''Paddington'' is a British

children's A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

animated television series An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...

based on the

Paddington Bear Paddington Bear is a fictional character in children's literature. He first appeared on 13 October 1958 in the children's book ''A Bear Called Paddington'' and has been featured in more than twenty books written by British author Michael Bond, a ...

books by

Michael Bond Thomas Michael Bond (13 January 1926 – 27 June 2017) was a British author. He is best known for a series of fictional stories for children, featuring the character of Paddington Bear. More than 35 million Paddington books have been sold ...

. Broadcast from 1976 to 1980, the series was scripted by Bond himself, and produced by

FilmFair FilmFair was a British production company and animation studio that produced children's television series, animated cartoons, educational films, and television advertisements. The company made numerous stop motion films using puppets, clay anima ...

; it was narrated by

Michael Hordern Sir Michael Murray Hordern CBE (3 October 19112 May 1995)Morley, Sheridan"Hordern, Michael Murray (1911–1995)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, May 2009, accessed 22 July 2015 was ...

, who also voiced all of the characters. ''Paddington'' is animated in

stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

. Paddington himself is a puppet in a three-dimensional environment, whilst other characters are paper cut-outs. The final television special used a slightly different technique using 2D drawn fully animated characters.

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

premiered ''Paddington'' in January 1976; the series concluded in May, but was appended by two Christmas specials in December. A second series—retitled ''The Adventures of Paddington''—followed in October 1979, and ran until April 1980. In all, 56 episodes were broadcast, followed by three

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of ent ...

s: ''Paddington Goes to the Movies'' (1983), ''Paddington Goes to School'' (1984), and ''Paddington’s Birthday Bonanza'' (1987). ''Paddington'' was the first television programme adapted from the Paddington Bear stories. ''

'' (1989) was produced by

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

for

broadcast syndication Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...

, while ''

The Adventures of Paddington Bear ''The Adventures of Paddington Bear'' is an animated children's television series. It is based on the book ''Paddington Bear'' by Michael Bond and was written by Bruce Robb. It was produced by CINAR Corporation and Protecrea, in co-production ...

'' (1997) was produced by

CINAR Cookie Jar Entertainment Inc. (also known as Cookie Jar Group and originally known as CINAR; renamed as DHX Cookie Jar Inc. from 2012 until 2014, or simply just Cookie Jar) was a Canadian media production and distribution company owned by DHX M ...

and Protecrea.

Source material

Episodes of ''Paddington'' are based on stories published in the following books by Michael Bond:

Characters

*Paddington Bear - the protagonist, an accident-prone but well-meaning bear from Darkest

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. He was named Paddington Brown by the Browns after they found him at

Paddington Station Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great We ...

as his Peruvian name was difficult to pronounce. He has a fondness for

marmalade Marmalade is a fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. The well-known version is made from bitter orange. It is also made from lemons, limes, grapefruits, mandarins, sweet oranges, bergamo ...

sandwiches A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

and always keeps one under his hat for emergencies. He is initially found to be wearing a luggage label around his neck bearing the words "Please look after this bear. Thank you." He is also very polite, never addressing someone by their first name but always by their title (Mr., Mrs., Master or Miss). *Mr. Henry Brown - the patriarch of the Brown family. *Mrs. Mary Brown - the matriarch of the Brown family. *Jonathan and Judy Brown - the Brown family children. It is never established if one is older than the other, leading to the perception they are

twins Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...

. *Mrs. Bird - the Browns' stern but ultimately friendly

nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...

and housekeeper. *Mr. Gruber - the owner of the

antique shop An antique shop (or antiques shop) is a retail store specializing in the selling of antiques. Antiques shops can be located either locally or, with the advent of the Internet, found online. An antiques shop can also be located within an anti ...

Portobello Road Portobello Road is a street in the Notting Hill district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in west London. It runs almost the length of Notting Hill from south to north, roughly parallel with Ladbroke Grove. On Saturdays it is ...

which Paddington frequents for

elevenses Elevenses is a short break taken at around 11:00a.m. to consume a drink or snack. The names and details vary among countries. Regional variations Australia and New Zealand In Australia and New Zealand, elevenses is known as "morning tea" and o ...

