He has been a beacon of hope for thousands of veterans, forging a successful TV career and remaining positive in the darkest of times.
But today, former Royal Marine Lance Corporal JJ Chalmers admits the comrades he lost are never far from his thoughts.
JJ, who survived a 2011 bomb blast in Afghanistan that killed two of his friends, says: “I pinch myself every day. The day I don’t is the day I don’t deserve to sit in this chair any more.”