Ben Whishaw to voice 'Paddington' in all-new TV series

Pack your marmalade sandwiches, because Paddington is making the leap from big screen to small for a new TV series based on the adventures of Michael Bond’s beloved bear.

Ben Whishaw, who voiced the character in the recent films, will return for the new CG-animated series, which follows the adventures of a younger Paddington and is aimed at pre-school children.

The show will air on Nickelodeon’s networks in 2020, and is a joint production by Heyday Films – the company behind the films Paddington and Paddington 2 – and StudioCanal, with UK animation studio Blue Zoo. It had previously been reported that the new series would consist of 52 11-minute episodes.

Executive producer David Heyman said: “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.

“And we are excited to be collaborating with the vibrant and dynamic animation team at Blue Zoo, working from scripts by the wonderfully talented screenwriting team Foster and Lamont. With producers Karen Davidsen and Simon Quinn, we’re all set for a glorious new chapter for Paddington.”

It has also been confirmed that a third Paddington film is currently in development with StudioCanal and Heyday. Talking to Yahoo Movies UK about Paddington 2, director Paul King joked that a third film will be called Paddington 3D “which every third film should be called.”

Other Blue Zoo productions include CBeebies’ Tree Fu Tom and Numberblocks.

Whishaw, who also features in the James Bond films as Q, recently won a Golden Globe for his performance in the BBC One miniseries A Very English Scandal.

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