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Mr. Bean

TV SERIES · 1990–1995 · UK

Mr. Bean

Created by
Richard Curtis, Rowan Atkinson
Network
ITV1
Seasons
1
Episodes
14
Studio
Thames Television, Tiger Television Productions, Tiger Aspect

68 archived facts 8 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026

Mr Bean turns simple everyday tasks into chaotic situations and will leave you in stitches as he creates havoc wherever he goes.

  • Mr. Bean — production image

68 Interesting Facts About Mr. Bean

Interesting Facts (19)

  1. #001

    In 1992, a tie-in book, "Mr. Bean's Diary", was released. In the diary Bean records his activities and plans, as well as his silly poems, doodles and hair-brained ideas for inventions. It offered an insight into the character's mind, displaying a rather misanthropic side to him, for example his irrational dislike of one of his neighbours who he hadn't actually met. It also showed him expressing his love for Shirley Bassey, in the TV series this was only hinted at by him having a framed picture of her.

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  2. #002

    Mr. Bean has more likes on Facebook than Britney Spears, and in a poll conducted amongst foreigners living in the UK in 2015 on famous British people; Mr. Bean was voted as being more recognisable to foreigners than Princess Catherine "Kate" Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge.

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  3. #003

    The show has been sold in over 245 territories worldwide.

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  4. #004

    The shows have been shown on more than 50 airlines.

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  5. #005

    It is believed that Mr. Bean is a bachelor, but he has a girlfriend named Irma Gobb who has appeared in the series. There is no mention of Mr. Bean's parents, siblings or other relatives.

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  6. #006

    Rowan Atkinson has appeared as Mr. Bean in advertising for many different companies around the world, including: Nissan, Fujifilm, Snickers, M&Ms and Rema 1000 supermarket in Norway.

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  7. #007

    It's been theorized and speculated that Mr. Bean could be an extra terrestrial from another planet. However, it was also speculated that Mr. Bean is just a man child whom had a lonely childhood and has learning difficulties.

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  8. #008

    In the 1993 spin-off book "Mr. Bean's Diary" by Rowan Atkinson and Robin Driscoll, Mr. Bean revealed he met Irma Gobb at a local library.

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  9. #009

    Mr. Bean later went on to have his own YouTube channel.

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  10. #010

    Robin Driscoll, who is the writer of Mr. Bean made a few appearances in the series to elevate the comedy and sense of Mr. Bean, also giving Robin a character to full understand Mr. Bean. The two are close friends and both appeared in Funny Business.

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  11. #011

    Atkinson flew to China to film a Snickers advert for the UK market, with the advert first airing in October 2014. It was Atkinson's first time visiting the People's Republic of China.

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  12. #012

    When Rowan Atkinson was interviewed on a Danish TV program in 1993 he was asked about what would happen to Mr. Bean when the show ended, Atkinson stated that himself and Robin Driscoll had an idea for the last episode which Mr. Bean witnesses a spaceship landing in a field and Mr. Bean walks to the spaceship and Mr. Bean encounters aliens that are 25 identical copies of himself and Mr. Bean leaves with them aboard their spaceship which takes off into outer space. However, Rowan Atkinson and Robin Driscoll decided not to use it for the last episode.

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  13. #013

    The title sequence, which shows Mr. Bean falling downward in a beam of light, gave viewers the impression that Mr. Bean was an alien from space or perhaps a fallen angel. The creators of the series never addressed the matter and preferred to leave it to the imagination.

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  14. #014

    On the wall, the word "PHUT" appears next to a saxophone player. In The Return of Mr. Bean (1990), "PHut" is also the name of the club where Mr. Bean meets his date in Mr. Bean Goes to Town (1991).

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  15. #015

    In Rowan Atkinson and Robin Driscoll's 1993 companion book "Mr. Bean's Diary", Mr. Bean revealed that he met Irma Gobb at a local library.

