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.
SPLASHING around in a paddling pool, this little elephant soaks up the sunshine .
A photographer has captured stunning photographs of the Milky Way above picturesque landscapes in the UK and Italy .
TOMORROW (Saturday) marks the 28th anniversary of the nuclear disaster that left the city of Chernobyl devastated .
Swirling water and sand create amazing aerial images of river deltas across Iceland .
SEA LIFE and greenery in one shot show nature at its very best .
From a floating jelly fish to a relaxed seal, Britain’s unappreciated beach life is captured above and below the water .
ROLLING around in the snow, these young brown bears take a break from their play fight to share a tender hug with one another .
A quiet Himalayan mountain village springs to life for a colourful Buddhist festival designed to expel evil spirits and bring happiness .
FROM MRS Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the WOOF-er side of some of our most loved Downton characters .
FINALLY catching a meal, a pair of great white egrets fight over their dinner .
BALANCING 30 metres above ground, these slackliners take the expression of living dangerously one step further, by tightrope walking NAKED .