Famous TV bear in Oxfordshire to be auctioned

This bear starred in the 1980s television series Brideshead Revisited and is set to be auctioned later this year.

A famous TV bear could be leaving Oxfordshire after the owner of a shop in Witney announced he wants to auction him off.

The famous teddy bear? No, not Paddington. Not Winnie the Pooh. This bear starred in the 80s TV series Brideshead Revisited and is set to be auctioned later this year.

Aloysius appeared on the show, which was extremely popular and still has a large fan base.

He currently lives at Teddy Bears of Witney, but owner Ian Pout has been having health problems and wanted to make sure the bear went to good homes.

Ian has decided to auction the bear at an SAS auction in Newbury, Berkshire on December 3rd.

He says he is different from other famous bears:

“There is no Paddington Bear. Winnie the Pooh is now in the New York Children's Library, very few people get to see him. So Aloysius is a very special famous bear and we are very lucky to have him.”

The image of Aloysius with his co-stars Anthony Andrews and Jeremy Irons is still considered one of the most famous images from television shows.

The bear has been here in Oxfordshire for nearly 30 years after Ian bought him from America about 30 years ago in 1995.

But no one can compete with the teddy bears of Witney, so Ian is looking for new homes for all of the bears.

Ian says he really enjoyed the people he met during his time at the shop. He's not sure how much he could get for the bear at auction, but it could be tens of thousands.

Therefore, Aloysius may leave Oxfordshire if he is brought.

Although Ian says saying goodbye to the bear will be heartbreaking, he tells us why we love teddy bears and the shop so much:

“I just feel that a teddy bear helps make a house a home. There is something unique about teddy bears and the comfort they provide that is hard to explain and I think the mystery of the teddy bear lies in its magic.”

Be the first to hear all the latest news from across the UK every hour on Hits Radio on DAB, hitsradio.co.uk and the Hits Radio app.