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  16. #016

    In Bean (1997), Mr. Bean's passport is seen during a police interrogation, and it states that Mr. Bean's first name is Mr. and that he was born on 6 January 1955 in Enfield.

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  17. #017

    Mr. Bean writer Robin Driscoll appeared several times in the series to heighten Mr. Bean's comedy and emotion, and also gave Robin a character who would fully understand Mr. Bean. The two are close friends and both appeared in Funny Business.

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  18. #018

    Atkinson flew to China to shoot a Snickers commercial for the UK market, and the ad first aired in October 2014. This was Atkinson's first visit to the People's Republic of China.

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  19. #019

    The title sequence, which depicts Bean falling from the sky in a beam of light to the sound of a choir, has led to speculation that the character may be a fallen angel. Rowan Atkinson appeared in Richard Curtis's 2003 film 'Love Actually' as a character Curtis originally wrote as an angel, but this detail was not used in the finished film.

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Production Story (13)

  1. #020

    Based on a character originally developed by Rowan Atkinson while he was studying for his Master's degree in electrical engineering at Oxford University.

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  2. #021

    In 2002, Mr. Bean returned in an animated version of the show.

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  3. #022

    Rowan Atkinson said that French actor Jacques Tati was an influence on the character of Mr. Bean.

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  4. #023

    Based on an original character created by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson.

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  5. #024

    The original proposed name for the character was Mr. White. Names of vegetables were next, including Mr. Cauliflower, ending with the choice of Mr. Bean.

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  6. #025

    The early episode titles are reworkings of famous film titles with the titular character's name changed to Mr Bean. Ep2 The Return of Mr Bean is a reworking of a well-used title phrasing for movies like "The Return of the Pink Panther" (1975), "The Return of Godzilla" (1984), and "The Return of the Living Dead" (1985). Ep3 The Curse of Mr Bean is similar to "The Curse of Frankenstein" (1957) and "The Curse of the Werewolf" (1961). Ep4 Mr Bean Goes to Town is reworked from "Mr Deeds Goes to Town" (1936). Ep5 The Trouble with Mr Bean is "The Trouble with Harry" (1955). Ep 6 Mr Bean Rides Again is "Herbie Rides Again" (1975). Ep7 Merry Christmas, Mr Bean is "Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence" (1983). Ep8 Mr Bean in Room 426 could be a reworking of "Girl in Room 13" (1960).

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  7. #026

    Many TV themes by Howard Goodall were adapted from serious pieces of church choral music. Here, the title music "Ecce homo" ("Behold the man") was based on a few bars of "Locus Iste" by Anton Bruckner. New lyrics (in Latin) were written: "Ecce homo qui est faba. Vale homo qui est faba" ("Behold the man who is a bean. Farewell the man who is a bean").

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  8. #027

    Some of the VHS releases featured an introduction by Mr. Bean where he talks to the viewer for several minutes, telling them about the other videos available and showing clips from them. Until the Whistler's Mother speech in Bean (1997) this was the only occasion the character spoke more than a few words at a time.

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  9. #028

    Mr. Bean's suit appears to be modeled after Jeff Goldblum's in The Fly. Rowan Atkinson and Jeff Goldblum appeared together in The Tall Guy.

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  10. #029

    The show didn't air in Italy until 1995, even though it had already been broadcast in other countries. According to Rowan Atkinson, he didn't want it to air in Italy earlier because he wanted to spend his holidays there, and he didn't want to be recognised.

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  11. #030

    The pilot episode was filmed in late 1989 and was supposed to air that December. However the network decided to postpone the release date to January 1, 1990. The reason for this is because with it being a holiday, New Year's Day they figured more people would be home off of work and not as busy on a day like Thanksgiving or Christmas allowing for the show to have a larger audience. When the pilot did well on New Year's Day 1990, subsequent episodes were broadcast on the same day in following years which resulted in very high ratings. The Trouble with Mr. Bean and The Curse of Mr. Bean aired the same day in 1991 and 1992 respectively with the latter setting an all time high viewership for the series. Thus a tradition of a January 1st broadcasting tradition happened several times throughout the run of the show.Thanksgiving isn't observed in the U.K.

