Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards offers to ski jump for biopic

Eddie "the Eagle" Edwards said ski jumping filming was due to begin next month

Britain's most famous ski jumper Eddie "the Eagle" Edwards may perform the stunts in a movie about his life.

The 1988 Winter Olympics star confirmed the biopic was in production.

Edwards, who lives in Gloucestershire, has lent his old ski jumping gear to producers and said he had offered to help because nobody jumps in the old "classic" style any more.

It has been reported Welsh actor Taron Egerton will portray Eddie in the film. Hugh Jackman will play his mentor.

The 51-year-old ski jumper, whose real name is Michael Edwards, became world famous upon finishing a distant last at the Calgary Olympics of 1988.

A movie about his life has been talked about for several years. Previously both Steve Coogan and Rupert Grint were reported to be lined up to play him.

'Olympic uniform'

"When the latest reports [about the film going ahead] first came out, I took it with a huge pinch of salt because this has been mentioned in the papers for the last 20 years and nothing's ever come of it," said Edwards.

"But now it looks like something's actually happening."

Eddie Edwards finished a distant last at the Calgary Winter Olympics in 1988

He said he had met producers last month and has since met with set designers and costume designers to discuss the film.

"They've taken my Olympic uniform to be replicated for the movie," he said.

"It'll be fun. I'm a little bit excited, but I'll only believe it when it actually happens and they begin filming."

Edwards, who lives in the Stroud Valleys, said he had not yet seen a script but had been told Jackman would be playing his mentor.

He said the ski-jumping parts of the movie would begin filming in February.

'Brave enough'

"I met with Dexter [Fletcher], who's one of the producers, before Christmas and they expressed a problem with finding ski jumpers who could jump in the old "classic" style [with skis parallel] because for the last 25 years everybody's been jumping in the new "V" style.

The unlikely star of the 1988 Winter Olympics has given his decades-old ski jumping equipment to the film-makers

"I said I'd be quite willing to do it, because I can still jump the classic style, and do some jumping in the movie.

"I've given them all my old ski jumping equipment that I used 30 years ago which is now defunct, but it's still jumpable.

"You can still jump on the skis, and with the bindings - it's just they'll have difficulty finding somebody who'll be brave enough to jump with the old equipment."