But makers continue to defy legal actions by Paddington's humourless rights-owners

Every episode of Spitting Image has been pulled from YouTube as the owners of the Paddington rights step up their legal action.

Studio Canal is in dispute with programme-makers Avalon over their satirical depiction of the cartoon bear as a drug-snorting South American narco-terrorist.

The revived series is presented as a video podcast hosted by Prince Harry and ‘Pads’ called The Rest Is Bullshit.  Last week, we reported how five old episodes had disappeared from the streaming service, but now the rest have been pulled too, in what looks like a victory for the entertainment conglomerate.

However, Spitting Image remains defiant, with another episode released tonight, entitled We’re Getting Sued. 

It starts with the Last Post and Pads saying: 'Today we bow our heads in memory of the fallen.’

Harry reveals: ‘More episodes have been removed from YouTube.’

And Pads adds: ‘Cut down in their prime by Studio C Anal.’

‘Where once there was bullshit now there is silence,’ Harry says sombrely.

As Children In Need airs on BBC One, Pads this week introduces himself as Pudsey Bear,  while Harry says: ‘Thank you for all your kind comments about the Studio C Anal comedy-killers taking down some of our episodes.

Since the high court writ was launched  citing copyright and design right issues,  the programme-makers changed Paddington’s look, ditching his familiar red hat and blue duffle coat.

In the original claim, filed on October 2, the plaintiffs, which also include the estate of Paddington creator Michael Bond,  demanded the puppet used on the show to be delivered to them or destroyed saying:  ‘The Avalon puppet depicts the Paddington character with a frightening demeanour,’ it claimed, saying the portrayal as ‘a cocaine smuggler, an alcoholic and a user of heroin’ stealing in ‘coarse language’ that is a ‘distortion or mutilation’ of the polite Paddington of  the books and films. 

The show is written and performed by comics Al Murray and Matt Forde.

Speaking to Chris Moyles on Radio X today, Murray said of the legal action: ‘I find it basically kind of mystifying, because as I said, we're this small production and they’ve given us an awful lot of publicity to start with by doing this, by coming at us.

‘I'm finding it kind of ridiculous. We're carrying on, because we don't think we're doing anything wrong in particular.’

’It’s on various platforms, it's around. But it all got taken off YouTube yesterday… there’s sort of whack-a-mole element to the internet, but we are absolutely mystified by it. Because they [Studio Canal] make comedies, right?’

Anyone trying to view the old episodes on YouTube is greeted with the message: ‘This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Paddington and Company Limited (P&Co), Studiocanal Films Limited (Studiocanal) and Mrs Karen Mary Jankel and Mrs Susan Marfrey Bond, being the Trustees of the Estate of Michael Bond (Mr Bond).’’

Here’s tonight’s full episode – watch it before it too gets taken down:

Published: 14 Nov 2025