Cataclysmic variables are close-interacting binary systems consisting of a white dwarf as a primary and a low-mass main-sequence star or a brown dwarf as a secondary component. The Roche-lobe filling secondary component loses matter via the inner Lagrangian point to the primary. In the absence of a strong magnetic field, the material transferred from the donor forms an accretion disc around the white dwarf and eventually accretes. According to standard evolutionary theory, Cataclysmic variables evolve from longer to shorter orbital periods until a minimum period is reached (≈70-80 min depending on orbital angular momentum losses) when the secondary becomes a substellar mass and partially degenerates. Short-period cataclysmic variables tend to have low-mass secondaries (< 0.1M⊙), which are near the expected main-sequence star surface temperature. However, there are exceptions. A small group of systems has anomalously warm donors, typically of the K spectral type. In my talk, I will present some recent progress in studying such objects and also demonstrate application of various modelling techniques useful to study such close binary systems.