Changing your name is a very personal choice for most people, often linked to important moments in their lives. But for one woman named Pudsey Bear, who used to be called Eileen De Bont, her name change was all about helping others. In 2009, she decided to raise money for Children in Need by selling the chance for someone to pick her new name. The highest bidder paid £4,000 (around ₹4.4 lakh), and since then, she has proudly gone by Pudsey Bear.
While her new name is accepted everywhere—like on bills, bank accounts, and official records—there’s one place that refuses to recognize it: the UK Passport Office. They think her name sounds “silly” and worry about copyright issues with the famous BBC Children in Need mascot, which is also named Pudsey Bear. Now, after 16 years, Pudsey is stuck fighting to have her name on her passport.
“They just won’t let me be who I am,” she said. “Everywhere else has accepted my name except the Passport Office.”
She first tried to get a passport in 2009 but was rejected. When she asked again recently, they told her that the same problem was still there. “After all this time, I don’t think they should call my name ‘silly’. It’s my name, and I want it on my passport,” she added.
Despite these challenges, Pudsey is determined to keep her name. “I don’t want to change it back. I have been Pudsey for 16 years, and I like it,” she said.
Pudsey runs a tarot reading business called Northern Light Tarot, has over 32,000 subscribers on YouTube, and her business is officially registered under her new name. The Home Office suggested she ask the BBC for permission before applying for the passport, since Pudsey Bear is the BBC’s mascot since 1985.
A Home Office spokesperson said that they look at each passport application individually and make decisions based on their guidelines.
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