. He is an elderly man who hails from

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. *Mr. Curry - the Browns' mean, moody and bad-tempered next-door neighbour. He often seeks to get something for nothing and frequently addresses Paddington as "Bear!".

Broadcast

In 1975, FilmFair completed production of the first series, which comprised 30 episodes. The first series aired on

in 1976. The second series, which comprised 26 episodes, was titled ''The Adventures of Paddington''. These aired in 1978 and 1979, followed by specials in 1980, 1984, and 1986. It later aired on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

with the series being shown on a wrapper programme called ''Take 5'' which airs several other children's programmes that been previously shown on other television stations and then on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

in 1997 as part of their children's block

CITV CITV (short for Children's ITV, also known as the CITV Channel) is a British free-to-air children's television channel owned by ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive and acquisitions, every day from 6 am to 9 pm which ...

and aired until 2000, And also, the episodes of ''Paddington'' aired on

Milkshake! ''Milkshake!'' (stylised as milkshake!) is a British children's television programming block on Channel 5 and is currently aimed at children aged 3–7. History The block debuted on Channel 5's first full day on air, at 7.30am on 31 March 19 ...

on Channel 5. In the United States, episodes of ''Paddington'' aired on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

; on the syndicated series ''

Romper Room ''Romper Room'' is an American children's television series that was franchised and syndicated from 1953 to 1994. The program targeted preschoolers (children five years of age or younger), and was created and produced by Bert Claster and his p ...

''; on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

as a segment on the programme '' Pinwheel''; on

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

as a segment on ''

Calliope In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; grc, Καλλιόπη, Kalliópē, beautiful-voiced) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muses" ...

''; between preschool programs on

The Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Company. ...

; on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

in between features and (from the late 1980s to the 1990s) as a segment on the programme ''Lunch Box''. also in 1990, Paddington aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

and later Freeform. In the Republic of Ireland, the series was broadcast on Raidió Telefís Éireann. The series later aired in Singapore on Channel 5 as part of their children's block ''Kids Corner''. The series was also broadcast on

e.tv e.tv (commonly referred to on-air as e) is the first and only privately owned free-to-air television station in South Africa. It is the fifth terrestrial television channel in the country, following three channels that are operated by the sta ...

in South Africa during the late 2000s and early 2010s. In Brunei, the series aired on RTB. In Japan, it was broadcast on NHK E from 1994 to 1997. In Hong Kong, the series was transmitted on

Rediffusion Television Rediffusion Television (RTV) was the first television station in Hong Kong, making it both the first British colony and the first predominantly ethnically Chinese city to have television.Kitley, Philip. 003(2003). Television, Regulation and ...

(which later became ATV in 1982) and aired as part of a children's block called ''The 5 O'Clock Club''. In Germany the series aired on

ZDF ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...

Super RTL Super RTL is a German free-to-air television network owned by the RTL Group. The channel originally launched in 1995 as a joint venture between RTL Group predecessor company CLT-UFA and Disney's Buena Vista International Television Investments ...

in Toggolino,

RTL II RTL Zwei (stylised as RTLZWEI), formerly spelled RTL 2 and RTL II, is a German-language television channel that is operated by ''RTL2 Television GmbH & Co. KG''. RTL2 is a private television broadcaster with a full program ''(Vollprogramm)'' ...

in Vampy, Sat.1,

Tele 5 Tele 5 is a German free-to-air television channel that broadcasts classic American films, series, cartoons and Japanese anime. On 3 July 2020, Discovery, Inc. agreed to acquire the channel from Leonine Holding, completing the purchase on 1 Se ...

in Bim Bam Bino, VOX,

Das Erste Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the nine regional public broadcasting corporations that are member ...

, Kinderkanal, BR, Hr, Rbb, MDR, NDR, WDR, SWR, SR,

BR-alpha ARD alpha is a German free-to-air television channel run by regional public-service broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk. Its programming consists of shows made by Bayerischer Rundfunk, as well as from ARD and Austrian broadcaster ORF. The channel ...