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  12. #031

    In the pilot, Mr. Bean's car is an orange Mini Cooper. In all subsequent appearances, however, it is an "Austin Citron Green Mini Cooper". This is because the orange one seen in the pilot episode was wrecked in a traffic accident that occurred off-screen shortly after filming. The Mini featured in the second film adaptation, "Mr Bean's Holiday", was "Nissan Amarillo Yellow".

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  13. #032

    The pilot episode was filmed in late 1989 and was due to air in December. However, the channel decided to postpone the broadcast date to 1 January 1990. This was because they thought that, since New Year's Day is a holiday, more people would be at home and off work, and not as busy as on a day like Thanksgiving or Christmas, giving the series a wider audience. When the pilot succeeded on New Year's Day 1990, episodes broadcast on the same day in subsequent years drew very high ratings. The Trouble with Mr. Bean and The Curse of Mr. Bean aired on the same day in 1991 and 1992 respectively, and the latter set the series' all-time highest viewing figure. The 1 January broadcast thus became a tradition that occurred several times over the course of the series. Thanksgiving is not celebrated in the United Kingdom.

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Behind the Scenes (9)

  1. #033

    Co-writer Robin Driscoll made numerous appearances in the series as various different characters. He was the cinema manager in The Return of Mr. Bean (1990), the police sergeant in Mr. Bean Goes to Town (1991), the man in queue in Merry Christmas Mr Bean (1992), the man buying tokens in Mind the Baby, Mr. Bean (1993), the ticket inspector in Hair by Mr. Bean of London (1995) and the blind man in The Bus Stop (1991).

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  2. #034

    In the pilot, Mr. Bean's car is an orange Mini Cooper. But in all the following shows, it is an "Austin Citron Green Mini Cooper". The reason for this is because the orange one seen in the pilot episode was destroyed in a car accident off-screen shortly after filming. In the 2nd film adaptation "Mr Bean's Holiday", the featured mini was "Nissan Amarillo Yellow" in colour.

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  3. #035

    The scene in which Mr. Bean's yellow mini is crushed by a tank in Back to School Mr. Bean (1994) was voted by the fans as the saddest moment of the sitcom.

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  4. #036

    The blue vehicle that Mr. Bean encounters in some episodes and causes him to crash is a light blue Reliant Regal Supervan III, whose driver is never revealed. This model is quite unstable because it has only three wheels, and it is known for tipping over easily. It is often mistakenly called a "Reliant Robin"; however, the Robin is the passenger-car version of the Regal.

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  5. #037

    From the second episode onward, Mr. Bean falls from the sky in a beam of light, accompanied by a choir singing "Ecce homo qui est faba" (Behold the man who is a bean). These opening scenes were in black and white in the first two episodes, and the producers intended them to show his status as "an ordinary man thrown into the spotlight." In later episodes, however, Mr. Bean falls from the night sky onto a deserted London street with St. Paul's Cathedral in the background. Atkinson has acknowledged that Bean has "a slight alien side"; in the animated series, he is shown as an alien.

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  6. #038

    Many of Howard Goodall's TV themes were adapted from serious church choral works. Here, the theme music "Ecce homo" ("Behold the man") was based on several bars of Anton Bruckner's "Locus Iste." New Latin lyrics were written: "Ecce homo qui est faba. Vale homo qui est faba" ("Behold the man who is a bean. Farewell, the man who is a bean").

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  7. #039

    Mr. Bean's flat changes completely between episodes. For example, in The Trouble with Mr. Bean (1992), his bed is in the living room. In Do-It-Yourself Mr. Bean (1994), there is a separate bedroom.

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  8. #040

    Some VHS releases included an introduction in which Mr. Bean talks to the viewer for a few minutes, gives information about other videos and shows clips from them. Until the Whistler's Mother speech in Bean (1997), this was the only instance of the character speaking more than a few words at a time.

