Fame is a fickle business and, in today's celebrity-obsessed culture, even the fabled 15 minutes is quite an achievement.

This is a situation not lost on many celebrities for, while the vast majority will simply have to go back to the call centre or clothes shop once they are no longer flavour of the month, the more savvy stars have skills and experience sufficient to ensure they are able to walk into gainful employment.

Perhaps the most over-qualified star currently gracing our screens is Harry Hill, or as he was known until his stand-up career took off in 1992, Dr Matthew Hall.

Indeed, should the nation get tired of the big-collared comic mocking their TV habits every Saturday night, he could feasibly go back to his original career as an emergency doctor, though of course the financial rewards which have come along with the critical plaudits should mean that he won't exactly be desperate to get back into the nine-to-five routine should his comedy dream come to an abrupt end.

One man who didn't have the luxury of living a life of leisure once he realized his dream wasn't to be was the UK's best known chef, Gordon Ramsay.

Far from wanting to pursue a career in cooking from an early age, football-mad Ramsay had his heart set on a footballing career with Glasgow Rangers, and he only hung up his boots and put on his apron after a series of harsh injuries made this an impossibility.

Significantly, he knew his limitations and was sensible enough to choose to make a living out of what he is good at – something which many former Big Brother contestants would be wise to make a note of.

"Would I swap what I have achieved as a cook if I could have been as successful as a footballer? Definitely," Ramsay told the Observer recently.

"But if I'm honest I don't think I was good enough to be a truly great player. But I know I'm a truly great chef."
A backup plan is therefore essential for anyone opting to pursue their dreams and achieve stardom.

Pessimistic though it may seem, having something to fall back on is nothing more than common sense – after all, nobody wants to end up like Laura from Big Brother 8 who, according to various internet sources, now spends her time "volunteering in the local cemetery, clearing up leaves".