Paddington Bear stamps released by Royal Mail for 65th anniversary

Paddington Bear is to appear on 10 special stamps released by the Royal Mail to mark his 65th anniversary.

Six of the stamps feature images from animator Ivor Wood's comic strip cartoons first published in the London Evening News in the 1970s.

The other four stamps capture moments from the BBC television series that Wood designed and directed from 1976.

The Peruvian bear first appeared in 1958 in Michael Bond's book A Bear Called Paddington.

It is the first time he has been dedicated his own stamp set.

Paddington previously featured on stamps in 2014 to celebrate 60 years of children's television, alongside Peppa Pig, Bob the Builder and Shaun the Sheep.

He was also included in a stamp set released by Royal Mail in 1994.

In the story, Paddington was adopted by the Brown family in London and named after the railway station where he arrived.

He has gone on to star in movies in recent years, with Ben Whishaw voicing the character.

The film version of the bear also appeared with the late Queen Elizabeth II in a sketch marking her Platinum Jubilee in 2022. Paddington will be seen alongside the profile of King Charles on the new stamps.

David Gold, director of external affairs and policy at Royal Mail, said he hoped the stamps will "brighten up the day of anyone receiving mail with a touch of Paddington's charm".

The stamps will go on general sale on 5 September.

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