{"id":40442,"date":"2025-11-02T23:14:29","date_gmt":"2025-11-02T23:14:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/paddington-the-musical-reveals-all-singing-all-dancing-star\/"},"modified":"2025-11-02T23:14:29","modified_gmt":"2025-11-02T23:14:29","slug":"paddington-the-musical-reveals-all-singing-all-dancing-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/paddington-the-musical-reveals-all-singing-all-dancing-star\/","title":{"rendered":"Paddington the Musical reveals ‘all-singing, all-dancing’ star"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\"IshaIsha Shah<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

“All-singing, all-dancing” Paddington, as he appears in the new West End musical<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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He’s famous for his voyage from Peru to London, but it didn’t take as long as his journey to the Savoy Theatre.<\/p>\n

After nearly a decade in the works, Paddington: The Musical is here.<\/p>\n

And its star is walking, talking, singing, dancing – and offering BBC Newsbeat a snack.<\/p>\n

“I’ve brought you this marmalade sandwich, but it’s only for emergencies.”<\/p>\n

A first glimpse of the impressive bear, whose design was a closely guarded secret for years, dropped on socials on Saturday night<\/a>.<\/p>\n

His fur is pristine.<\/p>\n

His famous “hard stare” is piercing.<\/p>\n

His face is so expressive, every twitch will reach the back row of an audience.<\/p>\n

But if you’re looking for insight into his “magical” design and how he was brought to life, his creators aren’t giving much away.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"JayJay Brooks<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Paddington’s design is inspired by Peggy Fortnum’s “delicate” illustrations for author Michael Bond’s 1958 book, A Bear Called Paddington<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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When Newsbeat asks, everyone involved in the West End production gives the same response.<\/p>\n

“Paddington is Paddington.”<\/p>\n

And designer Tahra Zafar, an experienced creative whose CV includes Harry Potter, Marvel and Star Wars films, wants to keep it that way. <\/p>\n

“I don’t want people to think about how we’ve done it,” she says.<\/p>\n

“I just want people to love him.”<\/p>\n

She does let on that the team looked at “some very innovative ways” to get Paddington moving, but says traditional puppetry was ruled out.<\/p>\n

They concluded that audiences’ hearts wouldn’t shatter at the bear’s loneliness in London if he was literally kept company on-stage.<\/p>\n

The theory is currently being tested as Paddington gets some preview performances under his hat before the show’s official opening in late November.<\/p>\n

“I feel completely ready,” laughs Tahra, with a mix of excitement and relief.<\/p>\n

“I love him to bits, but I want to share him.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

‘I just burst into tears’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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\"RachelRachel Joseph<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Tom Fletcher is juggling touring the UK and Ireland with McFly and Busted with launching Paddington: The Musical<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Michael Bond’s original creation has broken and warmed hearts for generations.<\/p>\n

A trilogy of films, with Ben Whishaw voicing its lead, made more than $500m (\u00a3380m) at the global box office.<\/p>\n

But no previous adaptation of Paddington’s story brought him to life in such a tangible way.<\/p>\n

And no-one had found his voice in musical theatre until producers set McFly singer-songwriter Tom Fletcher that task<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“You can spend forever thinking ‘how do I write a song that sounds like Paddington?’,” he tells Newsbeat.<\/p>\n

“You just have to trust that it’s going to come through, as long as you’ve done the research.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Moments into Tom’s initial call with producers, he started composing a song that remains in the musical five years later.<\/p>\n

“I think I wrote five songs in that first process and they’re all still in the show,” he says.<\/p>\n

“I know on paper ‘that guy from McFly’ may be an odd choice, but I was in musicals from the age of nine. <\/p>\n

“I never thought I would end up in a band.<\/p>\n

“For me, this is a return to what I love,” he says, decades after playing the lead in Oliver! at the London Palladium.<\/p>\n

As for Paddington: The Musical’s star, Tom first met him two years ago.<\/p>\n

The bear’s design and technology waited in the wings while the cast and production were pulled together around it.<\/p>\n

“You never forget when you first meet Paddington,” Tom says, echoing a sentiment almost everyone involved tells Newsbeat with a glassy look in their eyes.<\/p>\n

“I just burst into tears,” says Tom.<\/p>\n

“Once we met him, we all thought: ‘This is going to work, and it’s going to be so special’.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Listen to Newsbeat live<\/a> at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays – or listen back here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n