Nick, StudioCanal return Paddington to TV

The planned series will follow Paddington in his younger years

Children’s broadcaster Nickelodeon and French production and distribution giant StudioCanal are pairing up on a TV adaptation of the Paddington movies, with Ben Whishaw reprising his role as the voice of the title character.

Nickelodeon and StudioCanal joining producer David Heyman to work on Paddington (working title) as a TV series for preschoolers.

It follows the box office success of Paddington and Paddington 2 which has led to a third feature film being put into production.

Whishaw will again voice the bear in the CGI animated series which promises to follow the adventures of Paddington in his younger years.

The show will air on Nickelodeon’s networks worldwide in 2020 with local broadcast partners sought by StudioCanal in France, Canada, China and Japan.

Currently in production, the series is a Heyday Films and StudioCanals production in association with Copyrights.

The character appeared in two stop-motion animated series aired by the BBC in 1976 and 1979.