Twenty-five years after shooting to fame as a figure of fun with the world’s worst Olympic ski jump, Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards is to make a comeback.

The Cheltenham-born plasterer has announced he is due to fly to Bavaria to take on the Garmisch-Partenkirchen New Year ski jump.

Edwards came last in the 70m and 90m ski jumps at the 1988 Calgary Winter Games but became a household name and the unlikely hero of that Olympiad.

Once contracts are confirmed, Edwards, who lives near Stroud in Gloucestershire with his wife and two children, will test the conditions at the venue before the competition starts.

Edwards, who turns 50 tomorrow, told the Gloucestershire Echo that he plans to fly to Germany next week to try the jump for the first time.

“I’m still fit and in pretty good shape and I wanted to do it before it was too late for me physically,” he told the paper.

“This will be my last chance to have a go and see if I can still do it.

“I’ve always had that ‘have a go’ spirit. It’s not reckless because I think about the risk and every conceivable thing that could go wrong. I am nervous but also quite excited.”

Read: Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards wins ITV’s Splash!

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