AS THE PARALYMPIC GAMES GET UNDER WAY IN PARIS MILLY PICKLES THE PRESENTER ON HER REMARKABLE JOURNEY TO FAME

You'd be hard pushed to find anyone more upbeat than Milly Pickles.

The 27-year-old para-athlete, social media star and fitness and disability advocate, who suffered life-threatening injuries in an accident seven years ago that led to her losing a leg, is a beacon of positivity.

Nothing gets in her way - whether that's running the London Marathon earlier this year (even with a bleeding foot) or reporting on this year's Paralympic Games from Paris despite having no previous experience of presenting.

"My accident made me so grateful for life," she says when HELLO! catches up with her for our exclusive photoshoot and interview. "It's better to have no leg than being dead, so I thank my lucky stars." She tries to practise gratitude every day, she says.

"I learnt the value of life, and I want to live life to the max and help people, because life is too short."

Milly, who lives in North London with her boyfriend Liam Cavanagh, has a vast social media audience, with 500,000 followers on Tik Tok and 240,000 on Instagram.

A NATURAL IN FRONT OF CAMERA

Her natural ability on camera, along with her passion for sport, made her a shoo-in to join Channel 4's presenting team for the Paris Games, alongside hosts Clare Balding and Ade Adepitan, former Paralympic champion swimmer Ellie Simmonds and actress Rose Ayling-Ellis.

She didn't even have to audition and is reporting live on the 12-day event from the French capital. "Luckily, I don't swear that much," she jokes, seeming unfazed by the responsibility.