Man who cut off his ears to look like a parrot goes on The Jeremy Kyle Show and says 'it's normal'
A man who cut off his ears and had his face and eyeballs tattooed to look like his pet parrots has appeared on TV to say it is "normal".
Ted Richards featured on The Jeremy Kyle Show to explain that he did not like his ears anyway and that he does not think his eccentric look is "weird".
To gasps and cries of "oh my God" from the audience as he unscrewed his "horns", the 56-year-old sat next to his girlfriend Suzannah, 31, on the ITV show.
He is obsessed by pets Ellie, Teaka, Timneh, Jake and Bubi and has his face tattooed with colourful feathers.
And, last month, the animal lover - who has 110 tattoos, 50 piercings and a split tongue - had both his ears removed by a surgeon in a six-hour operation.
He has given his severed ears to a friend who "will appreciate them" and is now planning to find a surgeon prepared to turn his nose into a beak.
"It's what I've always wanted to do - I love it. I've had letters from people saying that I've changed their life"
Ted Richards
Asked by host Jeremy Kyle why he took such drastic and "weird" action to alter his appearance, Mr Richards said: "I don't find it weird - it's normal to me.
"Since 1996, I've always wanted to do heavy body modification. I'd seen someone abroad who'd done this sort of thing.
"I always wanted a load of tattoos and I couldn't do it many years ago, because of relationships.
"It's what I've always wanted to do - I love it. I've had letters from people saying that I've changed their life."
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