Zero to hero! Biggest sporting loser Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards soars to victory on Splash! as Linda Barker and Jake Canuso miss out
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After a tense live final, it is former Olympic skier Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards who took home the first ever Splash! trophy after beating off competition from fellow finalists Linda Barker and Jake Canuso.
Once dubbed the biggest loser in sport, a proud Eddie proved his diving skills once and for all as the three remaining celebrities performed a solo dive and a sychronised dive with Olympic medalist Tom Daley in the last show.
With Linda taking third place and Jake taking second, it was Eddie who stood out and gained the most votes from the public as well as a perfect score for his solo dive.
First winner: Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards picks up the first ever Splash! trophy after getting the most public votes on Saturday's live final
First up to perform her solo dive was interior designer Linda, 51, who had suffered some painful bruises during her practice earlier in the day.
Wearing a bright pink bikini with gold trim, the last woman standing made the most of her much-lauded figure, which has been greatly praised on Twitter.
She made the move up to the five metre platform for her solo dive, saying: 'I need to be brave if I want to win it. If it doesn't go well in the final then it'll be heartbreaking.'
Zero to hero: Once thought of as a sporting loser, Eddie has turned around his image to win Splash!
Final three: Eddie was joined by his fellow finalists Linda Barker and Jake Canuso as they battled it out to win first place
Bikini body: Linda Barker is first up to dive, wearing a bright pink bikini
Impressive dive: Linda performs a near perfect dive for her last solo effort, provoking a standing ovation
Pleased with herself: Linda seems happy with her first dive as she chats to host Vernon Kay
Putting her bruises out of her mind, Linda managed to pull off an impressive dive, provoking a standing ovation.
'Linda, you've made it to the final and you've done it in style. Learnt in under a week - well done,' said judge Andy Banks, giving her a score of 8.5.
'You really inspired me, you're so impressive,' said fellow judge Jo Brand, scoring her a staggering 9.5.
Making it her best score yet, Linda was finally given an 8.5 by former Olympic diver and judge Leon Taylor.
Perfect entry: Linda pulled off her dive, hoping to secure enough viewer votes for her to win
Gearing up: Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards wore tight red shorts ahead of his perfect dive
All eyes on him: The former skier was given a perfect score by the judges, despite a set back in rehearsal
What a dive: Eddie manages to get the est score of the entire series with his impressive dive
Perfect score: The sportsman seems delighted after receiving three 10s from the judges
Former pro skier Eddie was up next, trying to top his near perfect dive from last week, which was just one point off top marks.
With great encouragement from Tom, who told him that he should have been a pro diver at rehearsals, 'The Eagle' seemed on top form, despite a major set back during practice.
Pulling it off, Eddie seemed over-the-moon after his amazing two and a half somersault dive, as did the judges who gave him a perfect score.
'You're not only pushing the boundaries, but you're smashing them,' said Leon.
'Well, Eddie, incredible - skiing, diving, you just need to perfect hand-gliding and you could be the next Milk Tray man,' joked Jo Brand.
Last up: Hunky actor Jake's the last to dive, shedding his sequined dressing gown as he takes to the board
Handstand: The actor does an impressive handstand ahead of his dive
Higher board: Jake opted for the higher 10 metre board for his final solo dive
Toned physique: Jake shows off his muscly body ahead of his dive, which gains him a near perfect score
Benidorm actor and heartthrob Jake, who has been the talk of Twitter thanks to his toned physique, was the last to dive.
Heading up to the 10 metre board for his final effort, the showman did a handstand on the edge of the board.
Unfortunately not the perfect dive, the judges gave the actor great comments nonetheless.
Just the two of us: Linda joins forces with Tom to perform the first synchronised dive of the evening
Quick change: Linda changes into a gold metallic bikini for her final dive of the series
In sync: Tom and Linda hit the water at the same time, proving their skills
'Your control was spot on,' said Leon, who gave him a score of 9. 'That was a great dive, well done.'
'Control is key, that's what it is all about - and you had great control,' said Andy, who also gave him a 9.
Jo gave him a generous 9.5, giving him an overall score of 27.5, his highest of the competition and putting him firmly in second place.
In it together: Toma and Linda managed to pull off a near perfect dive together
Here come the boys: Eddie and Tom step up to the board in a bid to get another perfect score
Going for gold: Eddie changes into a gold swimsuit for his second dive of the night
After their solo performances, it was time for the eagerly-anticipated synchronised dives, alongside Olympian Tom.
Changing into a stand-out gold metallic bikini, Linda took her place next to Tom on the board and pulled off an impressive dive.
Despite some over-rotation, the decorator bagged another round of great scores from the judges.
Final dive: Jake performs the final dive of the series together
Last effort: Jake is the last finalist to dive, but doesn't manage to get quite as good a score as Eddie
Getting the crowd going: The pair hit the water at the same time, but don't quite manage to pull off a perfect score
Pulled it off: Jake bagged his best score of the series, but was two points off a perfect score
'Your timing was absolutely spot on and you must have been pretty scared,' said judge Andy, giving her a 9.
Jo gave the star a 9.5, while Leon gave her a 9, making it her best score of the entire series.
Frontrunner Eddie was next up to perform his sychronised dive with Tom, who were filmed practicing their timing in rehearsal.
'Amazing,' said Jo, giving him a 10. 'I'm looking forward to Tom doing some sychronised skiing with Eddie now.'
Naughty! Joey Essex admitted to keeping his special Essex trunks
He's got his clothes on this time: Joey Essex, a former competitor, lent his support to the three finalists
'That was superb - that wasn't far off Olympic standard,' said an impressed Leon.
HE DIDN'T ALWAYS SOAR TO VICTORY...
Twenty-five years ago Eddie was the first competitor to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping.
He came last, but he did so with such aplomb that he was feted as a hero.
After Eddie had performed the world’s worst Olympic ski jump, he built a career out of being Britain’s most heroic loser.
Thanks to a slight imperfection, the other two judges gave Eddie a 9.5, meaning that he missed out on a top score by a point.
Actor Jake was up next, pulling off another great dive and impressing the judges with his joint performance with Tom.
'The final dive of Splash! 2013 and you absolutely smashed it, ' raved Andy, giving him a score of 9.
Jo Brand gave Jake a score of 10, while fellow judge Leon joined Andy in giving him a 9.
'I'm the oldest contestant in the competition,' said Linda when all the dives were done. 'Age shouldn't inhibit anyone from doing anything they want to - just get on and do it.'
just before the winners were announced, presumably to kill some time, ever enthusiastic Vernon decided to interview previous contestants who were knocked out in the previous rounds.
TOWIE favourite Joey Essex admitted he had kept his famous Essex swimming trunks, even taking them Marbs, while Omid Djalili revealed a new found talent for the sport - despite being called a turkey by judge Jo.
And in an hardly unexpected twist the announcement was made while all three, by now freezing celebrities, waited while Eddie's triumph was announced.
Triumph: Linda lost out on first place to Eddie, and was first to leave the diving board
Eight weeks of training: Linda said the experience of being on Splash was 'amazing'
Celebrating: All of the finalists jump into the pool to mark the end of the show
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2272494/Taking-home-trophy-Eddie-The-Eagle-Edwards-comes-final-Splash-as.html#ixzz2JmxnnUOK
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