Fans of Mr Bean have been debating this question for more than 25 years

Actor Rowan Atkinson attends a photocall to Mr. Bean's Holiday 2007 in Berlin, Germany. Photo / Getty

It's been more than 25 years since Mr Bean first appeared on our screens and ever since fans have been debating one question: Is he an alien?

Those who are convinced the character is from another world often point to the show's opening credits to back-up their claim.

"At the beginning of an episode, you see a bright light appear on the ground and then it grows bigger and bigger until it stops and Mr Bean falls, which in my opinion, is a comical take on an alien being beamed down from a spaceship," argued Reddit user iKomrade who is just one of many fans who have shared a similar theory on the site.

In the 14 episodes of Mr Bean that were made, the character struggles to interact with other members of society which is further proof he's not human, claims the Redditor.

Also, "He wears the same clothes all the time ... because he has no sense of how humans dress and assumes that they wear things like this".

And then there are other fans who believe that Mr Bean is a human who was once abducted by aliens.

"He used to be normal, which is how he has his own apartment, has a girlfriend, and somehow has some spending money," Redditor chris2webby wrote.

"But then he was abducted by aliens, tested on, and then dumped back onto Earth (which explains the opening to every episode where he falls from a light in the sky). Since he was tested on, it messed with his mind and now he is socially awkward."

Mr Bean was created by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis and neither of the two men have ever confirmed or denied if the character is indeed an alien.

But Atkinson has dropped a few hints over the years, including when he told The Buffalo News in 1997 that "he [Mr Bean] has a slightly alien aspect to him".

In 1993 Atkinson gave more weight to the popular fan theory when he opened up about an idea he had for a Mr Bean episode that never got made.
"He sees this spaceship landing in a field and he stops the car," Atkinson explained.

"He looks up and suddenly the door (lowers) and this bright light comes out of the spaceship and a Mr Bean walks out of the spaceship ... and then another Mr Bean and they all shake hands and then 25 more Mr Beans all come out of the spaceship and pat him on the back and say 'very nice to see you'.

"And then all the Mr Beans go up into the spaceship and the door goes up and that's the end of Mr Bean."

Perhaps the question will be answered once and for all if Atkinson and Curtis team up for another Mr Bean movie.

Just three months ago Atkinson told The Daily Star newspaper that Curtis does have a good idea for another film and said, "It would be very funny to see where we can go with him as an old man and what kind of comedy we get out it".