Bear-y special statues soon to be spotted across the UK including Reading, as STUDIOCANAL sets up trail ahead of new Paddington Bear film.

STUDIOCANAL announced the production of 'Paddington Visits,' a trail of statues celebrating the release of 'Paddington in Peru' on November 8, 2024.

The statues, which will be placed in early October, will be located in cities, towns, and beauty spots across the UK and Ireland. They will feature the bear's iconic red hat, blue duffle coat, and a marmalade sandwich.

The trail will include more than 20 statues stretching from John O’Groats to Land's End.

Actor Hugh Bonneville, who plays Mr Brown in the Paddington films, said: "I am thrilled to reveal we are going to be unveiling a number of benches across the UK, all featuring a statue of our beloved bear.

"Ahead of the new film, fans, families and friends can sit down and have a chat with the marmalade loving bear, so watch this space for more information about Paddington…coming to a bench near you!"

The 'Paddington Visits' trail is set to coincide with the bear's return to the big screen in 'Paddington in Peru.'

In this new adventure, Paddington returns to the Peruvian jungle to visit his Aunt Lucy, now residing at the Home for Retired Bears.

The Brown Family and Mrs Bird join him, and a mysterious disappearance leads them on an unexpected journey from the Amazon rainforest to the mountain peaks of Peru.

Locations taking part in the 'Paddington Visits' trail include Ashby, Birmingham, Bury St Edmunds, Cardiff, Chester, County Mayo, Edinburgh, John O’ Groats, Lanark, Land’s End, Liverpool, London Paddington, London Westfield, Manchester, Newbury, Newtownards, Penrith, Peterborough, Reading, Salisbury, Southampton, Sunderland, and York.

For 65 years, British-born writer Michael Bond has delighted readers all over the world with his stories about Paddington, the bear from Peru, famous for his love of marmalade.

Paddington has delighted readers of all ages with his kindness and humour, ensuring Paddington's popularity from generation to the next.

HarperCollins Children's books have published Paddington's adventures continuously since October 13, 1958, when they first introduced 'A Bear Called Paddington' to the world.

Since then, Paddington’s adventures have been adapted several times for television and at the end of 2014 Paddington made his debut onto the big screen, a further film Paddington 2 followed in 2017 with a third in the works.

In 2020, a brand-new Paddington TV series designed for a pre-school audience, The Adventures of Paddington launched on Nickelodeon, introducing him to a whole new set of fans.