Paddington: New musical reveals its ‘all-singing, all-dancing’ star

He’s famous for his voyage from Peru to London, but it didn’t take as long as his journey to the Savoy Theatre.

After nearly a decade in the works, Paddington: The Musical is here.

And its star is walking, talking, singing, dancing – and offering BBC Newsbeat a snack.

“I’ve brought you this marmalade sandwich, but it’s only for emergencies.”

It’s the first public glimpse of the impressive bear, whose design was a closely guarded secret for years.

His fur is pristine.

His famous “hard stare” is piercing.

His face is so expressive, every twitch will reach the back row of an audience.

But if you’re looking for insight into his “magical” design and how he was brought to life, his creators aren’t giving much away.

When Newsbeat asks, everyone involved in the West End production gives the same response.

“Paddington is Paddington.”

And designer Tahra Zafar, an experienced creative whose CV includes Harry Potter, Marvel and Star Wars films, wants to keep it that way.

“I don’t want people to think about how we’ve done it,” she says.

“I just want people to love him.”

She does let on that the team looked at “some very innovative ways” to get Paddington moving, but says traditional puppetry was ruled out.

They concluded that audiences’ hearts wouldn’t shatter at the bear’s loneliness in London if he was literally kept company on-stage.

The theory is currently being tested as Paddington gets some preview performances under his hat before the show’s official opening in late November.

“I feel completely ready,” laughs Tahra, with a mix of excitement and relief.

“I love him to bits, but I want to share him.”

Michael Bond’s original creation has broken and warmed hearts for generations.

A trilogy of films, with Ben Whishaw voicing its lead, made more than $500m (£380m) at the global box office.

But no previous adaptation of Paddington’s story brought him to life in such a tangible way.

And no-one had found his voice in musical theatre until producers set McFly singer-songwriter Tom Fletcher that task.

“You can spend forever thinking ‘how do I write a song that sounds like Paddington?’,” he tells Newsbeat.

“You just have to trust that it’s going to come through, as long as you’ve done the research.”

Moments into Tom’s initial call with producers, he started composing a song that remains in the musical five years later.

“I think I wrote five songs in that first process and they’re all still in the show,” he says.

“I know on paper ‘that guy from McFly’ may be an odd choice, but I was in musicals from the age of nine.

“I never thought I would end up in a band.

“For me, this is a return to what I love,” he says, decades after playing the lead in Oliver! at the London Palladium.

As for Paddington: The Musical’s star, Tom first met him two years ago.

The bear’s design and technology waited in the wings while the cast and production were pulled together around it.

“You never forget when you first meet Paddington,” Tom says, echoing a sentiment almost everyone involved tells Newsbeat with a glassy look in their eyes.

“I just burst into tears,” says Tom.

“Once we met him, we all thought: ‘This is going to work, and it’s going to be so special’.”

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays – or listen back here.