“I never wanted to do TV. I just did what I was trained to do through the Special Forces, and I’ve been doing that from a very young age.”

Time and experience have taught me that fame and money very rarely go to the worthy, by the way – hence we shouldn’t ever be too impressed by either of those impostors. Value folk for who they are, how they live and what they give – that’s a much better benchmark.

Our achievements are generally limited only by the beliefs we impose on ourselves.

Nobody else is stupid enough to get themselves into the straits that I get into.

If you risk nothing you gain nothing

All my life the only thing I’ve been good at has been climbing and throwing myself off big things.

Always keep the big picture in mind- you are greatly loved by Jesus and your job is to love Him and others in return. The rest is detail.

In the British Special Air Service, combat fitness is all about running.

My work is all about adventure and teamwork in some of the most inhospitable jungles, mountains and deserts on the planet. If you aren’t able to look after yourself and each other, then people die.

You can’t live someone else’s expectations in life. It’s a recipe for disaster.

I think viewers quite like it when I’m suffering or eating or drinking something horrible or really up against it in some quicksand or whatever.

When I take kids into the woods, I tell them, “What we’re going to do today is going to be incredibly dangerous.” And you just see 20 smiles go up.

I’m probably going to be the scruffiest Chief Scout you’ve ever had and my health and safety policy is non-existent.

You only get one chance at life and you have to grab it boldly.

Change the way you use your time, and you change your life.

Nobody wants to end up super rich and famous – but divorced. I’m always clear on that and try to stay on the right side of the line.

Faith is personal if it’s to be real.

I only wanted to help my people.

I always loved music, and I always wanted to make a film about it, but I could never do it because of the censorship that was around.

I always said that though I was the first, I wanted to be the first of many.

The still small voice is wanted.

I’ve always wanted to marry Elton John.

I never wanted to be a performer, that was not one of my goals. I wanted to be a musician and that was that.

When our interests matched, the Americans have been good to us, and when the interests differed, they wanted us to mold ourselves to them, which we refused.

I wanted to press every bit of me against him. I wanted to will something into him. I wanted to give him every bit of life I felt and force him to live.