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B-easter bunnies!

My rabbit passion's given me a real spring in my step!


Published by: Jemma Gillard
Published on: 28 March 2013

Smoothing down my flowing red locks in the mirror, I admired the way the glittery red dress clung to my curves.
‘Not bad for a great granny,' I thought, smiling.
Being a mum of 10 with grandchildren and great grandchildren didn't stop me from enjoying a bit of glamour. I'd been modelling since the age of 15 and even now, in my late 50s, I was still getting bookings.
But as the years passed, the lines on my face were becoming more visible and the dark circles under my eyes were making me look constantly tired.
So, at the age of 57, I'd decided to splash out on £15,000 worth of cosmetic surgery to make myself look and feel younger.
I'd gone on a strict diet and, over the course of a few weeks, I'd had a breast lift, brow lift, chin implants and botox injections.
‘I look like a completely different person,' I'd cheered, looking into the bathroom mirror for the first time after the surgery.
It was all part of my plan to model myself on one of my film heroines, Jessica Rabbit!
Okay, she might have been a cartoon character from Who Framed Roger Rabbit? But she was so glamorous and sophisticated. And once I slipped into my red wig, sequinned dress and long gloves, I looked exactly like her.
After taking photos of a few poses and uploading them to my website, I couldn't wait to find out what people thought.
But I couldn't swan about as Jessica all day. There was work to be done.
I changed into an old jumper, jeans and wellies and made my way to the bottom of the garden with a bucket full of carrots.
You see, the reason I was so keen to look like her was that, in real life, I was mad about the fluffy-tailed creatures. I'd got my first rabbit at the age of eight and had devoted every spare moment I got to them ever since.
Approaching the rabbit hutches, gleaming eyes stared back at me. They were all on their hind legs, ears pricked and looking excited to see me.
‘Look what I've got for you lot,' I smiled.
After counting seven pairs of rabbit ears, I looked around for number eight.
Darius, my three-year-old Continental Giant from Holland, was crouched in the corner of his run. At 4ft 3ins in length, and weighing 3½st, he certainly wasn't hard to spot.
Darius was born around the same time I was having my surgery. And while I was looking younger by the day, he was getting bigger!
He'd expanded so much that he couldn't even fit into a normal rabbit hutch and had to sleep in a kennel instead!
‘What are you giving him to eat?' my daughter Paige, 17, joked. ‘I've never seen such a massive bunny.'
‘I don't feed him any extra,' I chuckled. ‘Maybe it's just in his genes.'
After his enormous growth spurt, the Guinness World Records contacted me to say that Darius had been crowned the world's biggest rabbit. I was thrilled.
It wasn't the first time they'd been in touch with me, either.
Darius came from a long line of giant bunnies I'd been breeding for the past 15 years.
Nine years before, my rabbit Roberto had been crowned the biggest after being measured at the vets.
Four years later, my new Continental Giant Amy had arrived and took the title away. Tragically, she'd died from a heart attack shortly afterwards.
I'd thought that would be the end of a great run, but a year later, Amy's daughter Alice was crowned the biggest. But her son Darius quickly overtook her in size.
Last year, he even smashed his own record. When the vet measured him, he'd grown another inch!
‘I can't believe your rabbits are record breakers,' Paige giggled.
‘Well, you know me, I don't do things by half,' I grinned. ‘And I'm not stopping anytime soon.'
Whether it's slipping into my Jessica Rabbit outfit or tending to my giant furry friends, I really am bonkers for bunnies. People might think I'm hopping mad, but they bring me so much pleasure. Forget the Easter Bunny, I'm the real deal!
Annette Edwards, 61, Worcester