One year ago today, it was reported that a Prestatyn mum had been denied a passport because she had changed her name to Pudsey Bear for charity 16 years prior.
Eileen De Bont officially became 'Mrs P Bear' in honour of Children In Need's teddy mascot after running an eBay auction to raise money in 2009.
The 53-year-old from Prestatyn in Wales raised £4,000 through an online auction for the charity's appeal.
She provided a list of 50 options and pledged to change her name to the one chosen by the highest bidder.
The UK Deed Poll Service eventually won the auction with a bid of £4,000. She then changed her name to Pudsey Bear.
Eileen has been known as that ever since that day - with her two daughters still calling her 'Mama Bear' after 16 years.
Her bank card read 'Mrs P Bear' and her driving licence 'Mrs Pudsey Bear'.
The dental nurse was addressed as 'Ms Pudsey Bear' on her council tax statements and the Inland Revenue listed her as 'Mrs Pudsey Bear'.
But despite other government organisations accepting her new name, the Home Office refused to grant her a passport ever since - deeming her name change 'frivolous'.
Trying to give it another go she was told her application could fail again due to possible breaches of copyright laws.
She told the MailOnline at the time: "All my bills, my bank details, the GP, my local health trust.
"Everywhere else has accepted my new name - everywhere except the Passport Office.
"When I applied back in 2009, their reasoning was that it was a frivolous name and therefore the answer was no."
She added: "I thought that after 16 years the passport agency can hardly call my name 'frivolous.
"It is my name, and has been for 16 years, so I would like it on the front page of my passport next to my photograph."
Mrs Bear has been asked before if she'd change her name back to her birth name - but she didn't want to as she 'likes' her name.
Even her tarot reading business - called Northern Light Tarot, which had 32,000 subscribers on YouTube - was listed on Companies House under Mrs Pudsey Bear.
She was advised to get permission from the copyright owner, the BBC, before proceeding further with her application.
She's had to give up driving for medical reasons and said she has been left without any valid form of photographic ID.
A spokesperson for the UK Deed Poll Service said it was aware of instances in which names were turned down over trademark and copyright issues - but added that the Passport Office was 'inconsistent' in its decisions.
They said at the time: 'Under trademark law, simply having a name - even if it matches a registered trademark - does not automatically mean you are infringing on that trademark.
'Trademark law is designed to prevent businesses from using names in a way that causes confusion in the marketplace or unfairly benefits from an established brand.
'However, an individual using a name on a passport is not "trading" or conducting commercial activities, so there is no actual trademark violation.
'The Passport Office's approach is inconsistent. Since there's no structured way to check all trademarks, decisions seem to be made based on what Passport Office officials happen to recognise rather than a clear legal rule.
'This leads to arbitrary outcomes, where some trademarked names are rejected while others - like William Morrison or Paul Smith - are accepted.
'Ultimately, the Passport Office is applying trademark law in a way that isn't legally necessary or consistent, leading to avoidable refusals like Mrs Pudsey Bear's case.'
A spokesperson for the Home Office confirmed at the time that it would welcome a new application from Mrs Bear, adding: "All passport applications are considered on their individual merits and assessed in line with official guidance."
This story was first reported on by Marko Vranic on March 21, 2025.
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