Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards, Del Boy and the current Leicester City squad are Britain’s best-loved underdogs of all time, according to a new study.

A new poll of 2,000 Brits has revealed the top 20 teams, characters and athletes we’ve rooted for against the odds, with Susan Boyle and The Jamaican Bobsleigh team also featuring in the top five.

Tom Hanks’ turn as the much-loved Forrest Gump sees him firmly in the running at number six, while Dickens’ Oliver Twist and dancer Billy Elliot are also among the nation’s favourite underdogs.

The research, commissioned by Ladbrokes, saw JK Rowling’s now famed tale of rags to riches score popularly, while Paul Potts’ journey from mobile phone manager to opera singer also strikes a chord.

Sylvester Stallone’s journey from zero to hero as boxer Rocky Balboa sees him just miss out on the top ten, with the epic adventures of Frodo Baggins also inside the top 20.

Brits also have a soft spot for the relentless optimism of Tom in his painful pursuit of Jerry, while there’s also a place for The Karate Kid who overcame the odds in the 1984 film of the same name.

Leicester triumph, Jamie Vardy’s journey from non-league football to premier league glory sees him at 15th on the list.

Yesterday a spokesman for Ladbrokes said: “Nothing resonates more with a British audience than an underdog beating the odds.

“Leicester City’s inspirational journey typifies how the public love to get behind those facing an uphill battle and, whether in sport, film or real life accomplishments, we take them to our hearts.

“The list of the nation’s favourite underdogs is a quirky mix of the people, characters and teams who have allowed us to believe that anything is possible.”

Ultimate underdog David Brent will always have a place in the nation’s heart and creeps inside the top 20.

The constant pain and frustration of one Wile Coyote sees him granted a place just inside the top 20 of the nation’s favourite underdogs.

If given the choice, eight in ten Brits will always root for the underdog, results showed and more than two thirds felt our need to back someone against the odds is a particularly British trait.

Sadly, a third of those studied consider themselves as something of an underdog in their own life.

Over forty per cent of people feel that true underdogs are now less common in sport than they used to be, with the biggest reason for this being the dominance of money in most sports.

The research also compiled the biggest sporting underdog moments – with Leicester City of course topping the list.

While Liverpool’s Champion’s League turnaround against AC Milan, Greece’s 2004 European Championship winning team and Goran Ivanisevic’s triumph at Wimbledon in 2001 counted among the greatest ever long-shots.

Sri Lanka’s success in the 1996 Cricket World Cup, Muhammad Ali’s ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ KO of George Foreman and John Daly’s victory at the PGA Championship in 1991 also feature.

NATIONS FAVOURITE UNDERDOGS Leicester City Eddie the Eagle Del Boy Susan Boyle The Jamaican Bobsleigh team Forrest Gump Oliver Twist Billy Elliott JK Rowling Paul Potts Rocky Frodo Baggins Tom (Tom and Jerry) The Karate Kid Jamie Vardy Seabiscuit Arya Stark Jane Eyre David Brent Wile Coyote

TOP 20 GREATEST SPORTING UNDERDOGS (AND LADBROKES’ ORIGINAL ODDS) Leicester City premier league winners (2016) – 5000/1 Eddie the Eagle competes in the Winter Olympics (1988) 50/1 The Jamaican bobsleigh team (1988) 1000/1 Unseeded Boris Becker’s Wimbledon win aged just 17 (1985) 200/1 Dennis Taylor defeating Steve Davis for the World Snooker Championship (1985) (from 8-0 down – 50/1 – 5/1 to win match) Liverpool beat AC Milan in the Champions League Final from 3-0 down (2005) 100/1 Japan beat South Africa in the rugby world cup (2015) 66/1 The Greek football team wins the Euros (2004) 500/1 Unseeded Goran Ivanisevic’s Wimbledon triumph (2001) 200/1 Muhammed Ali’s ‘rumble in the jungle’ win over George Foreman (1974) 4/1 Nottingham Forest football team two European cups (1978-80) 1000/1 Jenson Button and Brawn GP winning the Formula One world championship (2009) 100/1 Wimbledon’s FA cup winning side (1988) 200/1 Joe Johnson wins the world snooker championships (1986) 150/1 Ipswich Town football club win UEFA cup (1981) 250/1 Buster Douglas knocks out Mike Tyson (1990) 42/1 Denmark win the European football champions (1992) 100/1 Danny Willett – Master’s winner (2016) 50/1 Dustin Brown beats Rafael Nadal (2015) 10/1 Sri Lanka’s cricket world cup win (1996) 25/1