A stay-at home-mum has revealed how she makes over £100 an hour dressing up as Disney princesses.
Rachelle Douglas, 32, from Gateshead, Tyneside, first discovered she had a talent for transforming into Disney favourites three years ago, when she stepped in during a children's party as a favour for a friend, but quickly ended up falling in love with the characters.
After enjoying the party, Rachelle set up her own business, Make It Magical Entertainment, which has quickly grown in popularity after starting 18 months ago.
As well as performing as iconic characters such Belle, Elsa and Ariel at 'princess parties, Rachelle also has other alter-egos, which include the snow queen and sea princess.
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In addition to her paid work, the kind-hearted mum also makes regular hospital visits, where she entertains poorly tots who would not otherwise be able to experience the magic of princess parties.
Explaining the dedication she puts into her work, Rachelle said: "I must have watched Frozen a million times. Most of the time the kids think that I am a real princess.
"When I first started out my kids believed I was the real Elsa. When they've seen me outside of character I always say it's a dress-down disguise.
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"My kids did go along with it for a while but they clicked on eventually."
And, in a bid to stay as true to character as possible, the talented mum has even ditched her Geordie accent, instead opting for a self-taught American one she learned from online videos.
While Rachelle works a solid 40-hour week, only five hours is spent performing at parties. The rest of her working hours are used for mending and cleaning costumes, learning songs, watching Disney films and attending rehearsals.
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She explained: "I do spend quite a few hours every week rewatching things.
"There are new films coming out like Moana so I've had to watch it quite a few times, at the minute it's the Greatest Showman.
"I do probably spend 30 hours a week just researching, restocking. I do have rehearsal time as well.
"I always say I live at the castle with all the other princesses. The castle will depend on which princess I am. There is a story for everything.
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"I feel like I spend more time in character than not, even when I'm not dressed up I find myself doing the accent. I find it hard to work as myself.
"I have to watch all of the films, we even copy the makeup correctly for each character. It takes a good hour and a half each time to get ready."
Rachelle's first ever dress was bought by her friend, in an attempt to encourage her to start up the business on her own.
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Ever since she has funded her own Princess wardrobe, at the average costume price of around £250.
"Initially I had booked somebody to do a party for my kids, she asked me to cover a job for her as a princess and I wasn't too keen on doing it because I wasn't very confident," she said.
"I did it anyway and absolutely loved it. I started doing a few more gigs for her and then decided to start it up on my own.
"The best part about the job is putting the smiles on the kids faces. You do completely make their day.
"When you walk into the room, it is the best feeling in the world to see the kids' faces - it is actually magical.
"It looks like I'm charging an absolute fortune but that's not the case. Some of the gigs I do charge a lot of money for but I do far more charity work and free work which outweighs all of that."
Rachelle is fundraising for St Oswald's Hospice by trekking across the Sahara Desert later this year following a health scare which saw her undergo brain surgery in March.
To donate, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/makeitmagical.
Featured Image Credit: SWNSTopics: Disney, TV News, TV Entertainment, Real Life