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  9. #041

    In the pilot episode, Mr. Bean's car is an orange Mini Cooper. In all subsequent episodes, however, it becomes an "Austin Citron Green Mini Cooper." The reason is that the orange car seen in the pilot was destroyed behind the scenes in a traffic accident shortly after filming. In the second film adaptation, "Mr. Bean's Holiday," the Mini was "Nissan Amarillo Yellow."

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Characters & Cast (12)

  1. #042

    The voice that Rowan Atkinson used for Mr. Bean was the same voice Atkinson used in the "man who likes toilets" sketch in Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979).

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  2. #043

    Mr. Bean's first name is confirmed to be "Mr." throughout the TV series and the spin-off movies. There are several occasions where he writes his full name as "Mr. Bean" on registers or envelopes, or shows his printed driving licence or passport with "Bean" in the Last Name slot and "Mr." in the First Name slot. There used to be a rumour that one scene in Mr. Bean's Holiday shows a passport giving his name as "Rowan" after Rowan Atkinson, but no specific citations or screen captures have ever been provided to back up this rumour, which probably isn't true. His first name is consistently "Mr."

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  3. #044

    Rowan Atkinson has a stuttering problem and must be very careful with his emphasis, especially when saying words that begin with the letter 'B'. This explains the strange intonation in the way Bean pronounces his own name.

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  4. #045

    That Mr. Bean's first name is 'Mr.' is constantly confirmed throughout the series and films. His writing his full name as 'Mr. Bean' on registers or envelopes, and his driver's license or passport listing 'Bean' in the surname field and 'Mr.' in the given-name field, demonstrate this. According to a rumor, it was claimed that his passport in the film Mr. Bean's Holiday showed his name as 'Rowan', but this has not been proven; his name is consistently 'Mr.'.

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  5. #046

    The voice Rowan Atkinson uses for Mr. Bean is the same as the voice he used in the 'man who loves toilets' sketch on Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979).

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  6. #047

    Co-writer Robin Driscoll appeared many times in the series as various characters: the cinema manager in The Return of Mr. Bean, the police sergeant in Mr. Bean Goes to Town, the man in the queue in Merry Christmas Mr. Bean, the man who takes the token in Mind the Baby, Mr. Bean, the ticket inspector in Hair by Mr. Bean of London, and the blind man in The Bus Stop.

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  7. #048

    In the film Bean (1997), Mr. Bean's passport is seen during a police interrogation; on the passport his given name is written as 'Mr.' and his surname as 'Bean', and it states that he was born on 6 January 1955 in Enfield.

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  8. #049

    Mr. Bean's writer Robin Driscoll appeared several times in the series to enhance the comedy and the Bean feeling, and it also gave Robin the opportunity to fully understand the character. The two are close friends and appeared together in Funny Business.

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  9. #050

    The character's first proposed name was Mr. White. Vegetable names were then considered; after options such as Mr. Cauliflower, they settled on Mr. Bean.

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  10. #051

    The first episode titles are versions of famous film titles with the main character's name changed to Mr. Bean. For example: 'The Return of Mr Bean' (episode 2), 'The Curse of Mr Bean' (episode 3), 'Mr Bean Goes to Town' (episode 4), 'The Trouble with Mr Bean' (episode 5), 'Mr Bean Rides Again' (episode 6), 'Merry Christmas, Mr Bean' (episode 7), 'Mr Bean in Room 426' (episode 8).

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  11. #052

    Mr. Bean has more likes on Facebook than Britney Spears, and in a 2015 survey of foreigners living in the UK, Mr. Bean was voted more recognizable among famous Britons than Princess Catherine 'Kate' Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge.

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  12. #053

    In the 3rd episode of The Curse of Mr. Bean, the man sitting next to Mr. Bean (Angus Deayton) is reading a book by Ben Elton. Ben Elton frequently collaborated with Rowan Atkinson; the most famous of these is Blackadder.

