paddington bear
The titular protagonist of Paddington. Originally from Peru, he arrives as a stowaway in the United Kingdom and is so named because the Brown family, who take him in, meet him at Paddington Station in Westminster, London. Author Michael Bond based him on a lone teddy bear that he noticed on a shelf in a London shop near Paddington Station on Christmas Eve 1956, which he bought as a present for his wife.
He first appeared as a stuffed toy in 1972, manufactured by Gabrielle Designs. Shirley and Eddie Clarkson, the owners, made the prototype as a Christmas present for their children Joanna and Jeremy, who went on to become a car journalist and TV host (Top Gear/The Grand Tour).
Statues of him can be found at Platform 1 at Paddington, in Leicester Square in London and in Parque Salazar, Miraflores, Lima, Peru.
