Pinning a purple flower into her bleach blonde hair, pretty Ava admired herself in the mirror. She had every reason to be proud. In the space of a year, she had lost an incredible 17 stone. Her weight dropped from 37st 1lbs to 19st 7lbs, and she slipped into a dress before gazing at her newly svelte figure. With her smokey eye makeup and black skater dress, she could have been glamming up for a night on the tiles with her girlfriends. Instead, it was Halloween, 2013, and Ava was hiding a huge secret. Born a boy named William, it was the first time she had ever dressed as a girl – and everything fell into place.
FROM MRS Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the WOOF-er side of some of our most loved Downton characters .
LYING back in the snow, these two polar bears share a cuddle as they call time out on playtime .
INSIDE Britain's last Naval hospital where scurvy was cured looks like an NHS time capsule .
Pouncing down on top of his twin brother, these two snow leopard cubs practice their kung-fu moves .
A lazy otter finds the ideal spot to soak up the sun and sleep off his lunch .
Say cheese! This cheeky chappy isn’t in the mood to live up to his scary reputation as he is pictured here cracking a killer smile as he goes about his daily business .
A man who conned tax officials out of £34 million and funded a lavish lifestyle of luxury hotels and restaurants has been jailed for one of the longest sentences in British criminal fraud history .
WELCOME to the pretty 122-inch-tall red dwelling that lays claim to the title of the UK's smallest house .
HOPPING onto the scales, these adorable baby Humboldt penguins are ready for their first weigh-in .
AN EXERCISING turtle and an ice-skating chick are hardly everyday exploits in the animal community .
FLOATING effortlessly on his back, this little otter laps up a rare glimmer of English spring sunshine .