Katie Piper smiles as she becomes a permanent member of the Loose Women panel
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Katie Piper: TV star, activist, and acid attack survivor launches ITV show

The star was the victim of an acid attack in 2008

The gorgeous Katie Piper – who bounced back from a horrendous acid attack – is well-known to TV viewers thanks to shows such as Loose Women.

The 38-year-old star is also an activist who founded the Katie Piper Foundation to help victims of burns and other disfiguring injuries.

But what exactly happened when Katie – who fronts her new ITV Breakfast Show today (August 7)  – was attacked? And what happened to the man responsible?

Katie Piper in 2008 acid attack

In early 2008, the blonde was modelling and making her way in a career on digital TV.

She had also started a new relationship with a man named Daniel Lynch after they started messaging on Facebook.

However, just two weeks after they met, he assaulted her.

Read more: Katie Piper admits ‘the surgeries will continue’ for a long time after acid attack

The relationship came to an end but Lynch apologised and tried to talk Katie round.

He told her he wanted her to read an email that he’d sent her and she agreed to leave home and walk to a nearby internet cafe.

It proved to be a trap, and Lynch had arranged for his accomplice Stefan Sylvestre to wait outside and throw sulphuric acid into her face.

Charlene White, Katie Piper, Carol McGiffin, Denise Welch on Loose Women
The star is a regular on Loose Women (Credit: ITV)

Star was rushed to hospital

Speaking to the Mail in 2009, Katie said: “I saw a man in a hooded top walking towards me. He was carrying a cup. I assumed he was a beggar so I reached into my bag for some change.

“He came up close, like he was going to speak, and threw liquid from the cup at my face. The pain was indescribable… I could feel my skin and clothes burning off me.”

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The then 24-year-old was rushed to hospital where she was put into an induced coma.

She suffered severe burn injuries to her face and body and was left partially blind in one eye.

Katie has undergone more than 250 operations since the attack.

Katie Piper moves hair away from face
Katie has undergone many operations (Credit: Cover Images)

What happened to Lynch and Sylvestre?

The attack was caught on CCTV and both men ended up being arrested.

In 2009, Lynch – of Shepherd’s Bush, west London – was found guilty of rape and admitted causing grievous bodily harm.

He was given a life sentence.

Sylvestre, who threw the acid at Katie, was also given a life sentence.

In 2018 Sylvestre was apparently released but it was reported that he was recalled to prison the following year over alleged car thefts.

Katie Piper’s Breakfast Show is at 8.30am on ITV on Sunday (August 7).

Katie Piper on Dealing with Trauma, Positive Affirmations & Setting up a Burn Survivor Rehab Centre

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Julia Hunt
Freelance Writer