50 Fun Facts About Paddington Bear

Which future head of state voiced Paddington in the Ukrainian dub of the first two films?

Volodymyr Zelensky, then a comedian, voiced Paddington in the Ukrainian dubs of Paddington and Paddington 2, years before he became Ukraine's president.

Which Queen hit did Paddington and Elizabeth II tap their teacups to at her Platinum Jubilee concert?

"We Will Rock You" was then played live outside the palace by Queen + Adam Lambert, and in the sketch the Queen revealed she keeps a marmalade sandwich in her bag for emergencies.

Which Top Gear presenter's mother made the first Paddington toy, adding Wellington boots so it stood up?

Jeremy Clarkson's parents Shirley and Eddie ran Gabrielle Designs, whose prototype bear was a Christmas present for Jeremy and his sister Joanna before Michael Bond granted them the toy rights.

Which Rocky Horror star voiced the Browns' grumpy neighbour in the 1989 Paddington cartoon?

Tim Curry voiced Mr Curry, the neighbour who addresses Paddington simply as "Bear!", in a series that cast Charlie Adler as the bear himself.

Paddington 2 became the most-reviewed film ever to hold a perfect 100% score on which review site?

Rotten Tomatoes counted 164 positive reviews and none negative for Paddington 2 in January 2018, beating Toy Story 2's record of 163.

Like the Queen, Paddington celebrates two birthdays a year; which date pairs with 25 December?

25 June and 25 December are both Paddington's birthdays: when the Browns found him they decided, like the Queen, he should celebrate twice a year.

Who plays Phoenix Buchanan, the faded West End star reduced to dog-food adverts, in Paddington 2?

Hugh Grant earned a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor as the master of disguise, and he sings Sondheim's "Rain on the Roof" over the end credits.

Which Oscar winner plays Millicent Clyde, the taxidermist who hunts Paddington in the 2014 film?

Nicole Kidman also designed a gold Paddington statue for the 2014 Paddington Trail, one of fifty placed around London and auctioned for a children's charity.

Which actor, Q in the James Bond film Skyfall, has voiced Paddington in all three live-action films?

Ben Whishaw took the role late: another actor had already recorded Paddington before withdrawing months before release, so Whishaw joined in post-production.

Which British retailer's 2017 Christmas advert had Paddington mistake a burglar for Father Christmas?

Marks & Spencer's advert had Paddington help the thief, whom he takes for Santa, return every stolen gift to its rightful owner.

Which Paddington habit, taught by Aunt Lucy, leaves rude people flushed and embarrassed?

A hard stare is Paddington's only weapon: he is unfailingly polite, calling people Mr, Mrs and Miss, so the stare is what he saves for anyone who forgets their manners.

At which fictional London address near Notting Hill do the Browns give Paddington a home?

32 Windsor Gardens is invented: a real Windsor Gardens exists between Notting Hill and Maida Vale, but it looks nothing like the Browns' street.

At which London street market is Paddington respected by shopkeepers for driving a shrewd bargain?

Portobello Road is Paddington's patch: he shops there almost daily, and the market sits a short walk from the Browns' house.

Which Hungarian-born antique dealer shares elevenses with Paddington every day in Michael Bond's books?

Mr Gruber, like Paddington, is an immigrant who made London home, and scholars read their friendship as the heart of the books' kindness to newcomers.

Which relative gave Paddington the battered old hat he wears in Michael Bond's stories?

Uncle Pastuzo gave Paddington his hat; in the 2014 film the hat came first from a British explorer, and its stamp is the clue Paddington follows across London.

Aunt Lucy sends Paddington to London after moving into the Home for Retired Bears in which city?

Lima, Peru's capital, is where Aunt Lucy retires after an earthquake destroys the bears' home, which is why Paddington stows away to London alone.

What are the names of the two Brown children who share a house with Paddington in the books?

Judy and Jonathan Brown swap ages between adaptations: Judy is the elder in the films and the 1976 series, Jonathan in the 1989 and 1997 cartoons.

Michael Bond, then a BBC cameraman, wrote the whole first Paddington book in how long?

Ten days was all it took: Bond began the story as a hobby, and A Bear Called Paddington reached shops in October 1958.

Michael Bond's other children's series starred Olga da Polga, named after the family's pet what?

A guinea pig called Olga da Polga got her own series from 1971, and Bond also wrote Monsieur Pamplemousse food mysteries for grown-ups.

In which canal-side London district did Michael Bond live, close to the station that named his bear?

Little Venice put Bond within a short walk of Paddington station, the place that inspired many of his books; he died at home in 2017, aged 91.

Paddington station's bronze bear under the clock copies which original illustrator's artwork?

Peggy Fortnum drew the first edition in 1958 in black-and-white pen and ink, and one of her Paddington pictures became a Royal Mail first-class stamp in 2006.

Which creator of Mr Benn and Elmer the Patchwork Elephant also illustrated later Paddington books?

David McKee is one of several artists who took over the Paddington books after the original illustrator, alongside R. W. Alley and others.

Which actor narrated the 1976 BBC stop-motion Paddington and voiced every character himself?

Michael Hordern, best known for his Shakespearean roles, supplied every voice in the series, whose scripts Michael Bond wrote himself.

Which animator, also behind The Wombles and Postman Pat, directed the 1976 FilmFair Paddington series?

Ivor Wood had animated The Magic Roundabout in France before joining FilmFair, and his Paddington was a 3D puppet moving through sparse line-drawn sets.

In the 1976 BBC series, how were the Browns and the other characters shown alongside the Paddington puppet?

As flat 2D drawings, the rest of the cast stayed on paper, and in one scene a marmalade jar turns 3D as soon as Paddington touches it.

