“ I can't bear it. Why did Paddington have to be turned into a coke-addled podcast host?

The show is hilarious when it skewers those who deserve it. But a kindly toy? It just makes me sad, writes Frank Skinner

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StudioCanal, the company that makes the Paddington movies, has filed a high court complaint against Avalon, the makers of the new online version of Spitting Image, because it features a, let's say, bespoke version of the bear.

I should confess, upfront, that Avalon is my management company. I've been with them over 30 years. In fact, I was in their offices a while back and was invited to visit the Spitting Image studio. They had taken over a small office in a let's-do-the-show-right-here-in-the-barn kind of way. When I snook in, an amazing Tom Cruise puppet was being filmed against a green screen and it really felt like something special and subversive was happening. Then I saw him. In the corner sat a snaggle-toothed, bug-eyed bear in a grubby duffel coat and hat. My bubble of enthusiasm burst. “No,” I said, “you can’t do that.” There was no irony in my tone. I was upset. “Not Paddington,” I added, almost to myself.