'Saddam' seen in London

Saddam Hussein appeared to turn up in London today as dozens of hopefuls attended auditions to find a lookalike of the former Iraqi dictator.

Short, thin, clean-shaven, ginger-haired and, in one case, female candidates who thought they bore a resemblance to Saddam, who is still missing after the war in Iraq, assembled at the Riverside Studios, Hammersmith.

They were handed army jackets, black berets and false moustaches and asked to walk across the stage and wave to an imagined crowd.

Shouts of "next" filled the auditorium as the Saddam doppelgangers grinned maniacally, gave regal waves and attempted to strut around the stage despotically.

Charlie Schark, 21, a computer support worker from Isleworth, said: "A colleague said it would be a good idea to come down. I have had 13 years of jokes at work ever since Saddam invaded Kuwait."

The lookalikes are needed for the West End satirical review Follow My Leader, which is due to open at the end of June.

Impresario Raymond Gubbay said: "We had no idea who was going to turn up today, but I'm pleased to see we've had one or two good examples."