Katie Piper put on a brave face as she made her first public appearance since police launched a global manhunt to trace her acid attacker who has fled the country.
The Loose Women presenter, 39, joined a host of TV stars at the OVO Arena in Wembley on Thursday evening for the National Television Awards.
Katie beamed for the cameras as she walked down the red carpet ahead of entering the venue for the ceremony.
Dressed in a floral gown with black pointed court shoes, the television personality looked the picture of elegance for the night celebrating the best in TV.
The NTAs marked Katie's first red carpet appearance since police launched an appeal to trace her acid attacker's whereabouts.
Stefan Sylvestre, who was paroled in 2020, 11 years after the sick assault, has been warned he faces more time in jail after going AWOL while on licence.
The thug, who left Katie with horrific injuries, is now feared to have fled abroad.
A Probation Service spokesman said: “We are urgently working with the police to bring the offender back to prison where he’ll face longer behind bars.”
Sylvestre attacked Katie in Golders Green, North London, with acid in 2008, on the orders of her obsessive former boyfriend Daniel Lynch.
He was just 19 at the time. In 2009, he was sentenced to life with a minimum of six years.
Sylvestre became eligible for parole in 2015 but his application was blocked after he was deemed unfit for release.
A further application in 2018 was successful and he was freed but ordered to stay away from Katie, 38.
But in 2019 he was recalled to prison over an unrelated incident. Sylvestre got parole again in 2020 and was released after prosecution errors came to light.
By then he had married mum-of-one Danielle Burke while in jail.
Katie, who was awarded an OBE for charity and burns services, was attacked on the orders of her obsessive former boyfriend Daniel Lynch. He was jailed for life with a minimum of 16 years and cannot be considered for release until 2025.
The attack left Katie needing 400 operations to treat her burns. In her victim impact statement, she said: “When the acid was thrown at me, it felt like I was burning in hell. It was an indescribable, unique, torturous pain.
“I have lost my future, my career, my spirit, my body, my looks, my dignity…the list goes on. All I am left with is an empty shell. A part of me has died that will never come back. This is worse than death.”
But she has since rebuilt her life and featured on numerous TV shows, including a documentary in 2009 about the impact of the attack, and Strictly in 2018.
