Highlights

• Jamie Vardy's lookalike, Lee Chapman, rose to fame after being pictured with the Leicester City striker during the Foxes' title celebrations. However, he then fell out with Vardy and his wife.
• Chapman was threatened by people while out in Leicester following his falling out with the Vardys, with his viral moment becoming a nightmare.
• The lookalike then returned to his old job as a postman after being 'scammed' by his agent. However, he continues to be a presence online, creating content and maintaining a YouTube channel.

Jamie Vardy is known for many things - being a lethal goalscorer and an absolute wind-up merchant for starters. But he is also remembered for having one of the most memorable lookalikes in all of football.

Back in 2016, following Leicester City's incredible Premier League triumph, Lee Chapman became a viral sensation when an image was snapped of both him and Vardy celebrating the achievement. A postman at the time, he had been invited by Vardy onto the team bus to celebrate with the squad after the title victory. When asked by Sky Sports what Vardy had said to him, Chapman had a cheeky answer in store:

“You’re not as good looking as me, lad!”

However, that one meeting shot Chapman to stardom after the image of the duo circulated online, with him gaining thousands of followers on X (formally Twitter). He was then given the chance to become a professional lookalike for Vardy and was given six months off by Royal Mail to try and make his new career stick.

Speaking to The Mirror in 2016 at the height of his fame, the doppelgänger described the opportunity as ‘mental’, and we can’t really disagree. Although nobody could have predicted what happened next.

Chapman then fell out with the Vardys

Lookalike was labelled 'a stalker'

Instead of going on to have a successful career being the Leicester frontman’s lookalike, Chapman became embroiled in controversy after becoming a public figure. There was a very public falling out with Vardy’s wife, Rebekah, who labelled him “a stalker” after blocking him on social media, per The Sun, via The Independent.

“Being a season ticket holder doesn't give you the green light to become a stalker!”

Vardy then also then blocked Chapman on social media, with the postman sent a warning in May 2016 that he could face legal action if he damaged the striker’s image. Chapman’s agent, James Austin, spoke about how Vardy’s dismissal left Chapman feeling upset, per the MailOnline.

“At the end of the day, Lee is a massive Leicester fan and his idol is Jamie Vardy. He's genuinely gutted that he seems to have got this bitterness from the Vardy camp.”

It was not just his relationship Vardy that became toxic, however, with life in Leicester for Chapman also becoming something of a nightmare. Shortlist went on a night out with him in 2016 following the controversy with the Vardys, and they found out that his new career as the striker’s lookalike was incredibly chaotic.

Shortlist’s reporter Nick Pope painted a scary picture in his report: “As we walk through Leicester city centre, between the blaring clubs and pubs advertising retro drink deals, it becomes clear that the mood has well and truly turned against Chapman.

“Heckles fly from every smoking area we pass. “F*** off to London, you full-kit w*****”; “Vardy’s leaving because of you, you c***”; “Where’s your f****** Arsenal kit, stalker?” It feels like we're the out-of-town boxers who won't even make it to the ring.”

Vardy lookalike 'scammed by his agent'

Chapman was broke after falling out with Austin

While that was bad enough, Chapman then also lost out big time after his career as a lookalike imploded in February 2017. He was forced to return to his old job as a postman after admitting that he was left ‘broke’ after falling out with his agent, Austin.

A contemporary report from the BBC claimed to have seen emails that appeared to show Austin had edited invoices in order to have Chapman’s fees paid into a separate account that he controlled. Chapman also alleged that Austin sold the story about the Vardys blocking him to The Sun for £750.

Speaking about the case at the time, Chapman said, per BBC: “I could've stayed at Royal Mail and got more money.

"I've had to work six days a week non-stop, overtime, you name it, to get back to where I wanted to be.”

Following Chapman’s accusations, Austin again found himself in the news in 2021 when reality star Katie Price cut ties with him and his PR company Lucky7 after he touted himself as a promoter for her son, Harvey, in an attempt to make thousands, per The Mirror.

The report reveals that Austin was convicted in 2008 for using his grandparents’ names in a fraud which was worth thousands of pounds, before he was also jailed for two years in 2012 after handing out fake notes at Royal Ascot. At the end of the article, Austin claimed that Chapman had ‘breached his contract’.

Chapman bounces back after low points

Lookalike has over 17,000 YouTube subscribers

It was a pretty sad twist in the story. But Chapman did get back on his feet. In 2019, he won an award for the Best Individual Piece of Content at the Football Blogging Awards for his live stream outside the King Power Stadium following the shocking helicopter crash in which club owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four others tragically lost their lives shortly after take-off from Leicester’s ground on October 27, 2018.

And despite all of the drama from a few years ago, he continues to put his likeness to Vardy to good use. In 2022, Chapman appeared in a video for YouTuber ChrisMD in which he took part in various football challenges alongside a bunch of other lookalikes including David Beckham, Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane. The video, which is titled ‘Are Footballers' Lookalikes Actually Good At Football?’, has more than three million views.

Chapman himself has been an active presence on YouTube. Uploading his first video to the 'Lee Chappy' football channel six years ago which delved into the BBC’s report about why Vardy blocked him, he proceeded to consistently upload videos which discussed his beloved Leicester City, ranging from match reviews, to vlogs, to transfer news. While his last upload was four months ago now, he continues to regularly stream watch-alongs during the Foxes’ matches in the Championship, where they are thriving. His most-viewed video remains his first, with the mini-documentary about the BBC’s story amassing more than 770,000 views, and to date, Chapman now has 17,800 subscribers and has amassed more than three million views.

Chapman has also refused to let past interactions with Vardy dampen his love for the Leicester frontman, wishing his idol a happy 37th birthday. While the striker’s story of becoming a Premier League champion after playing non-league football is incredible to tell, it’s safe to say that his lookalike’s wild ride is not a bad one either.