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Topics: Celebrity, Jeremy Clarkson, Money
Brenna Cooper
Topics: Celebrity, Jeremy Clarkson, Money
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
The couple were able to win the author over and left the capital with a licence to continue manufacturing their beloved toy.
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"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."
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.