When you think of Paddington Bear, the kind-hearted icon of British children’s literature, you are unlikely to think of Jeremy Clarkson of all people.
However, the Clarkson’s Farm star owes quite a bit to the adorable bear from darkest Peru.
The character of Paddington Bear was created by author Michael Bond and first appeared in the book A Bear Called Paddington on October 13 1958.
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The first Paddington story introduces the anthropomorphic bear, who is found at Paddington station in London by the middle-class Brown family. Paddington, who donned an old hat, battered suitcase, duffel coat and love of marmalade, had a note attached to his coat that read "Please look after this bear. Thank you."
The author said the bear was inspired by a lone teddy bear he saw on a shelf near the railway station in 1956, with the note reminiscent of London children being evacuated to the countryside during World War II.
Up in Doncaster, Mr Clarkson’s parents - Shirley and Eddie Clarkson - ran a design business called Gabrielle Designs and created a prototype Paddington Bear toy in 1972, which they gifted to Mr Clarkson and his sister Joanna for Christmas.
The plush bear was quickly praised and Mr Clarkson’s parents began to sell them in shops. However, they did so without regard to the author’s copyright on the bear and Mr Bond soon got his lawyers involved to take action against the Clarkson’s.
As legal action brewed, the pair headed down to London to meet with Mr Bond’s solicitors and by chance met the author in the lift.
Mr Bond and the Clarkson’s became fast friends and awarded he awarded them the licencing rights to the toy throughout the world.
"I got in the lift with Shirley and Eddie," Bond told The Sunday Times.
"They were terribly nice and pretended it had all been a mistake — and we were friends by the time we got out of the lift. I gave them a licence.”
This lucrative move would be the making of Clarkson.
The family sold millions of bears and Paddington products around the world before eventually selling the rights onto Hamleys, the world-famous toy retailer.
Money the Clarkson’s made from Paddington Bear enabled them to send their son to two private schools - Hill House School in Doncaster and Repton School in Derbyshire.
This opportunity certainly gave a young Mr Clarkson a leg up on his peers.
Mr Clarkson’s mother told AutoTrader in 2010 that her son would not have had the showbiz career he did without Paddington Bear.
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