The true story of Paddington Bear

Paddington Bear and Jeremy Clarkson were friends from an early age.

This, in case you don't know the story, is how Paddington Bear was born. On Christmas Eve, 1956, Michael Bond, a 30-year-old BBC cameraman and struggling writer, spotted the last remaining teddy bear for sale at a London store.

He thought: "I can't let that bear spend Christmas alone", and, says The Sunday Times, took it home as a last-minute present for his wife, Brenda.

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