Talulah-Eve Brown is BNTM's first transgender contestant

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Talulah-Eve Brown is one of the 12 contestants in Britain's Next Top Model 2017
Transgender model was diagnosed with gender dysmorphia in her teens and has been undergoing hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery since 2015
Talulah has been battling discrimination and death threats since her teens
The model, from Burton-Upon-Trent, froze her own sperm before transitioning

Published: 14:25 EST, 8 February 2017 | Updated: 14:27 EST, 8 February 2017

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She's been making headlines as the first ever transgender contestant to appear on Britain's Next Top Model.

But for Talulah-Eve Brown, who yesterday admitted she 'never thought' someone like her would get the chance to compete in a mainstream modelling contest, the rise to fame has been a bumpy one.

The 22-year-old beauty queen, who will be competing against 11 other girls for a coveted contract with Models 1, once revealed her hopes of becoming a single mother by freezing her own.

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Talulah-Eve Brown has just been announced as one of the 12 contestants competing to be crowned Britain's Next Top Model. The transgender beauty queen was born a boy, right

Born Aaron, Talulah-Eve, from Burton-Upon-Trent, Staffordshire, came out as gay at 13 before being diagnosed with gender dysmorphia in her teens and later decided to undergo gender reassignment surgery.

Inspired by public figures like Caitlyn Jenner and Big Brother winner Nadia Almada, Talulah-Eve, who grew up playing with Barbies, started hormone treatment in 2015 to widen her hips and soften her voice.

She later got breast implants, with plans to undergo full reassignment surgery in 2016 - but not before she had paid £800 to freeze her sperm so that she could have babies once her transition was complete.

Calling herself a 'strong, independent woman, Talulah-Eve said she was prepared to one day raise a child on her own just like her own mother had done.

But her transition has been fraught with difficulties, with Talulah-Eve, who holds a black belt in karate, once admitting to receiving 'daily' death threats and being 'fetishized' by men.

Talulah-Eve came out as gay at 13 before being diagnosed with gender dysmorphia in her teens and later decided to undergo gender reassignment surgery

Changing: Inspired by public figures like Caitlyn Jenner and Big Brother winner Nadia Almada Talulah-Eve, who grew up playing with Barbies, started her hormone treatment in 2015

Talulah Eve's transition has been fraught with difficulties, with Talulah-Eve, who holds a black belt in karate, admitting to receiving 'daily' death threats and being 'fetishised' by men

The 5ft 8in model and blogger, who competed in the UK's first transgender beauty pageant, first revealed her plans to crack the modelling industry and become a role model for young girls in 2015.

A self-styled trans activist, Talulah-Eve, who has never been in a relationship, has spoken out on discrimination including one 'disgusting' incident when she was thrown out of a bar for using the ladies' toilets in 2016.

'The trans community is where the gay community was 10 to 15 years ago – we need to be celebrated not tolerated and this pageant is a massive step forward,' she said in an interview with the Burton Mail.

Ambitious: The 5ft 8in model and blogger, who competed in the UK's first transgender beauty pageant, first revealed her plans to crack the modelling industry in 2015

Talulah-Eve, who has never had a boyfriend, has spoken out on discrimination including one 'disgusting' incident when she was thrown out of a bar for using the ladies' toilets in 2016

Talulah-Eve yesterday took to Instagram to say: 'I never thought a girl like me would find a place on a show like this and compete against such beautiful girls'

Talulah-Eve added: 'I understand people may not be sure but it is only because being transgender is considered a taboo but I want to break that and be a role model which can empower people who may feel trapped.

'People are talking openly about transgender issues now and hopefully some of the stigma attached to trans people will fade.'

It is perhaps for this reason that appearing on BNTM holds such a special significance for Talulah-Eve, who yesterday took to Instagram to say: 'I never thought a girl like me would find a place on a show like this and compete against such beautiful girls.

'But I guess all you have to do is believe! Life isn't about finding a label that fits you best. Life is about finding you! And it's that journey that is incredible. Appreciate the bad just as much as the good!'