Mary Tourtel was created in 1920, at a time when the "Express" was in competition with "The Daily Mail" and its then popular comic strip "Teddy Tail", as well as the strip "Pip, Squeak and Wilfred" in "The Daily Mirror". The then news editor of the "Express", Herbert Tourtel, was approached with the task of producing a new comic strip to rival those of the "Mail" and "Mirror" and immediately thought of his wife Mary, already an established author and artist. Rupert Bear was the result and was first published as a nameless character in a strip titled "Little Lost Bear" on
Rupert Bear been changed into a girl named Freda. There are new characters like Miranda the mermaid; but characters Podgy Pig, his self-obsessed sister Rosalie and the timid Willie Mouse make no appearances. "Rupert Bear, Follow The Magic ..." was broadcast on Five from 8 November 2006 to 1 February 2008. Fifty-two ten-minute episodes were broadcast and subsequently repeated. The British 1980s video games publisher, Quicksilva adapted Rupert Bear for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum 8-bit computers. This company published two game installments, the 1985 "Rupert and the Toymaker's Party" and the 1986 "Rupert and The Ice Castle". An episode of