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People are just finding out how Jeremy Clarkson's parents made fortune

Home> Entertainment> Celebrity

Published 14:07 17 Jun 2025 GMT+1

People are just finding out how Jeremy Clarkson's parents made fortune

Jeremy Clarkson has a surprising link to this famous children's toy

Brenna Cooper

Brenna Cooper

People have been left shocked after learning how Jeremy Clarkson's parents were able to make their fortune with the help of a very famous children's toy.

Clarkson may be one of the most recognisable presenters of his generation, thanks to co-presenting Top Gear and The Grand Tour alongside Richard Hammond and James May, with their completely unserious approach to television making motoring shows accessible to the mainstream.

Since hanging up his car keys, the 65-year-old has managed to successfully rebrand as a patron of the English countryside, with his Amazon Prime series Clarkson's Farm being one of the most successful programmes on the streamer.

And it turns out that a certain entrepreneurial spirit runs in the Clarkson family, with the journalist's parents Eddie and Shirley Clarkson making their fortune courtesy of a very familiar children's toy.

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The presenter's life was changed by a familiar stuffed bear in wellington boots (Qian Jun/MB Media/Getty Images)
The presenter's life was changed by a familiar stuffed bear in wellington boots (Qian Jun/MB Media/Getty Images)

This may already be common knowledge to a certain demographic of Jeremy Clarkson super-fans, however most of you may be surprised to learn the presenter has a link to Paddington Bear.

As owners of a small design company, the Clarkson's decided to make their two children - Jeremy and Joana - small stuffed bears for Christmas in 1972.

It wouldn't be long until friends and family began to admire the adorable creations, with the couple soon selling their stuffed toy in local shops. However, the venture would run into trouble when series creator Michael Bond got wind of the project.

As the brains behind the iconic character, the children's author had made his fortune from Paddington bear and wasn't to happy to learn that others were benefitting from his character without copyright permission.

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Faced with legal action, the couple travelled to London to mediate with Bond, and what happened next would change their lives forever.

According to Bond, who recalling how he bumped into Eddie and Shirley while in the lift ahead of a meeting in London.

Shirley Clarkson with a prototype for Paddington Bear (Evening Standard/Getty Images)
Shirley Clarkson with a prototype for Paddington Bear (Evening Standard/Getty Images)

The couple were able to win the author over and left the capital with a licence to continue manufacturing their beloved toy.

"I got in the lift with Shirley and Eddie," he told The Sunday Times. "They were terribly nice and pretended it had all been a mistake - and we were friends by the time we got out of the lift. I gave them a licence."

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Which certainly explains Clarkson's ability to win over the farming community with his shenanigans at Diddly Squat.

Eddie and Shirley would eventually sell the rights to their bear to Hamley's and cemented the family's fortunes forever.

The money made from the bear would allow the Jeremy to attend private school, with his mother telling AutoTrader that he even owed his TV career to the stuffed toy.

Featured Image Credit: Qian Jun/MB Media/Getty Images

Topics: Celebrity, Jeremy Clarkson, Money

Brenna Cooper
Brenna Cooper

Brenna Cooper is a journalist at LADbible. She graduated from the University of Sheffield with a degree in History, followed by an NCTJ accredited masters in Journalism. She began her career as a freelance writer for Digital Spy, where she wrote about all things TV, film and showbiz. Her favourite topics to cover are music, travel and any bizarre pop culture.

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@_brencoco

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