CHILDREN in Need mascot Pudsey Bear has been hiding a dirty secret for almost 40 years — he is a smoker.
He was seen having a cheeky fag by Richard Osman during a break from filming Pointless.
Speaking on his Rest Of Entertainment podcast, Richard said: “One of my favourite moments in telly, I never took a photo of it.
“Out the back of the studio in Elstree, we were doing a Children In Need Pointless, Pudsey Bear, head under his arm, smoking.
“I thought, ‘Oh man.’ You could ruin some childhoods there. As long as there are no seven-year-old’s listening to this.”
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Pudsey Bear - created by designer Joanna Lane and named after the West Yorkshire town where she was born - was created in 1985.
He is described as a “symbol of hope and generosity, capturing the hearts of generations”.
On the official BBC website, Pudsey’s biography states his favourite colour is yellow, and he has a best friend called Blush the brown bear.
Under his likes, it states: “Meeting new people, dancing, eating tasty snacks (particularly baked treats), dressing-up, playing games and helping the people who need him most.”
Strangely, “smoking” does not feature."