Toby Twirl Tourtel, an assistant editor of the "Daily Express". Tourtel devised Rupert Bear shortly after the end of World War I, in 1920, when the "Daily Express" was in competition with "The Daily Mail" and its then popular comic strip “Teddy Tail” (featuring a mouse called “Teddy Tail”), as well as with the comic strip “Pip, Squeak and Wilfred” (respectively, these are the names of a dog, penguin, and rabbit) in the "Daily Mirror". Each panel of Tourtel's comic strip story was accompanied by a narrative in rhymed verse. These are the very first ("Daily Express", 8 November 1920): The title
Daily Express Newspapers was sold to publisher Richard Desmond in 2000, and the names of the newspapers reverted to "Daily Express" and "Sunday Express". In 2004, the newspaper moved to its present location on Lower Thames Street in the City of London. On 31 October 2005, UK Media Group Entertainment Rights secured majority interest from the "Daily Express" for Rupert Bear. They paid £6 million for a 66.6% control of the character. The "Express" retains minority interest of one-third plus the right to publish Rupert Bear stories in certain Express publications. In 2000, Express Newspapers was bought by Richard Desmond, publisher of