Children In Need 2021: When's it on? And where did Pudsey Bear come from?

Virgin Radio

19 Nov 2021, 13:28

Everyone goes dotty for Pudsey Bear. And of course, today is the charity spectacular so here’s all you need to know about the infamous day and where the cuddly cutie came from.

Born in 1985 via the creativity of graphic designer Joanna Lane, the iconic cuddly money-making mascot is now the ripe old age of 36 and emerged five years after Children In Need began.

Joanna told the BBC about her vision to help make the charity's logo more inviting and said: "It was like a lightbulb moment for me. We were bouncing ideas off each other and I latched onto this idea of a teddy bear.

"I had a whole story playing out in my head for this bear, I went to the production team and said, 'We need to name it'. So they turned around and said, 'If you think it’s important to name him, you do it.'

"It came from the heart – I looked to my own experience and named him in honour of my home town and my grandparents."

Joanna, born in Pudsey, a town in West Yorkshire between Bradford and Leeds, named the iconic bear after her birthplace where her grandfather, Irvine Ball, had been mayor of the town in 1950.

Pudsey was welcomed into the TV world by the legendary late presenter Sir Terry Wogan and was initially brown with a red bandage and buttons spelling out BBC. He later had a style makeover and sported a more fetching yellow fur with a polka-dot bandage and the buttons were scrapped.

In 2009, Children In Need introduced new female bear Blush who wears a spotty bow, both of which can be bought from the Children In Need online shop.

Dig deep and tune into Children in Need tonight on BBC One and Two from 7pm.