Pudsey Bear to speak for the first time in more than 40 years

Published: 01:17, 11 May 2026 | Updated: 01:17, 11 May 2026 Pudsey Bear is to speak for the first time in more than 40 years as part of a new campaign encouraging children to open up about their mental health. The iconic BBC Children in Need mascot will appear in a short film, 'Pudsey Finds His Voice', alongside 11-year-old actor Dexter Sol Ansell during Mental Health Awareness Week. Pudsey, who has remained silent since his debut in 1985, will finally speak in the 30-second film co-produced by BBC Creative and Blinkink.  The campaign aims to highlight the importance of children having a trusted person they can talk to about their worries. Created by BBC graphic designer Joanna Lane, Pudsey Bear quickly became the face of Children in Need, fronting fundraising appeals and charity events for decades. Research carried out for the campaign found that children who regularly have someone to talk to about their concerns are nine times more likely to report feeling happy than those who do not. Additional research commissioned by the charity and conducted by Censuswide revealed that almost a quarter of children keep their worries to themselves. Meanwhile, 38 per cent said their concerns had made life less enjoyable or caused them to stay silent because of fear or embarrassment. The iconic BBC Children in Need mascot will appear in a short film, 'Pudsey Finds His Voice' Claire Hoyle, interim chief executive of BBC Children in Need, said: 'Our research shows far too many children and young people are carrying their worries alone, and that silence can have serious consequences for their mental health. 'We know the difference one trusted adult can make. When a child feels heard, it can change everything, helping them cope earlier and preventing problems from becoming more serious. 'Pudsey is finding his voice because too many children feel unable to share what they are going through, and too many adults are unsure how to begin those conversations.' BBC Children in Need is also investing £1.24 million in mental health support for children and young people, with funding going to charities including Mental Health Innovations and The Children's Society, reports the Telegraph. Pudsey Finds His Voice will air across BBC television and radio from Monday, including during The One Show on BBC One at 7pm. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.