Fearless Eddie the Eagle makes a Splash!

Diving off a 10-metre board is pretty scary but for one celebrity competitor in TV  reality show Splash!, it doesn't come close to his previous job.

In the 1988 Winter Olympics fearless hero Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards skied off a 90-metre high ski jump.

Surely 10 metres above Luton swimming pool is but a mere trifle?

The ever-modest Olympian begs to differ.

"Diving head first off the high board is scary, of course it is," he said. It's not as dangerous as ski jumping by any stretch but you know it's going to hurt quite a bit if it goes wrong."

It's been 24 years since Cheltenham-born Eddie – real name Michael Edwards – made history in Calgary by being the first Brit to compete in the ski jumping event.

Although he came last in both his events, his grit, determination, unfailing good humour and Mr Magoo glasses endeared him to the watching world and his future was secured.

Eddie became the darling of the media, appearing on TV and radio, recording records, writing books and travelling the world as a superstar.

Although his life has calmed down, he still makes a good living on the public speaking circuit, through public relations and with his building work.

And every so often he pops up on our TVs and is always welcomed  with open arms by the public.

There's no doubt that Eddie is still as popular as  ever  – and it's not really surprising; he's an extremely pleasant chap when all's said and done.

Splash! is his third reality sports show after appearing on Total Wipeout celebrity special, which he won by a comfortable margin, and BBC1's Let's Dance for Sports Relief, where he reached  the final.

On Saturday  he was in the semi-finals of Splash! after impressing both the judges and viewers with his amazing dive in the heats two weeks ago.

He was up against the likes of comedian Omid Djalili, actor Jake C****o and Linda Barker,  but Eddie has impressed show presenter and Olympic diver Tom Daley.

"When I was first approached to do the show I jumped at the chance as I love doing this sort of thing," said Eddie, 49, who now lives near Stroud with wife Samantha, and daughters Ottilie, eight, and Honey, five.

"I took part in the pilot show in November and had 16 hours of training and I won that, so they asked me to take part in the proper show.

"I only had another four hours of training before the show started,  but I have loved doing it.

"I did a lot of trampolining when I was at college to help with my ski jumping so I had already done lots of somersaults in the air which made doing them for the diving a lot easier.

"Even so, I am amazed I have got as far as I have done with the few hours training I was given."

Splash! has been taking up a lot of his time, especially as he has to travel between diving pools in Plymouth – where he trains with Tom, Essex and Luton, where the show is filmed.

"After the heats I hurt myself on a practice dive for the first time," he said.

"I landed badly and fell flat on my chest, which winded me and stung pretty badly."

For his heat dive, Eddie performed a one and a half somersault off the 10 metre board and he is planning a more difficult one for tonight's semis.

"And if I'm lucky enough to get through to the finals I am going to try something even more difficult," he says, with a smile.

So does it help when the crowds get behind you, as they have done with Eddie during Splash!

"It was 25 years ago since I jumped in Calgary so anyone younger than about 40 probably wouldn't remember anything about me then.

"But I am getting a lot of support from the crowds, both young and old, which is fantastic," he said.

With his self-effacing personality and the rather fetching mankini he dives in, is it any surprise that Eddie has such an enthusiastic and loyal following?