Doctor Who Vs. Paddington

Prolific English author Thomas Michael

Bond (1926-2017) based his best known

creation on a lone teddy bear he saw on

a shelf in a shop near Paddington Station

on Christmas Eve 1956, which he then
bought for his wife.

The bear inspired Bond to pen a story,
and in ten days he had written his first 

childrens book which he gave to his
agent. A Bear Called Paddington was
published in 1958.

The series of seventy Paddington Brown 

titles followed, and have since been
adapted for the stage (1974), television
(1975, 1989 and 1997), and cinema.
The Anglo-French co-production (first announced in 2007), produced by David

Heyman (Harry Potter), was released in

late 2014. The marmalade loving bear

from Peru was now voiced by Ben

Whishaw who replaced Colin Firth. 

Shown on BBC1 tonight, the film featured Sally Hawkins, Nicole

Kidman, Julie Walters, Peter Capaldi, Matt Lucas, and twenty-

one other Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

• Hugh [Richard] Bonneville (Mr. Brown) was Captain Henry Avery in The Curse of the Black Spot (then briefly in A Good Man Goes to War and The Wedding of River Song), and voiced Sir Sidney Herbert/Tsar Nicholas I for Big Finish's The Angel of Scutari (2009)
• Geoffrey [Dyson] Palmer (Head Geographer) was Edward Masters in The Silurians, the Administrator in (part 1 of) The Mutants, and Captain Hardaker in Voyage of the Damned
• Imelda [Mary Philomena Bernadette] Staunton (Aunt Lucy) provided the voiced of the Interface for The Girl Who Waited
• Sir Michael [John] Gambon (Uncle Pastuzo) portrayed both Elliot and Kazran Sardick in A Christmas Carol
• Kayvan Novak (Grant) provided the voice of Handles for The Time of the Doctor
• Jim Broadbent (Mr. Gruber) has twice depicted the Doctor - for the Victoria Wood: As Seen On TV sketch Doctor Who and Crayola (in 1987), and The Curse of Fatal Death (1999)
• Matt King (Andre) was Peter Streete in The Shakespeare Code
• Gus Brown (Geographer here, Tour Guide in Paddington 2) voiced Ashman for The Rocket Men (2011), Weyland for Gods and Monsters (2012), Wednesday for The Backwards Men (2014), Kran for Theatre of War (2015), and Forz for The Emporium at the End (2016)
• David McKail and James Bachman (Geographers) were Sergeant Kyle in The Talons of Weng Chiang, and Bainbridge for Situation Vacant (2010)
• Bern Collaco (Officer) was an Operator in The Return of Doctor Mysterio, and Soldier in Thin Ice
• Tom Meeten (Guard) was David Vorhaus in Delia: The Myths and the Legendary Tapes
• stuntmen Paul Heasman, Lee Sheward, Nic Goodey, Steve Griffin, Rob Hunt and Andy Piers Morris all worked on the classic and revived runs
• Sam Heasman (electrician) was cinematographer on Demons of the Punjab, The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos and Series 12
• set decorator Cathy Cosgrove began her career as production buyer on Delta and the Bannermen
• Chris Lyons also provided dental prosthetics for five stories (from Empress of Mars to The Church on Ruby Road) and The Sarah Jane Adventures