, One,

3sat In logic and computer science, the Boolean satisfiability problem (sometimes called propositional satisfiability problem and abbreviated SATISFIABILITY, SAT or B-SAT) is the problem of determining if there exists an interpretation that satisfie ...

, Eins Plus and EinsMuXx In Italy, the series aired on

Rai Uno Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream and general ...

in 1977. In Australia, the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

broadcast the programme in the early 1980s. In New Zealand, it was shown on

TVNZ 1 TVNZ 1 ( mi, Te Reo Tātaki Tahi) is the first national television channel owned and operated by the state-owned broadcaster Television New Zealand (TVNZ). It is the oldest television broadcaster in New Zealand, starting out from 1960 as indep ...

(originally TV One) in the late 1970s and during the 1980s.

Theme music

The composition that became known as the Paddington Bear theme was composed by

Herbert Chappell Herbert Reginald Chappell (18 March 1934 – 20 October 2019) was a British conductor, composer and film-maker, best known for his television scores. Education and early career Born in Bristol, Herbert Chappell's first musical training was as a ch ...

and began life as incidental music for the 1972 BBC adaptation of ''

Lord Peter Wimsey Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey (later 17th Duke of Denver) is the fictional protagonist in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers (and their continuation by Jill Paton Walsh). A dilettante who solves mysteries fo ...

.'' Its first commercial release was on the b-side of the Lord Peter Wimsey theme single in 1972, where it was titled "Size Ten Shuffle" and credited to "Boyfriends". This recording - which is not the one actually featured in ''Paddington'' - has since appeared on several TV theme compilation albums. The composition first became connected with Paddington in a theatre show, "The Adventures of a Bear Called Paddington", in 1973. The track now had lyrics (provided by Herbert Chappell's wife Brenda Johnson) and was retitled simply "Paddington Bear". A version performed by

Bernard Cribbins Bernard Joseph Cribbins (29 December 1928 – 27 July 2022) was an English actor and singer whose career spanned over seven decades. During the 1960s, Cribbins became known in the UK for his successful novelty records " The Hole in the Groun ...

appeared on a four-track single of songs from the show in 1974. The piece was re-recorded (in two different versions) for the TV show; no performers are credited onscreen apart from composer Herbert Chappell. One of these takes was released on the 1976 album "Paddington's Party Record" which credits the performers as Freddie Williams and The Master Singers. This vinyl release remains the only source of the original televised version of the Paddington theme tune.

Episodes

Series 1: ''Paddington'' (1976)

Series 2: ''The Adventures of Paddington'' (1979–80)

Specials (1980–86)

Three

s aired on BBC from 1980 to 1986.

In popular culture

Paddington is seen in four adverts for

Marmite Marmite ( ) is a British savoury food spread based on yeast extract, invented by the German scientist Justus von Liebig. It is made from by-products of beer brewing ( lees) and is produced by the British company Unilever. Marmite is a vegan ...

in the late 2000s. In 2009, Paddington appeared in

The Official BBC Children in Need Medley "The Official BBC Children in Need Medley" is a single by Peter Kay's Animated All Star Band. It is the official Children in Need Single for 2009, and was released on 21 November 2009. The song was shown for the first time on Children in Need ...

Peter Kay Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English actor, comedy writer and stand-up comedian. He has written, produced and acted in several television and film projects, and has written three books. Born and brought up in Bolton, Kay studied ...

's Animated All Star Band alongside other animated characters.

Home media

DVD

In Region 2, Abbey Home Media Group released the entire series on

DVD-Video DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD discs. DVD-Video was the dominant consumer home video format in Asia, North America, Europe, and Australia in the 2000s until it was supplanted by the high-definition Blu-r ...

in the UK on 23 June 2008 (Cat. No. AHEDVD 3318).
The 2-disc set features all 56 short episodes as well as the 3 TV specials. In Region 1, Mill Creek Entertainment (under licence from

Cookie Jar Group Cookie Jar Entertainment Inc. (also known as Cookie Jar Group and originally known as CINAR; renamed as DHX Cookie Jar Inc. from 2012 until 2014, or simply just Cookie Jar) was a Canadian media production and distribution company owned by DHX M ...

