A ski jumper who had the whole nation behind him despite coming last in the Winter Olympics has praised dry ski slopes as places to learn to ski.
Eddie "the Eagle" Edwards captured the hearts of the nation when he competed for Great Britain in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, coming last in the 70m and 90m events.
His story of true British spirit has now been made into a film which made it to the big screen last year.
Now Eddie has praised dry ski slopes, like the one at Swadlincote, as great places to learn to ski.
He has been talking about the best places for people to hone their skills on the slopes ahead of his appearance at the Motorhome and Caravan Show 2017, where he will reminisce in front live audiences about his Olympic career, the joys of travelling around Europe in his own campervan and his recommendations for a skiing destination this winter.
The ski jumper said: "I'm still just as excited to put on a pair of skis now as I was when I was training to jump, although since Calgary it's as often at a UK dry slope as it is on snow - places such as Gosling Sports Park, in Hertfordshire, Swadlincote, and my home slope in Gloucester.
"I learned to ski and did much of my early training on a dry slope. Snow is great, but if you can't afford a ski holiday, it's a great alternative.
"I loved Courchevel 1850 in France. I jumped there training for the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics, but it's very sophisticated nowadays.
"Chamonix, Les Arcs and Les Deux Alpes are great too. Probably my favourite ski place is Kicking Horse in British Columbia. It's a tiny resort with about 70 black runs and phenomenal snow.
"One location I try to go back to every year is Mayrhofen in Austria. It's beautiful, there's excellent links to smaller resorts on the same lift pass, and it's as good for beginners as it is for expert skiers.
"The idea of parking up in a motorhome, skiing, and then maybe moving on the next day to find the best snow really appeals."
Eddie the Eagle's praise for dry ski slopes has come as welcome news to Swadlincote Ski and Snowboard Centre, with centre manager Gemma Whetton saying she believes the celebrity had visited the centre in the 30 years it has been open.
She said: "I definitely agree with this as I always say to our customers that our surface is better to learn on.
"You have to be technically better to ski on the dry slopes than the snow. You can get a little lazy on the snow and when you get on the dry slopes you notice the difference as it is a lot harder.
"I believe that Eddie the Eagle has been here. We have been open for 30 years and we have been talking about what we are going to do to mark it. I have heard mention that he has been here. The film they did on him was partly filmed at our sister site in Bracknell."
Eddie will open the Motorhome and Caravan Show on Tuesday, October 17. The show runs until October 22 at Birmingham's NEC and features more than 700 leisure vehicles on display, including all the new-for-2018 models and new product debuts daily including Airstream's relaunch into the UK.
Although there's no skiing, a classic VW campervan display featuring some of the best examples of iconic "split screens" and "bays" from the 60s and 70s is expected to take Eddie back to his ski jumping days.
Eddie said: "I can't believe Calgary was 30 years ago. Time flies. But it's been an incredible three decades and I've travelled to so many places."
An accomplished downhill skier even before taking up ski jumping, Eddie acquired his own VW campervan when he was 19, in which he drove thousands of miles around Europe to train and compete.
He said: "It wasn't like the campervans and motorhomes of today. It had no heating, but it had a kettle and a cooker and it was my little hotel; I loved it. I would generally park at the bottom of a valley where it was warmer and drive up each day to find work shovelling snow or working in a hotel kitchen, and to train for skiing.
"At minus 20 degrees the old campervan would freeze overnight both inside as well as out, but boiling the kettle would soon thaw us both out. I remember a stone smashing the windscreen over a bank holiday weekend in Europe so no garages were open, and I had to drive 300 miles with no windscreen. I loved it, but eventually I sold it to raise money to go to America.
"I love the idea of going off skiing in today's modern campervans and motorhomes. The luxury is unbelievable, incredibly insulated and heated, comfortable beds and every mod con, even satellite TV.
"It's easy to park up in "aires" in France and many other countries. For me skiing is recreational now, and it can be expensive, so I might head to Bulgaria, Romania or the Czech Republic."
Tickets for the show are available by visiting www.mcshow.co.uk or calling 0844 873 7333.
Who is Eddie the Eagle?
Eddie the Eagle, born Michael Edwards, is a British skier who became the first competitor since 1929 to represent Great Britain at Olympic ski jumping when he took to the jump slopes in 1988.
He became a national hero for showing his true British spirit when he finished last in the 70-metre and 90-metre events. The skier was described as the "notoriously tenacious British underdog ski jumper who charmed the world" at the 1988 Winter Olympics.
His story was transformed into a big screen hit called Eddie the Eagle in 2016 where he was portrayed by Taron Egerton in the biographical film.
