The last thing that springs to mind when thinking about Paddington Bear is Jeremy Clarkson but the beloved fictional bear has a surprising connection with the former Top Gear presenter. It turns out that Clarkson owes a lot to the adorable childrens character as his familys financial success boils down to the charming little bear.
Paddington Bear would look rather different if it was not for the broadcasters parents as their small business led them to make the first ever prototype of the character in toy form. Doncaster based Shirley and Eddie Clarkson ran a small design business and made a prototype for the first Paddington stuffed bear in 1972 which they gifted to their son Jeremy and daughter Joana for Christmas.After realising that the beloved stuffed bear could not stand up without the assistance of footwear the Clarkson couple modified Paddington's design to include his now famous yellow wellington boots.
The bear was such a hit that Clarksons parents started selling them in local shops. However issues soon came to the fore when the author of the Paddington series Michael Bond caught wind of the couple selling the stuffed toy without copyright rights.The author asked his legal team to take action against the Clarksons but one meeting between the Bond and the couple changed the trajectory of Paddington Bear forever. As legal actions boiled to a head Eddie and Shirley travelled to London to meet with the authors solicitors and happened to meet Bond in a lift.
The author of the hit franchise quickly became pals with the couple and tensions around copyright soon melted away.
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