Second hand and possibly apocryphal trivia

Pudsey, the cartoon bear who turns up shortly after Samhein each year allowing advertising on the BBC and shyly exhibitionist adults to dress up in silly costumes and sit in baths of custard and/or beans while pretending they didn't want to anyway and are just doing it for a good cause, has had a makeover.


He now looks a lot less like Theo, the similarly eye bandaged bear that is the mascot of Sheffield's Children Hospital. The resemblance of the two icons in the past is reputed to have caused a bit of friction between BBC and hospital, with BBC lawyers apparently writing to the hospital complaining that the hospital's bear could be seen as an infringement of the BBC's copyright.


The hospital, so Sheffield-lore relates, wrote back agreeing that yes, the two images were remarkably similar, and they'd noticed it themselves when the BBC adopted the logo very like the one they already used, a year after filming at the hospital for the appeal some years back.
The correspondence then ceased apparently.


I think the new Pudsey looks a bit Pooh, let's hope the BBC lawyers don't get any letters from Disney...