THERE was a huge surprise for the team at Charlie Bears when ‘Keeper’ appeared on national TV last week.

Eagle-eyed viewers noticed the Charlie Bear on the set of EastEnders, in a scene with the character Masood.

Kimberly from the Launceston-based business said: “It was a surprise! He was on there quite a bit with Masood!”

She said he was spotted on TV before the news was excitedly shared around social media by their collectors.

Kimberly added: “It wasn’t product placement. It was a lovely surprise to see they decided to go with a lovely Charlie Bear. Hopefully we might see him again at some stage.”

The handmade bears have their own unique characteristics, extra special touches and hand-embroidered finishes, and are known as ‘bears with personalities’.

Charlie Bears’ creator, Charlotte Morris, designs about 200 bears a year in all shapes and sizes. She has designed more than 2,500 bears for the collection since starting up the business with her husband William in 2006 — the first collection of 12 bears was launched on QVC.

The couple met in 2000 when Will walked into Charlotte’s shop in Leeds, looking for a present for his mother who was a bear collector and was not well at the time.

Each bear is designed at The Bearhouse, Pennygillam.