Quotes from Katie Piper

My feminist icon is Michelle Obama. To me she represents the definition of a strong and intelligent woman who has used her platform for so much good.

My life is written about as though I've had this idyllic ending. But a marriage is something you have to work at.

Anywhere, you're going to get people who are ignorant or rude but it's not the whole of society. I don't think my life is doomed because I look like this.

I always tell myself that nothing ever is worth holding onto if it hurt you, because the longer you hold onto anger and resentment, the longer you feed it and keep it alive.

There was a time when I'd resigned myself to never having my own family, so to fall pregnant with Belle was overwhelming.

I have learnt from Simon Cowell that anything is possible if you work hard enough and also that acts of kindness or giving somebody a few minutes of your time can have a massive impact on their life and their future.

But I like a challenge, anything I can't do it inspires me to learn it.

I did weightlifting and bodyweight-focused exercises such as chin-ups, pull-ups and press-ups with my personal trainer.

I enjoy social media, but I don't take it as gospel. Yes, it can make me feel insecure if I see my peers doing more than me. You have to remind yourself it's a marketing tool, a facade, but that's easier when you are older.

At 24 I was a wannabe. I was not a 'former TV presenter' as everybody says - I was a young girl living on a wish, appearing on the roulette channel at 1 am and selling cordless kettles on Channel 953.

What is kindness? For me, it is about treating people how you would want to be treated – but, with so many of us living out our lives on social media, it can be harder and harder to show compassion to those around us.

My biggest hope for the future is that we're successful in delivering the treatment to people through the charity and that burns just become something that happens in people's lives but doesn't make them a misfit in society and exclude them and stop all their dreams and ambitions.

The main reason I started The Katie Piper Foundation was because I had treatment abroad that I wanted other burns survivors in this country to have access to.

The trial of Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has kept me fascinated and shocked in equal measure. But like many women, I was relieved this week when he was found guilty of culpable homicide after killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Not a day goes past when I don't think how grateful I am I survived, that I recovered and that I feel like a young woman again.

I have an older brother and younger sister and for the first few years I was quite a tomboy. We lived in a small village in Hampshire and my brother and I would climb trees and make dens.

It shouldn't be down to charities to be the sole help for those who fall through the cracks.

I don't want people to feel sorry for me or pity me - I want people to know that what got me through was human spirit and everyone has that in them.

I enjoy looking good and love experimenting with my hair colour. I've just gone from blonde to brunette, and keep looking in the mirror and not recognising myself!

I've got a shadow on the lung as a result of being in intensive care, so I find running quite hard. I breathe mainly through my mouth because my nose is damaged, so I keep swallowing flies.

The important things for me are stability, consistency and love, and I have that through my family, so that's a great place to be.

I don't think many people stare at people in wheelchairs because we see it regularly. I suppose if you see more in the media it will take away the curiosity.

I like to tell myself people look at me for all sorts of reasons. Maybe they're staring because they're shocked or maybe they recognise me from TV, or maybe they just like my shoes - especially women, because we all look at each other's clothes and hair.

I had such a nurturing team of midwives looking after me with my first little girl, and their support gave me so much confidence as a mother.