Which American studio made the 1989 Paddington cartoon that added an American cousin named David?

Hanna-Barbera co-produced it with Britain's Central Independent Television, making it the first Paddington series from a North American company.

Which US kids' network co-made the 2019 cartoon The Adventures of Paddington with StudioCanal?

Nickelodeon and a British animation studio kept the films' voice of Paddington, and the series debuted on 20 December 2019 as a spin-off of the live-action movies.

Who gave Paddington his first TV outing, reading the stories on the BBC's Jackanory in 1966?

Thora Hird read The Adventures of Paddington Bear over five afternoons, and not one of those 15-minute episodes survives in the BBC archive.

Which QI host won a 2008 Audie Award in the US for reading the Paddington audiobook More About Paddington?

Stephen Fry's reading of Bond's 1959 sequel took the Audio Publishers Association's Young Listeners' Title, one of several Paddington books he has recorded.

Who wrote and directed the first two Paddington films before handing the third to a new director?

Paul King co-wrote Paddington 2 with Simon Farnaby, and the sequel is dedicated to Michael Bond, who died in 2017, the year it came out.

Which Mr Darcy of the BBC's Pride and Prejudice recorded Paddington's voice, then quit before the film came out?

Colin Firth called it "bittersweet" to step away after seeing the bear take shape on screen, and the role was recast the following month.

In the 2014 Paddington film, taxidermist Millicent Clyde works at which real London institution?

Natural History Museum galleries in South Kensington were used for filming, and Millicent wants to stuff Paddington for the collection because her explorer father refused to bring a bear home.

Paddington's creator Michael Bond makes a cameo in the 2014 film doing what as the bear passes in a taxi?

Raising a glass in a café to his own creation, Bond smiles at Paddington as the taxi goes by early in the film; Empire called it arguably the loveliest cameo on its list of 2014's best.

Which Downton Abbey star plays cautious dad Henry Brown in the Paddington films?

Hugh Bonneville was, fittingly, born in Paddington, London, and he also designed one of the fifty statues on the 2014 Paddington Trail.

Who plays Mrs Bird, the Browns' no-nonsense housekeeper, in all three Paddington films?

Julie Walters designed a "Primrose"-themed statue for the 2014 Paddington Trail, placed in Primrose Hill, one of fifty auctioned for charity.

Which Doctor Who lead plays the Browns' nosy, bad-tempered neighbour in the Paddington films?

Peter Capaldi, the twelfth Doctor, plays the penny-pinching neighbour who schemes with the villain in the first film, then warns the Browns so they can rescue Paddington.

In Paddington 2, what present is Paddington saving up to buy for Aunt Lucy's 100th birthday?

A pop-up book of London is the prize: the thief uses clues hidden in its pages to hunt a fortune, and Framestore built the elaborate pop-up sequence.

How does Paddington earn the money for Aunt Lucy's present in Paddington 2 before he is framed?

As a window cleaner Paddington saves his wages, only to be jailed for ten years after a burglar he chases makes off with the gift.

Which Irish actor plays Knuckles McGinty, the prison cook Paddington wins over in Paddington 2?

Brendan Gleeson's gruff cook tastes one of Paddington's sandwiches and puts him to work in the kitchen, then helps him break out at midnight.

Which Strictly Come Dancing judge choreographed the prison dance number in Paddington 2?

Craig Revel Horwood staged the inmates' routine, while interiors were shot at Pinewood and Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden with location work at Tower Bridge and the City.

Which director of John Lewis Christmas adverts made his feature debut with Paddington in Peru?

Dougal Wilson also made Coldplay's Grammy-nominated "Life in Technicolor II" video, and he took over after the first two films' director stepped back from directing.

Which Oscar winner plays the Reverend Mother, secretly Clarissa Cabot, in Paddington in Peru?

Olivia Colman's nun runs the Home for Retired Bears but faked her own death years earlier, and she stages Aunt Lucy's disappearance to lure Paddington to Peru.

Which Spanish star plays gold-obsessed riverboat captain Hunter Cabot in Paddington in Peru?

Antonio Banderas plays a captain driven by the ghosts of his ancestors to find El Dorado, and the part earned him a Best Actor nomination at the 2025 Imagen Awards.

Who took over as Mary Brown in Paddington in Peru after Sally Hawkins left the role?

Emily Mortimer stepped in for the third film, which was shot in the UK, Colombia and Peru between July and October 2023 alongside the returning cast.

In Paddington in Peru, El Dorado turns out not to be a golden city but what, Paddington's own birthplace?

An orangery full of bears is what the Browns find, and several of those bears later visit London, where they are named after other railway stations.

Paddington in Peru had the biggest UK opening weekend for a British film since which 2021 release?

No Time to Die, the 25th James Bond film, was the benchmark Paddington in Peru beat with £9.65 million in its first weekend.

The Paddington-and-the-Queen Jubilee sketch won which prize at the 2023 BAFTA Television Awards?

Memorable Moment went to a film that became one of Elizabeth II's last public appearances, and mourners later left Paddington toys and sandwiches at her memorials.

Which children's charity received the 1,000-plus Paddington toys left at royal homes when the Queen died?

Barnardo's received the bears after they were professionally cleaned, and the BBC showed both Paddington films on the weekend of the funeral.

Which UK government department issued Paddington a real passport in 2024 that lists "Bear" under observations?

The Home Office answered the producers' request for a replica with a genuine document naming him Paddington Brown, a British citizen born in Peru.

Paddington, sitting at his station, appeared on which UK coin in 2018 to mark 60 years of the books?

50p coins made Bond only the second author to see a character on the coin, two years after Beatrix Potter's famous rabbit.