Her dazzling looks were ruined in a disgusting acid attack, yet Katie Piper is boldly facing the nation tomorrow to deliver a substitute festive message. She will advise us all to observe our lives and think about what is really imperative – as she has had to following the disfiguring assault.

Katie Piper, 26, says: “My life before was very self-absorbed, self-obsessed. “It took a misfortune for me to reconsider what I thought was important.

“Don’t wait till there is misfortune in your life. Don’t wait ’til you lose someone.” It is an indication to her bravery that Katie can offer a message of hope at all.

In March of last year, she was scarred in an acid attack organized by a man she had met on Facebook. A cup of industrial strength sulphuric acid was thrown at her in the street by his accomplice. It left her blind in one eye, with third degree burns and internal damage.

Daniel Lynch, who raped her then organized the attack, is now serving two life sentences. Stefan Sylvestre, who threw the acid, is also serving a life sentence.

Almost two years on, Katie has had dozens of operations – 32 on her throat alone. She still lives on a mostly liquid diet of protein shakes. But she is determined to be more than just the woman in a Perspex mask.

“I made a choice that the men who did this to me wouldn’t destroy me,” she says. “I was forced into a situation where I had to be strong. The human body is amazing in how it can repair itself, but it’s a mental struggle in the end.”

Katie says: “People think, ‘That’s sad that happened to her because she used to be pretty before.’ Well, we all age and lose our looks, and actually I often used to look quite rough, just like anyone else.

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