Eddie Izzard documents his '˜Marathon Man' challenge

Eddie, who spent much of his childhood in Bexhill, ran the marathons last year to commemorate Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison.

His epic challenge helped raise more than £1 million for Sport Relief.

He previously attempted the feat in 2012 but had to pull out due to health issues after marathon four before returning in 2016 to try again.

On Monday, he released a video onto his YouTube channel documenting his first marathon from Mbashe Bridge to Qunu passing through Mvezu – the birthplace of Mr Mandela.

Running in temperatures as high as 33 degrees Celcius, the videos provide an inside-look at just how incredible his achievement was.

In his first video, Eddie said: “First marathon out of 27, that represents 1963 for Nelson Mandela – his first year in prison.

“In this year, Kenyan independence happened, the ‘I had a dream’ speech from Martin Luther King, the Beatles released their first album in the UK, the first Doctor Who was in 1963 and the Great Train robbery.

“I was one years old and moving to Bexhill-On-Sea.”

Eddie’s second video – released on Tuesday – documents his marathon from Qunu to Bityi.

Over the next four weeks, he is releasing daily videos onto his YouTube channel documenting the journey, from taking an unscheduled rest day to completing two marathons on the final day to make up lost time.

After battling through dehydration, heat exhaustion and sunstroke, he completed the 707-mile route under a giant statue of Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg.

Having previously completed 43 marathons in 51 days in the UK, Eddie said the South African challenge was ‘the hardest thing I’ve ever done’.