Journey of learning

At the age of 12, Kyle Thomas started making online videos for fun, gradually amassing a legion of social-media Amaking videos for followers, and going on to become the UK's highest-earning teenage TikToker.

- ELAINE REILLY, NATASHA HOLT

Yet when he started posting about his menagerie of exotic pets - including a capybara called Queen Elizabeth, which died in 2022 - he faced public backlash.

'I was 15 when I had the majority of the exotic pets. I love animals and the idea of living with them seemed amazing,' explains Kyle, now 20, who has 35 million TikTok followers and is also a part-time model. 'I'm now on a journey of learning to be an animal lover who's an advocate for their best interests.'