Paddington Bear sells out?
Coverage of The Great Marmite Controversy:
[Michael Bond] also dismissed suggestions that Paddington could be lured away from marmalade.
"It would require a good deal more than the combined current withdrawals from Northern Rock to wean him off marmalade, if then," he added.
So does Paddington's new-found fondness for Marmite suggest that father and daughter aren't on speaking terms? Not according to Ms Jankel. "We haven't fallen out. Our relationship is strong enough to rise above this," she said.
Marmite, that divider of opinions, must be delighted with the publicity: after all, it tried to hijack St Patrick's day with a Guinness-flavoured version. Doubtless next it will attempt to wean Winnie the Pooh off honey (sorry, hunny).
High-minded Englishmen and Englishwomen are up in arms over the spectacle of their beloved bear selling out to shill a product on TV - but seem to have missed the more essential point, which is that Marmite is an affront both to marmalade and to civilization.
Fans have been outraged by what they see as a betrayal of the character’s integrity, many telephoning Bond to harangue him. Like them, the author feels that the advert was a mistake because Paddington’s characteristics are “set in stone and you shouldn’t change them”. The bear’s preference for marmalade sandwiches, often stored under his hat is “fundamental”, he said yesterday.