History of Paddington Bear Timeline

The first Paddington Bear stuffed toy to be manufactured was created in 1972 by Gabrielle Designs, a small family business run by Shirley and Eddie Clarkson, with the prototype made as a Christmas present for their children Joanna and Jeremy Clarkson.

Cadbury launched a Paddington Bear branded chocolate bar in 1977, one of many commercial uses of the character.

A Paddington Bear stuffed toy was chosen by British tunnellers as the first item to pass through to their French counterparts when the two sides of the Channel Tunnel were linked in 1994. Paddington had also been featured on one of the 1st class Greetings Messages stamps released by Royal Mail on 1 February 1994.

Paddington was featured on the Royal Mail 1st class stamp in the Animal Tales series released on 10 January 2006, having previously appeared on a Greetings Messages stamp in 1994.

Paddington appeared along with other British children's literature characters in the televised broadcast of Queen Elizabeth II's 80th birthday party event held in the Garden at Buckingham Palace on 25 June 2006.

Paddington Bear featured in the Marmite television advertisement, first broadcast in the UK on 13 September 2007, in which he tries a marmite and cheese sandwich instead of his traditional marmalade sandwich.

On 13 October 2008, Google celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first Paddington publication by placing an image of the travelling bear with a sign showing Peru and London incorporated into a Google Doodle.

In 2010, Paddington Bear was first used in marketing for Robertson's, appearing on the jars of their Golden Shred marmalade.

From 4 November until 30 December 2014, 50 Paddington statues were placed around London close to museums, parks, shops and key landmarks. Also that November, a Paddington balloon was introduced in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

As part of the promotion of the film and to celebrate cross-cultural links between the UK and Peru, the British Embassy and StudioCanal commissioned a statue of Paddington in Parque Salazar in the Miraflores district of Lima, which was unveiled in July 2015.

In 2021, the British Library hosted an exhibition on Paddington Bear, celebrating the beloved character's cultural legacy.

Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky voiced Paddington in the Ukrainian dubbing of the films Paddington (2014) and Paddington 2 (2017). At the outbreak of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Hugh Bonneville tweeted 'Thank you, President Zelensky' upon hearing of this.

In a pre-recorded comedy segment at the opening of the Platinum Party at the Palace on 4 June 2022, Paddington joined Queen Elizabeth II for tea and marmalade sandwiches at Buckingham Palace before they tapped their tea cups to the beat of 'We Will Rock You'. The video became one of her last public appearances before her death on 8 September 2022, and Paddington became a symbol of mourning. The film won the Memorable Moment Award at the 2023 BAFTA Television Awards.

Image source: Platinum Party at the Palace

On 2 March 2025 two RAF engineers vandalised and stole a statue of Paddington in Newbury, Berkshire.

The Adventures of a Bear Called Paddington; A play for children, adapted by Alfred Bradley from Michael Bond's stories, opened at the Nottingham Playhouse in 1973 and at the Duke of York's Theatre in London the following year. It was published as Paddington on Stage – Plays for children (1974).

In 2007, Stephen Fry narrated the audiobook More About Paddington (1959), and in 2008 he received the Audie Award for Young Listeners' Title from the Audio Publishers Association in the U.S.

A song about Paddington Bear, 'Shine', was released on 13 January 2015 by Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams to coincide with the film's U.S. release.

Image source: Shine (Gwen Stefani song)

In December 2023, it was announced that Paddington: The Musical, adapted from the books and the film series, is being developed for the stage, with McFly's Tom Fletcher set to write the music and lyrics with Jessica Swale writing the book.

Image source: Paddington: The Musical

Paddington: The Musical premiered at the Savoy Theatre in the West End on 1 November 2025. In November 2025, William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales met with Paddington backstage at that year's Royal Variety Performance at the Royal Albert Hall, where they discussed marmalade sandwiches. The musical will premiere on Broadway in 2027 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.