The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 2 plus 8 letter word MR MCGREGOR
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
M
R
M
C
G
R
E
G
O
R
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "1 12 character" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case 1 12 character = mr mcgregor.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.