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Easter Eggs & References (8)

  1. #054

    The license plate on Mr. Bean's green car is SLW 287 R.

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  2. #055

    Mr. Bean's flat completely changes between episodes. For example, in The Trouble with Mr. Bean (1992), his bed is in the living room. In Do-It-Yourself Mr. Bean (1994), he has a separate bedroom.

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  3. #056

    In Episode 3 of "The Curse of Mr. Bean", the man seated next to Mr. Bean (Angus Deayton) is reading a book by Ben Elton. Ben Elton has frequently collaborated with Rowan Atkinson, the most famous of which being Blackadder.

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  4. #057

    The word "PHUT" appears on the wall next to the busker playing the saxophone. in The Return of Mr. Bean (1990), "PHut" is also the name of the club he meets his date at in Mr. Bean Goes to Town (1991).

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  5. #058

    The blue vehicle (whose occupant's identity is never revealed) that Mr. Bean encounters and causes to get into accidents in some episodes is a light blue Reliant Regal Supervan III. This model has a history of being highly unstable and easily tipped due to it only having three wheels. It is often incorrectly referred to as a "Reliant Robin," which is the car equivalent to the Regal.

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  6. #059

    The intro sequence of Mr. Bean falling or appearing in a beam of light is somewhat similar to the sequences in The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) where the Terminator (or other person) arrives from the future.

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  7. #060

    In Bean (1997), Allison Langley insults Mr. Bean by calling him a Martian and an alien from the planet Zog. This is a nod to the intro sequence from the TV show which gave viewers the impression that Mr. Bean could be an extra terrestrial from another planet.

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  8. #061
    Contains a major spoiler — show

    In Bean (1997) Mr. Bean's passport is seen during the police interrogation sequence and on Mr. Bean's passport, Mr. Bean's first name is Mr. and that he was born in Enfield on January 6th 1955.

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Deeper Meaning (3)

  1. #062

    At the beginning of Episode Two onwards, Mr. Bean falls from the sky in a beam of light, accompanied by a choir singing "Ecce homo qui est faba" (Behold the man who is a bean). These opening sequences were initially in black and white in episodes 2 and 3 and were intended by the producers to show his status as an "ordinary man cast into the spotlight". However, later episodes showed Mr. Bean dropping from the night sky in a deserted London street, against the backdrop of St. Paul's Cathedral. Atkinson himself has acknowledged that Bean has "a slightly alien aspect to him"; in the animated series, he is shown to be an alien.

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  2. #063

    The title sequence, which sees Mr. Bean drop down in a beam of light, gave viewers the impression that Mr. Bean is an outer space alien, or perhaps a fallen angel. The show's creators have never addressed the matter, preferring to leave it to imagination.

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  3. #064

    The title sequence, which depicts Bean falling from the sky in a beam of light to the sound of a heavenly choir, has led to speculation that the character might be a fallen angel. Rowan Atkinson appeared in Richard Curtis' 2003 film 'Love, Actually' as a character which Curtis originally wrote as an angel, though this detail was not used in the finished film.

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Career & Awards (3)

  1. #065

    Between seasons of the show, co-writer Robin Driscoll appeared as a Fat Sweaty Cooper in the BBC sketch comedy show The Fast Show (1994).

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  2. #066

    In the UK, the highest rated episode was "The Trouble with Mr. Bean (1992)," which 18.74 million people viewed.

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  3. #067

    Due to the focus on visual jokes as opposed to verbal humor, the show was able to connect to a world-wide audience. In East-Asia, where it is not uncommon for people to also adopt a Western-sounding first name, the show was so popular that many boys adopted the name 'Rowan' in honor of Mr. Bean's performer, Rowan Atkinson.

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Life & Family (1)

  1. #068

    Rowan Atkinson has a stutter which requires him to stress very carefully when saying words beginning with "B." This explains the odd way that Bean pronounces his own name.

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Sources & editorial notes

Reference databases

  • Wikipedia English Wikipedia article
  • IMDb IMDb title page (trivia)

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