IT is becoming routine for lifelong friends to walk past Valerie Jones in the street without recognising her.

Even her husband says he has a new wife.

But the 43-year-old mother of two from Trinant has never been happier, as earlier this year she was transformed as part of the Living TV show Extreme Makeover.

After losing six stones she had more than £40,000 worth of plastic surgery, including a tummy tuck, brow lift, breast augmentation, liposuction, upper and lower eye lift, veneers on her teeth and hair extensions.

The difference is striking.

Val says: "I am in a completely different place now. The surgery didn't just make me look different, it made me feel different, too.

"I was always very confident, but now I am much more happy and outgoing."

Val applied for the programme after shedding six stones following an operation to attach a gastric band to her stomach.

She could only eat small amounts before feeling full.

Her mother, Jean Chard, lent her the £3,500 for the operation and supported her fully when she decided to go on the programme.

Val says: "My mum died the day after my operations in February. It was devastating, but I know she was proud of me for turning my life around like this."

Val spent the next month recuperating in an exclusive London hotel.

The operations left her badly bruised and in pain, but it was all worth it when it came to her grand unveiling at Tredegar House, in Newport.

"I had talked to my family every day but I hadn't seen them or my friends in a month," she says. "When I stepped out onto the stage they were all shell-shocked."

Val looked so different she was worried how they would react.

She says: "My husband couldn't even smile. I was really scared he didn't like it."

But when Val's family realised she was the same person inside they loved her new look.

Her proud husband, Howard, tells all his friends that he has a new wife.

Val, who works at Greggs bakery, in Market Place, Blackwood, has no time for people who say programmes like Extreme Makeover exploit those unhappy with their bodies.

She says: "I wouldn't change anything about my life now. I am just so happy."

Val's makeover will be shown on Living TV in the next couple of weeks.