) released the complete series on DVD on 15 February 2011 in a 3-disc set entitled ''Paddington Bear- The Complete Classic Series'' which includes 15 bonus episodes of ''

The Wombles ''The Wombles'' are fictional pointy-nosed, furry creatures created by Elisabeth Beresford and originally appearing in a series of children's novels from 1968. They live in burrows, where they aim to help the environment by collecting and recycl ...

'' and ''

Huxley Pig ''Huxley Pig'' is a British stop-motion animated children's television series based on a series of picture books authored by Rodney Peppé. The series was produced by FilmFair for Central TV, with narration by Martin Jarvis. 26 episodes air ...

''.Paddington Bear DVD news: Announcement for The Complete Classic Series and Marmalade Madness
. TVShowsOnDVD.com (25 May 2007). Retrieved 30 April 2011.

VHS

In 1980, Thorn EMI Entertainment released six VHS video cassettes in the UK, each with five episodes from the first series. They released two more cassettes in 1982, each with five episodes from the second series. In August 1983, they released a single video cassette featuring ten episodes from the second series. In December 1983, they released the TV special of ''Paddington Goes to the Movies'' on a single video cassette along with five episodes from the second series. In 1985 and 1986, Walt Disney Home Video released five VHS volumes in the US. In 1987, HBO Video released video cassettes. In June 1987, Screen Legends released two single video cassettes containing five episodes from the first series on each one. In Autumn 1987, Screen Legends released a "Double Bumper Issue" video cassette containing 10 episodes from the first series. In 1988, Screen Legends released a single video cassette with 10 episodes. In 1988, Screen Legends had released a 'Watch and Play'-type video with five stories from the first series. In 1988, Kids Klassics released video cassettes. In 1989, GTK, Inc. released six videocassettes as part of their Video Classics Library. The only known release is Paddington's Birthday Bonanza. On 4 March 1991, Abbey Home Entertainment released two videos with 10 stories on each tape. On 15 July 1991, Abbey Home Entertainment released a special edition video with 12 episodes. On 9 September 1991, Abbey Home Entertainment released a Christmas-themed video with 10 episodes. On 19 September 1994, BMG Video released a single video cassette with the three feature-length specials. On 28 December 1994, Abbey Home Entertainment released a single video release with eight episodes from the second series. On 3 April 1995, Abbey Home Entertainment released a 3-hour biggest ever video cassette with 37 episodes. On 18 March 2002, Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd released a single video cassette with ten episodes from the first series. On 22 July 2002, Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd released a seaside-themed bumper video with nine episodes from the second series. On 21 April 2003, Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd released two videos with seven episodes on each one.

UK DVD releases

Between 2006 and 2007, three DVD releases of ''Paddington Bear'' were published by Abbey Home Media in the 'Tempo TV Classics' range of children's DVD releases. On 8 October 2007, Abbey Home Media released two of the TV specials on a single DVD release. On 27 October 2008, Abbey Home Media released a suitcase-shaped DVD box set with four single DVD releases. On 21 May 2012, Abbey Home Media released four episodes from the first series and eight episodes from the second series which were compiled together as twelve London-themed episodes on a single DVD release. On 18 April 2016, to coincide with the Queen's 90th birthday, Abbey Home Media released a special "Royal Celebration"-themed DVD release which contained the three TV specials altogether on one single disc.

References

External links

* *
''Paddington''
at Toonhound {{FilmFair Paddington Bear 1976 British television series debuts 1986 British television series endings 1970s British children's television series 1980s British children's television series British children's animated adventure television series BBC children's television shows British stop-motion animated television series British television shows based on children's books Television series by FilmFair Television series by Cookie Jar Entertainment English-language television shows Television shows set in London 1970s British animated television series 1980s British animated television series Animated television series about bears Channel 4 original programming ITV children's television shows Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming NHK original programming Fox Family Channel original programming