Katie Piper wanted to be a model or on television.
It was a huge dream for a little girl who growing up in a small UK village.
Her life with dad David, mum Diane and her two siblings was “pretty ordinary”.
“She was wilful, headstrong, very independent and made friends wherever she went,” Diane says.
Katie worked hard to realise her ambitions, slowly forging a career in the entertainment and beauty industries.
As success beckoned, she moved to London.
17 years ago, she connected with Danny Lynch via social media. They had mutual friends. He seemed credible and kind. So they met in real life.
Over two weeks, he love-bombed Katie. And he lied to her about many things.
Katie saw the red flags and chose to walk away.
On their last night together, he subjected Katie to brutal acts of violence and threats.
She was trapped with him for eight hours.
When he finally let her go, he threatened to kill those she loved if she went to police.
For the next two days he bombarded her with calls and texts, eventually coercing Katie to go to an internet cafe to read an email he sent.

As she approached the cafe, a hitman called Stefan Sylvestre tossed corrosive acid in her face.
He had been hired by Lynch.
She recalls thinking: “‘Oh shit, this guy has just thrown petrol at me and flicked a match, because my body is so hot’. Everyone ignored me … it’s not visible like fire.”
Surgeons had to remove her face entirely to repair it. She lost her eye, her eyelids, most of her nose and an ear.
For 10 days, Katie wore a mask made from the skin of human cadavers. She was placed in a coma for 12 days because the pain was unbearable.
In the hospital, Katie wrote a note to her mum. It said: ‘Kill me’.
“Her whole career, her whole future, focused on her face – and her face was forever damaged,” Katie’s mum explains.
Instead of erasing Katie, his actions did the opposite.
She’s a British icon.
She has multiple shows, has authored books and is a beauty and well-being influencer.
She’s happily married and raising children.
She’s also an activist and her charity supports burns survivors as they travel on their healing journey.
“I could let my attackers win and go into a shell – or I could have an amazing life,” she says.
Lynch was sentenced to 16 years and Sylvestre was released after serving nine years.

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