Fans were shocked when Children In Need mascot Pudsey Bear was unveiled as a smoker this week.
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He was on BBC quiz show Pointless for Auntie’s charity telethon when host Richard Osman caught him puffing during a break.
But he is far from the only kids’ entertainment character with a secret naughty side.
Rainbow, on ITV from 1972 to 1992, centred on bossy bigmouth puppet Zippy, shy hippo George and brown bear Bungle — but it seems the real fun was off camera.
Zippy puppeteer Ronnie Le Drew revealed his charge would hump his co-stars and was once at it with George while the Beeb’s head of kids’ TV was giving a church bigwig a studio tour.
A runner had to beg: “Stop! An archbishop’s watching!”
But Zippy might have fitted in at Disneyland, as the House of Mouse gets frisky too.
It is billed as the “happiest place on Earth” but last year was the dirtiest as workers in Anaheim, California, were reportedly filmed twerking in Minnie Mouse and Pluto outfits, while a life-size Pinocchio simulated a sex act.
You would think the Teletubbies, at least, would be whiter than white.
Cuddly creatures Tinky-Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po were Nineties TV favourites on the Beeb.
But actress Pui Fan Lee, who played baby of the family PO, later starred in lesbian sex scenes for Channel 4 comedy drama series Metrosexuality.
She said: “Yes, I was Po, but I am an actress and the role looked interesting.”
Sesame Street muppet Elmo had a run-in with New York cops while posing for pictures with tourists.
American Rosa Sanchez, 36, who dressed as the furry red monster with the falsetto voice from the longstanding TV show, was arrested in 2014 for allegedly harassing passers-by for tips.
Winnie The Pooh was arrested in Tokyo in 2008 when Masayuki Ishikawa, 20, set upon and robbed two people who had apparently stared too hard at his cartoon bear costume.
Mr Blobby was a Saturday night TV staple who soared to fame on Noel’s House Party in 1992, scored a Christmas No1 and had a series of theme parks named after him.
But when an entertainer turned up in the costume to a six-year-old’s birthday in 1994 to present her cake, and dropped it, tempers flared and a brawl ensued.
Barney & Friends centred on Barney, the lovable purple dinosaur who captivated kids for 14 series of the US kid’s TV series.
But shock claims came to light in a 2022 docu-series.
Several show members reportedly received death threats and a conspiracy theory suggested the actor playing Barney hid cocaine in the tail of his suit.
As for Wizard Of Oz favourite The Tin Man, he was rather well oiled when arrested while driving over the limit in New York State in 2017.
Nicholas Sherman, 31, was still in character make-up after playing the metal man on stage.
Last but not least, Snoopy was arrested trying to break into the Isle of Wight’s Albany Prison in 2010.
A man dressed as the cartoon dog was trying to free a relative.