Paddington to star in Nickelodeon TV series
- Nickelodeon is making an animated series for pre-schoolers starring Paddington Bear
- Ben Whishaw, who plays Paddington in the movies, will also voice the character on TV
- The 2020 series will introduce younger viewers to the bear's "slapstick humour, fun and generosity"
The character of Paddington Bear is to star in a new animated TV series for Nickelodeon.
Ben Whishaw, who voices the bear in the popular films, will also lend his voice to this new series.
The comedy, aimed at pre-school children, will follow the adventures of a younger Paddington. Each episode will see Paddington writing to Aunt Lucy from Windsor Gardens telling her what he has learnt about life from the day's adventures.
STUDIOCANAL, the production company behind the hit movies, is working on the series, to be released worldwide on Nickelodeon networks in 2020.
The producers say the new series will "invite a new generation of fans into Paddington's world full of heart, kindness, slapstick humour, fun and generosity". They say the show will feature "fun and exciting new adventures, while staying true to his original heartfelt charm and spirit."
The marmalade-loving bear was created by author Michael Bond, who sold over 30m Paddington books globally. His last story, Paddington's Finest Hour, was published just two months before his death in June 2017.
Notably the new series is for Nickelodeon rather than the BBC. The British broadcaster aired a number of fondly-remembered stop motion episodes between 1976 and 1980 featuring the bear, but since then rights to the character have been transferred to French media conglomerate Vivendi, the company which also own STUDIOCANAL.
David Heyman, who produced the films, is acting as Executive Producer on the project. He says: "It is a joy to bring this uniquely life-enhancing bear to a whole new audience of younger children. We are thrilled that the inimitably brilliant Ben Whishaw will continue to voice Paddington."
The first two Paddington films have been both critical successes, and have made over £150m at the box office. Paddington 2 remains one of the best reviewed films of all time, holding a 100% rating from over 200 high profile reviews collated on Rotten Tomatoes
As revealed in November, early pre-development has started on Paddington 3, but it will be a long while before the film is ready for the cinema yet.