Paddington owners want Spitting Image puppet given over or destroyed, court told

The owners of Paddington Bear want a “frightening” puppet used on the show Spitting Image delivered to them or destroyed, according to court documents.

StudioCanal, which makes the Paddington films, and Paddington and Company are bringing legal action against Avalon, producer of the puppet-based satirical series, at the High Court in London.

Spitting Image made a return to TV after 24 years in 2020 and is now available on YouTube in short-form vodcast-style episodes called The Rest Is Bulls*!t, in a nod to the Goalhanger Podcasts that begin with the title “The Rest Is”.

Paddington and Company and StudioCanal, along with two of author Michael Bond’s relatives, have filed a claim over alleged copyright infringement in four of these episodes and a trailer for the Spitting Image musical.

In a court document, their lawyers claim that a puppet with “all the features of the appearance of Paddington” is used in a derogatory way in the episodes.

The court was told that a puppet with bulging, bloodshot eyes or dishevelled fur is called Paddington, who is said to be from Peru, and references marmalade.

“The Avalon puppet depicts the Paddington character with a frightening demeanour,” barrister Tom St Quintin continued in the document.

Mr St Quintin claimed that the episodes show Paddington as a cocaine user, with one of the episodes also depicting the bear as a cocaine smuggler, an alcoholic and a user of heroin, while another shows Paddington “as a promoter of gun sales and sex robots”.

Three episodes depict Paddington as a user of “coarse language”, the barrister added, with each episode said to use an accent for the puppet that mocks Peruvian people.

He later told the court the episodes were a “distortion or mutilation” of the portrayal of Paddington in the books, where the bear is described as polite, well-meaning and truthful.

The companies are seeking an injunction, as well as an order requiring delivery of the puppet or the destruction of it and potential damages.

Avalon has not yet filed a defence to the claim.

However, Spitting Image co-writer Al Murray previously told the Radio Times that he and fellow writer Matt Forde were “baffled” by the legal action.

He said: “It’s a very Spitting Image thing to do – to take someone and say: ‘Hey, maybe they’re the opposite.’”

And in a video posted to the Spitting Image YouTube channel earlier this month, a puppet depiction of the Duke of Sussex asks “Pads” what he makes of the legal letters.

The second puppet appears to use a piece of paper to ingest white powder, before saying: “Paddington goes to party town.”

“Do remember to like and subscribe before Paddington gets cancelled,” the Harry puppet later says.

Paddington, first published in 1958, has seen a number of adaptations over the years, including a BBC TV version in 1976 voiced by the late Sir Michael Hordern.

StudioCanal’s films were released in 2014, 2017 and 2024, and a musical adaptation is due to launch in London with a preview on November 1.