'Foreign' Paddington and the new UK

Paddington is possibly Peru's most famous migrant

The creator of Paddington Bear, Michael Bond, has told the BBC how modern life has brought a new dimension to his much-loved character as he returns for the first time for nearly 30 years.

Paddington Here And Now, published on Monday, brings the marmalade-loving creature up to date as he tries to deal with tabloid newspapers, stringent measures dictating where a wheeled suitcase can be parked - and his status as an immigrant from Darkest Peru.

Bond, 83, told BBC World Service's The World Today programme that Paddington's roots - and his new life in London - had always been the essence of his character, and that he wanted to make it the heart of the new book.

"Refugees are very much on people's minds and in the newspapers," he said, adding that his creation was partly based on his seeing evacuees from London with labels round their neck.

"It always stuck with me, because I thought it was a very sad sight," he added.

"Equally, going to the cinema in those days, one saw so many pictures of uprooted families - that kind of thing is still with us, and I think it's very sad."

Enormous changes

In Paddington Here And Now the bear, who arrived in the country as a stowaway, is interviewed about his right to stay in England.

He's got his feet firmly on the ground; he's very polite; he's also very accident prone Michael Bond explains Paddington's appeal

He has no papers to prove his identity as his Aunt Lucy arranged for him to hide on a ship's lifeboat from Peru when she went to live in the Home for Retired Bears in Lima.

The new book appears on the 50th anniversary of the first volume, A Bear Called Paddington. The books have since been published around the world in over 40 languages.

Bond said he was also drawn to writing about how other ways the modern world might impact on the accident-prone bear.

"There was the fact that in the 30 years, the world had changed enormously - but Paddington hadn't," he said.

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"What was nice about it, when I did start writing, was that I was able to use the things that had changed in Paddington's world to good use.

"In the opening chapter he leaves his shopping basket on wheels - a very important part of his equipment - outside a supermarket. When he comes out it has gone - it has been towed away, which would never have happened 30 years ago because you could park wherever you liked."

'Very sad'

After the publication of the first book in 1958, Paddington was placed on recommended reading lists for schools, leading to a second and eventually the run of books.

THE BEAR FACTS There are 12 Paddington books from A Bear Called Paddington (1958) to Paddington Here And Now Based on a lone teddy bear seen by Bond at a shop near Paddington station in 1956 Paddington's only known relative is his Aunt Lucy. His friends include the Brown family, who take him in, and Mr Gruber - an antique shop owner and also an immigrant Bond also worked as a cameraman on children's show Blue Peter The first ever Paddington toy was given as a Christmas present to a young Jeremy Clarkson by his parents, who created it

The bear's popularity then reached new levels in the 1970s, with a distinctive-looking BBC television series that featured a three-dimensional Paddington puppet filmed in front of two-dimensional scenery.

His famous image, with floppy hat and battered suitcase, is now known worldwide, and a statue of him now adorns the station from which he takes his name.

Bond said of his creation's success that it is "rather like having a son who's done terribly well at school and got all his A-levels."

He added that he felt there were number of things that continued to make Paddington a character that appeals to young readers.

"He's got his feet firmly on the ground. He's very polite and also very accident prone," he said.

"One of the essential parts of Paddington's character is that he's eternally optimistic.

"Everything is a shared experience when children are small, and I think one of the special times of the day is when a mother or father reads a story before they go to bed.

"I think it's very sad when one hears of people who never are read to. I think it's a very good start in life to be read to and then to learn to read that way."