1. News Feature / Local Women 13
S
itting in the doctor’s surgery waiting on an
appointment, my name flashes up on the
electronic screen – ‘Cheryl Cole to Room Five.’
Of course as I was checking in I’d already
had the usual jokes: “How’s Ashley? When are you back
on The X Factor?” But to make matters worse I am in
Heaton, Newcastle-upon-Tyne – the ‘real’ Cheryl’s home
town and where I went to university for three years.
So, as my name flashes up, as well as the usual
mutters and giggles, a little girl just old enough to read
jumps out of her chair, gasping with excitement and
looking around frantically to see the celebrity in
her midst.
That is until her mum takes her hand and says:
“No, no sweetie, it’s not the real one.”
The little girl sighs loudly and looked so
disappointed that she is close to tears – leaving
me feeling terribly guilty for disappointing this little
stranger.
So to quote from one of Cheryl’s biggest hits: “How
do you think I feel when you call my name?” Well,
usually like a massive disappointment!
Local Women’s new reporter reveals
what life is like sharing a name with one
of the UK’s most famous ladies
pictures by Mark Jamieson
Hair by Andrea McAleese at Romaya,
Coleraine
When Cheryl Cole came to work at Local Women we couldn’t quite believe it!
Predictably we made jokes – all of which she had heard before. But it wasn’t
until we saw the reaction that our Cheryl gets when she is out and about that
we wondered what life is like being named after the UK’s top pop princess.
Coming from Garvagh and working in Local Women is a world away from
the ‘real’ Cheryl Cole’s lifestyle but every day our Cheryl is reminded of her
A list namesake.
Here, Cheryl tells us about living with the most famous name in the country and
then meets other local people who also live with famous names....
Although this is an extreme reaction to my name, I have to deal
with similar reactions from fully grown adults a lot of the time!
Yet I know most of you reading this will STILL think having a
famous name must be pretty cool.
Well, that’s exactly what I thought when the relatively
unknown Cheryl Tweedy started dating Ashley Cole. I was
excited at the thought that if they got married, she too
would be a ‘Cheryl Cole.’ At the time she was just known
as Cheryl from Girls Aloud, and in my naivety I remember
when they did get married in 2006, thinking that it would
go relatively unnoticed that Cheryl from Girls Aloud had
my name.
Jump forward two years, now a judge on the X
Factor, a style icon with a solo record deal, and a
celebrity in her own right, I realised just how naïve I
was to think our shared name would go ignored. By
2008, Cheryl Cole was easily one of the most famous
and talked about women in the country, and I’ve had
to Fight, Fight, Fight for this name ever since.
The days of: “Hello, nice to meet you,” being the
response to an introduction by me are long gone.
Instead they’ve been replaced by “No way,
that’s not your name”, “Aye right, show me
your ID”, or, if they fancy themselves as
a bit of a comedian, “Are you getting
back with Ashley?”
So, imagine how tedious it is to
pretend to still find this funny after
the 100th time hearing it. As if it
didn’t happen enough anyway, being a
student in Newcastle-upon-Tyne made
this a lot worse. Protesting to strangers
that I am in fact the ‘real’ Cheryl Cole
as I was born with the name when
she just married into it, became
pretty much a routine part of my
week. Postmen ringing the doorbell
expected, and hoped, to get a glimpse
of the famous Cheryl Cole and instead
were greeted by a student in her
pyjamas. They did little to hide their
disappointment, and take it from me
- it’s not fun!
Neither is hearing every person
you meet telling you any connection
at all they have to Cheryl - “My
friend’s sister’s cousin, twice
removed sold Cheryl her first mobile,”
is a genuine example of a story I was
told when trying to buy a phone.
Making appointments and booking taxis, once a simple task, now
involve either being hung up on, or spending five minutes convincing
them that you are not joking and are in fact, called Cheryl Cole.
Even in the professional world of work I can’t escape from Cheryl’s
famous shadow. When enquiring about a job opening last year the
response I got was: “Sure just keeping trying to sing and you should
be alright.” As frustrating as this is, I can’t blame them as they
certainly aren’t the only people who don’t take me seriously.
On social networking sites especially, I am automatically thought
of as either a fake account or mistaken for the famous one by a
surprising amount of people, considering my photos look nothing like
her! (Even ITV Press Centre made the mistake and have been following
me on Twitter for the past four years!)
I get numerous Facebook friend requests, heartfelt messages from
fans offering support, condolences when I didn’t win The X Factor,
and, every now and again, some abuse to mix things up. I’ve had it all,
from “You are so talentless, you can’t even sing!” from the delusional
Facebookers who believe I am Cheryl Cole, to the: “You WISH you
were Cheryl Cole, you low life!” from the more aggressive fans.
My personal favourite came from a man claiming to be an African
Cricketer named Siphe, telling me that Ashley had been bombarding
his wife with inappropriate text messages!
There is also the obvious downside to sharing a name with Cheryl -
that when compared to the former FHM Sexiest Woman in the World,
you are never going to look that good!
However, it isn’t all doom and gloom, as thanks to my famous
name I was asked to appear on Nick Grimshaw’s BBC3 show Sweat
The Small Stuff last year to discuss the problems it has caused. I got
advice from various celebrities including Frankie Sandford from the
Saturdays, Union J and Made in Chelsea’s Jamie Laing, who chatted
to me afterwards, posed for pictures and even tweeted about meeting
me - my own personal claim to fame! This was an opportunity I
wouldn’t have had if it wasn’t for my famous name!
So, although there isn’t a day goes by without me having to chat
about Cheryl Cole, I can’t deny that it is a great conversation starter.
And although it’s not as cool as I thought it would be, I can Promise
This – it’s never dull.
Yes, my
name really
is Cheryl
Cole’
“Postmen ringing the doorbell expected,
and hoped, to get a glimpse of the famous
Cheryl Cole and instead were greeted
by a student in her pyjamas.”
Turn over to meet the local people who also
have famous namesakes...