Eddie The Eagle says he 'ate from bins' and was 'charity case' in new admission

Eddie The Eagle has revealed how he was a "charity case" before the Olympics - scavenging food from bins and kipping in his motor. The ski-jumper had only taken up the sport 22 months earlier, honing his skills at Gloucester Ski Centre's artificial slopes before the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.

He branded himself a "charity case," getting ready for Lake Placid's 1980 Olympics by shifting snow in return for complimentary slope training - whilst using kit from the lost and found. "I was scraping food out of bins," Edwards revealed on the BBC's Sport's Greatest Underdogs podcast.

"The more I could ski jump, the better I could get and, even if I had $100 left, I wanted to make that $100 last. I thought 'if I just buy bread and milk and scrape food out of bins and sleep in the car, I can stay out here for three months'."

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Eddie - born Michael Edwards - hailing from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, admits he even dozed in his vehicle during -25C temperatures. Following guidance from his dad, a builder, Eddie would strike up friendships with chefs and hotel kitchen staff hoping to bag a complimentary bite.

"I asked hotels if they needed any work doing... I met two brothers and they let me cut their grass and gave me a free meal," Eddie disclosed on the podcast.

"One of the brothers was a chef. If I was passing the hotel and he saw me, he'd open the window and lob me a tin of beans or pears. I'd think 'oh great, that's my meal for tonight'.

"The British Scout groups where I was staying would give me their spare food before they went home. They were lovely.

"For the other jumpers at the time, they stayed in five-star hotels. They had the doctors, psychologists, and there was just me on my own.

"I was like a charity case really. It was tough - but I had so much fun."