Footballers' double-takes

There's something rather familiar about this couple - his artfully styled blond hair, her close-fitting outfit accessorised by flowing dark hair and a killer pout.

Meet Conrad and Amber Gates, the new stars of hit series Footballers' Wives, who bear more than a passing resemblance to the most famous football couple of all time, Posh and Becks.

After two successful series of the drama and having witnessed the insatiable appetite for all things Beckham, producers of the show have written the Gateses into the third series.

Conrad Gates, played by Ben Price, will be seen regularly changing his hairstyle and wearing the number 23 shirt, as Beckham does at Real Madrid.

His wife Amber, a Bollywood actress, is played by Laila Rouass. She is a Dolce & Gabbana aficionado with a slightly fading career who always gets her own way.

The series kicks off with an episode set in Thailand where Conrad has been playing until signed to Earls Park FC. Creator Brian Park said: "We just couldn't resist poking a bit more fun at Posh and Becks. Posh is the ultimate footballer's wife, so we had to pay tribute to her."

Victoria Beckham was seen buying four shrines designed

to ward off evil spirits while on holiday in Bangkok. Footballers' Wives shows Amber Gates following suit.

Amber also launches her own range of skin creams. And when the Gateses return to the UK they throw a big Asianthemed party, just as the Beckhams did. While the superficial similarities between the Beckhams and the Gateses may be striking, their lifestyles are in fact very different.

While the Beckhams are keen to defend their image of a devoted and somewhat homeloving couple, Conrad Gates is quick to sample the charms of an array of women - as well as those of a gay team-mate - while bed-hopping Amber is kidnapped by gangsters.

A spokesman for the show told the Standard: "The parallels between Posh and Becks and Conrad and Amber are obvious. But scratch a little deeper, and Amber and Conrad couldn't be more different.

"They love a good threesome, for example, something which we can hardly accuse Posh and Becks of."

Mrs Beckham already believes she has been caricatured in Footballers' Wives by actress Susie Amy, who played former glamour model Chardonnay Pascoe. She once confided that her hairdresser has nicknamed her Beaujolais in a jokey reference to the show.

Footballers' Wives returns to ITV1 on 11 February