage was breaking down. I couldn’t get any work.

Oops: Lisa couldn't remember the names of Kate's (pictured) children

'It was at a time when every knew who I was. I was all over the internet. It was very overwhelming. I had people coming up to me all the time. I even had a stalker who followed me around. I was having a hard time dealing with the fame side of things.'

Lisa and ex-husband Mario Marconi called time on their marriage after an eight-and-a-half-year romance in 2013.

The couple got engaged in the Big Brother house back in 2008, before tying the knot on Channel 4 series The Wedding House. 

Lisa continued: 'I felt I had lost everything – my career, my marriage, everything, that I felt rock bottom. I felt so low I just wasn’t enjoying life anymore. I felt really emotional. I had a complete breakdown.

'It wasn’t just my work or my relationships. Everything just broke down. I was at that low place where I felt like giving up, that I just had enough. I used to have those dark thoughts of not living.

Made up: Reactions to the Big Brother star ranged from indifference, to tongue-in-cheek bows and curtsies outside the royal dwelling

'My family was there for me, my beautiful daughter was there, but nothing mattered anymore because my depression had got a grip of me. It was like falling into a well and you cant get out of it. You can’t get out of it. I shut myself away, isolated myself.

'One minute I had been out there on the red carpet, loving it up, TV work whatever, communicating with the public. I had such confidence. But then all of a sudden I had no confidence. I hit rock bottom. My self esteem just went.'

In recent weeks Lisa has been snapped in a series of scanty outfits, as well as showing off her larger than life personality.

Good-humoured: Many of the tourists took the bizarre encounter in their stride

However, she insists all of her antics are just good fun and aren't her going off the rails.

She said: 'It’s over the top. I’ve been over the top, then to rock bottom and back to being over the top again. To do this is like therapy. I’m loving it. I’m having fun. I am feeling confident again. I am feeling great. 

'And to those people who are having a go and say I’m fat or I’m deluded you’re a no-mark. I’m not. I am getting through a difficult time. I’m like what the hell. Stuff you lot. I’m back. I am alive and kicking and well. And about time. Well done me, keep it up.'

See more of Andy West's outrageous celebrity interviews at youtube.com/c/AndyVisionTV

Open and honest: While her prank was a bit of light-hearted fun, Lisa also opened up about the difficulties she faced after finding fame in Big Brother

 

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