Who are your heroes?

I have three heroes. There isn't a single day that goes by when I don't think about or thank one of them. It could be a split second thing, a quote, something about them could come up in conversation or I'll recall a specific topic. Whatever the reason, for over half my life I've thought about these people daily.

Some may think that heroes should be historic figures who have drastically improved the lives of many whilst making sacrifices in their own. Perhaps the Suffragettes who bravely campaigned to get women the vote or maybe Martin Luther King who fought for civil rights. Others might say that heroes should be people you know personally. A grandparent who was in a war, a relative who has overcome illness or a friend achieving their dream.

My heroes may not have changed the world and I might not know them but each one has had a huge impact on my life. They might not be your first choice in terms of who you admire but they are so deeply ingrained in my existence that I would be a completely different person if I hadn't discovered them.

My heroes are an author, a comedian and a playwright. Terry Pratchett, Eddie Izzard and Richard O'Brien.

Between the ages of 13-14 years old I read Witches Abroad written by Terry Pratchett, watched Glorious by Eddie Izzard and saw The Rocky Horror Picture Show penned by Richard O'Brien. It was love at first sight.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is my favourite film of all time. Yours might be something by Hitchcock, a timeless classic, have a gritty script or a bunch of heavyweight actors but mine doesn't. Mine has music, transvestites, aliens, glitter and Meatloaf. I stopped counting how many times I'd seen it when I reached the 187th viewing. Watching it with friends and us all singing along and laughing away has created some great memories for me. For years I wanted to be a Criminologist because of this film. It's shaped my love of all things sparkly. It doesn't try to be something it's not and it's completely unapologetic about it.

Terry Pratchett has single-handedly shaped my sense of humour. His Discworld books will always be the best books I will ever read because they make me laugh. When I read one I feel like it's written it just for me as I fall in love with every character, the good ones and the bad, because they are simply perfect. Their dialogue, their reactions, everything. I will stay up all night devouring page after page. When I turn a page and see one of his hilarious occasional footnotes at the bottom it's almost torture stopping myself from reading it before I get to the piece of text it relates to. I react to everything with humour, especially the serious stuff and it's all because of Sir Pratchett. In the last few years I've been told by many medical staff that my attitude to life in the shadow of serious illness is very refreshing and I have Terry to thank for that.

I don't know where to start with Eddie Izzard. Glorious was on tv one night and after watching it I was obsessed. A friend at school had watched it too and for weeks we reminisced about evil giraffes, being covered in bees and Sean Connery as Noah from the bible. I eventually bought it on VHS (remember those?!) for £17 from HMV. Over the years I've watched everything he's made, spent a fortune on collector edition box sets and been to see him live. I used to have a terrible phobia of needles and after seeing the size of the ones used in dialysis I was convinced I'd die before they'd be able to get near me with it. The psychologist offered me hypnotherapy and I had to choose somebody I admired as part of it so I chose Eddie. She used him during the hypnotherapy for me to relate to when I next needed to be brave because he was able to get on stage and make thousands of people laugh without getting stage fright. It worked. I'm completely cured. I can hold needles, even if they're in my arm. I haven't cried, thrown up or had a panic attack after seeing one on tv for over 2 years now. The change is incredible.

My heroes have shown me how to be myself, to have a sense of humour and to be brave. Three hugely important life lessons and what a wonderful trio of people to teach them.

Who are your heroes? I'd love to know.