Katherine Cowles

It is irresistible; delicious and guilt-free. Here the politics of Paddington do not stand naively in the way of entertainment: for all the idealism, a Peruvian bear cannot make the world kinder, any more than the stage can offer perpetual sanctuary. But he will draw people – from near and far – to a city that is not short of loveliness, though the weary cannot see it. Soft power – that’s Paddington’s gift.