It was while I was in the mental hospital that I got my letter from the British Olympic Association saying, 'Congratulations. You've been picked to go to the Olympic Games.' I kept stressing I wasn't a patient.

My mother looked after me full-time when I was young, but as soon as I started school, she got a job in an office.

I want my life to move on. On the other hand, I can't say no to offers, not when I'm getting £50,000 a year to be Eddie the Eagle.

I always do the very best I can, and I should be given the opportunity and the right to represent my country.

The worst thing that happened to me as a child was seeing my brother get pushed into a cement mixer.

I'm a positive person who likes to have fun and get the best out of every day.

It's nice and restful, plastering.

I did a tandem parachute jump when I opened a golf course in Atlanta, Georgia. I jumped out of a plane at 15,000 feet to land on the first tee, and then I played a couple of holes with golfer Arnold Palmer. That was brilliant.

It takes a lot of guts to jump. If people criticise, I would give them a set of skis and say, 'Do it yourself then.'

On the street, I'll hear, 'You made the Olympics for me,' or 'I love what you represented.' Only occasionally is it, 'You were a flop, an also-ran, a loser.'

I have never, ever considered myself a failure.

I like nothing more than walking down a country lane or along a mountain path - it's not proof that there is anything bigger than ourselves, but I feel very much at peace.

People seemed to appreciate how much I wanted to pursue something I loved. They seemed to understand how much ski jumping meant to me.

Most people should be given a chance to compete in the Olympic Games.

No matter how many people say you can't do something, use that as inspiration to prove them wrong.

When I plummeted into infamy in the Calgary Olympics, I never thought that a film would be made about my life.

For all my 'Eddie the Eagle' goofing around before the camera while in training for the Calgary Olympics in 1988, I was never less than 100 per cent serious on every single jump.

People still think I'm a bit of a buffoon - not really an athlete.

Some people thought I wasn't taking the sport seriously because I was always laughing and having fun, but I loved my skiing, I loved my jumping, and I thought, 'Well, why not have a smile on my face when I'm doing something that I really, really love doing,' and that's how I was.

I actually had huge problems with my glasses steaming up all the time. I had to train very carefully around the limitations caused by wearing them.

I receive kindness every day. I love to smile when I'm out and about, and if someone smiles back, which happens about half the time, I think that's an act of kindness every couple of minutes in my day.

When I was a kid, people kept saying, 'You can't do this, you can't do that,' and I wanted to prove them wrong.

The only airline I avoid like the plague is Ryanair. I don't like that, when you book, there are then all of these little extras to pay for, and you end up paying more than just flying with British Airways.

Americans are very much 'Win! Win! Win!' In England, we don't give a fig whether you win. It's great if you do, but we appreciate those who don't.