Kate is really keen on Spencer..she will ask him out after she has

AS Kate Lawler heads into the last lap of Big Brother, just one person among the millions watching her every move on TV knows exactly how she feels every step of the way.

Her twin sister Karen is so close to Kate that she has felt every emotion and lived every high and low of the last eight weeks in the house.

Last night Karen, 22, spoke for the first time of the emotional roller-coaster she has shared with her twin - and said she is sure Kate will start a romance with former housemate Spencer when she gets out.

The pair grew close on the programme - in an echo of Big Brother 2's romance between Paul and Helen - until Spencer, 22, was evicted in the fourth week.

He seems just as keen on Kate, and had hoped to take her to a friend's wedding next Saturday.

Kate can't go because of the show, but Karen said: "She would if she had the chance. Kate likes Spencer because he's very laid-back. I think they will see each other when she gets out and they DO like each other.

"The sort of bloke she goes for normally looks like Alex - tall, dark and skinny. I know Spencer isn't any of that but I don't think she likes Alex. He is too worried about keeping everything tidy.

"Kate likes a bloke with a nice personality who pays a bit of attention to her. Spencer played hard to get and that's also what she liked about him.

Karen, who looks strikingly similar to Kate, but at 5ft 11ins is five inches taller, works as a waitress at a restaurant near the family home in Beckenham, Kent. She is convinced Kate will emerge as Big Brother winner.

"She has been herself and should become the first girl to win," she said. "She has had a laugh and not played up to the cameras."

For Karen, the worst moment of the series was when Kate was up against PJ Ellis in an eviction vote.

"She felt sick and said so on TV - and I did too. I was at the studios in Elstree in a room near her. I couldn't even get off my sofa because I felt so nervous." Karen needn't have worried because her IT consultant sister won the poll easily, with 81 per cent of 1.3million voting viewers choosing to kick out PJ.

Now Kate - up against dental nurse Jade Goody, 21, model Alex Sibley, 23, and Geordie fireman Jonny Regan, 29 - is the bookies' favourite to win Friday's pounds 70,000 first prize.

Come what may, her family and ex-boyfriend Charlie Mizon, 22, will be at the studios to welcome her. All of them have been watching her every move. Parents Des and Sylvia, Karen, older sister Kelly, 25, and brother Robert, 17, even sit around the dining room table for daily BB chats.

Kelly - who is married and lives near the family home - always pops into the Lawlers' semi to join in as the family discuss their concerns over Kate's health and the fact that she's not always the bubbly girl they know.

Dad Des, 49, says: "She's a very healthy eater, usually. In there she has a lot of chocolate. She keeps fit - you saw the size of her when she went in. But with the amount of food and alcohol in there - and the boredom - it's not a surprise she has put on a few pounds. There's been one occasion when she was down - when she did the third week on the poor side. She broke her sunglasses and really had the needle. But, thankfully, she pulled herself through that.

"The following week was the best for her, when she was doing all her impressions - especially the one of Alex. We were all in stitches."

However, the Lawlers were upset by scenes of Kate in the shower. "They did what they did because she has been classed as the babe of the house," said Des. "The worst situation was when she was in the outdoor shower. It was unfair of them to film her like that."

Sylvia, 48, agrees. "We were told they weren't going to film anyone in the shower unless there were two people there."

But it is the bitching that has annoyed sister Kelly, who has fielded constant inquiries about Kate at the hairdressers' where she works.

"Jade and Adele were saying at the beginning that Kate was dodgy. But they never explained why. I think they were jealous - at the time she was getting on with all the blokes - although Alex was awful to Kate at the beginning.

"He was upset because she was getting on so well with Spencer and he felt left out. Tim obviously fancied Kate, but then he nominated her for no reason.

"Then he had the cheek to invite her over for dinner when he was on the rich side. When she didn't pay him any attention he didn't like it."

Karen added: "When Adele and Jade were together they were out of order in saying Kate was dodgy. There have been times I have just wanted to go in there and give her a cuddle."

THERE have been a string of booze-fuelled rows - but Kate has managed to stay out of them. Sylvia said: "I think they have been allowed too much alcohol in there."

Des is concerned about the effect drinking has had on Kate's language.

He said: "When you've got eight or nine other people and they are all swearing you automatically do swear.

"When she first went in we said, 'Don't swear too much please it's not very ladylike on telly'. For the first week she was OK but has since let it slip."

But the family are happy Kate has stayed in the house until the end - despite the bad spells.

Karen said: "She was a bit down after Alison and Spencer left. She wasn't being very loud and having a laugh. You could tell something was holding her back. But then she started making people laugh again, which is the real her."

Kate has always had an eye for the limelight. She left Langley Park Girls School in Beckenham with three A-levels - including an A in drama - but she turned down a place at drama school because she did not want to be a burden on her parents.

The family have been relaxed watching Kate on TV as they are used to seeing her acting. She starred in a string of school plays - including Cabaret and Dream Girls - and often bursts into impromptu impressions of stars such as Victoria Wood, Rik Mayall and BB host Davina McCall.

Now her dreams of fame could become reality. Des, who owns his own painting and decorating business, said: "She could do anything she wants and will be quite marketable. She has always wanted to go into TV but her real dream is to go into the theatre and do shows in the West End."

Kate has yet to find her dream man. She has had only two serious boyfriends and split with the latest - stockbroker Charlie - weeks before entering the house.

Yet Charlie has been in constant contact over Big Brother and vowed to be at Elstree when she leaves the show.

"Charlie is a fantastic guy, is a friend of the family and we trust him," said Des.

Sylvia, added: "They split because it was just the wrong time for Kate. She is too young for commitment and wants to go travelling."

Her parents - like Karen - play down reports of a spark between their daughter and Alex, despite their frolics in a bubble bath and their kiss during a boozy game.

Des said: "I didn't see that. It was in spin the bottle. She is not going to worry about that and nothing will come of it.

"The guys in the house are nothing like the ones Kate has gone out with before but you never know what will happen in the future."

Bring on Spencer, perhaps?

mike.hamilton@sundaymirror.co.uk

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