Sooty S Sooty Sooty is a British glove puppet and TV character popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland , Australia , New Zealand and other countries. The children's television show which bears his name has continued in various forms since the 1950s and, according to the Guinness Book of Records, is the longest-running children's programme in the UK. He was 60 years old on 19 July 2008 and, as this was close to Nelson Mandela 's 90th birthday, Sooty sent him a birthday message. Sooty was originally devised by Harry Corbett (nephew of fish and chip shop chain owner Harry Ramsden), who bought the puppet as a present for his son, Matthew Corbett, from a stall when he was on holiday in Blackpool in 1948. Sooty, a small yellow bear with black ears, is mute to the audience but can communicate with his operator by apparently whispering in his ear. He was featured on BBC TV from 1952.

The original bear was completely yellow, and Harry covered his ears and nose with soot so that he would show up better on black and white television - hence the puppet's name. He would later be joined by other puppet characters Sweep (a dog who communicates by a saxophone reed type squeak), Soo (a shy and sweetly spoken panda), Kipper (a cat), Butch (another dog who occasionally plays the part of a villain), Ramsbottom (a snake), 'Enry the Robot (a robot), Cousin Scampi (another bear), Miki (another cat - this time, novelly, Brazilian) and Maggie Mouse (a mouse). Following Harry Corbett's retirement, Sooty was operated by his son Matthew, and enjoyed a new wave of popularity. Sooty's personality fluctuates between kindness, cheekiness, and downright naughtiness, very often misinterpreting things said or suggested by Harry, Matthew or Soo (possibly intentionally). He plays the xylophone and keeps a wand with which he performs magic.

This is accompanied by the catchphrase "Izzy wizzy, let's get busy!" His water pistol is also an icon - Matthew usually on the end of a soaking, although even royalty have fallen foul of the water. Matthew carried on Harry's tradition of ending every show with the line "Bye bye everybody, bye bye", and in Matthew's last ever episode, his final scene was a collection of him saying the immortal words over the preceding years. In the late nineties, Matthew Corbett retired, marking the end of Sooty and Co. (based around the idea of the Sooty gang running a shop that "sells almost everything") and essentially gifted Sooty to then co-star Richard Cadell, who presented the show through another five series, at first under the name Sooty Heights, then under the name, Sooty, both set at a hotel. He was joined in these by two female co-hosts, starting with Liana Bridges from 1999-2000 who worked in Sooty and Co. in the same period he did, and then Vicki Lee Taylor from 2001-2003, who had previously worked on The Queen's Nose.

Sooty is frequently shown on the CITV Channel in the UK, usually weekdays at 3pm. In June 2008, it was announced that Richard Cadell had bought the rights to Sooty, having been put up for sale by HIT Entertainment in October 2007. Plans for three new TV show formats are underway, with a reworking of one of Matthew Corbett's stage shows due to tour early next year. Sooty also had a one-off animated cartoon series in the mid-'90s titled Sooty's Amazing Adventures. It featured Sooty, Sweep, Soo & Little Cousin Scampi living in an old theatre by the coast. It was produced by Cosgrove Hall Films (the producers of Count Duckula and DangerMouse); they gave Sweep & Scampi actual voices and kept Sooty the same, having to nod his head to say "yes" or "no" or miming what his ideas are.

TV series Sooty Heights (1999-2000) Sooty (2001-2004) Plans for three new TV series; a sitcom-style show similar to previous series, featuring the gang working at a handyman agency, a live variety show and a pre-school game show, are underway. There was also an animated cartoon series, Sooty's Amazing Adventures, aired from 1996–1997. Sooty appeared on US television on The Mickey Mouse Club, each Tuesday during the first two seasons. Discography In 1973 a single and album was released. The single was "Super Sonic Sooty Spug" with "My Friend and I" on the B-side. Both these tracks were sung by Sooty himself! Harry Corbett regretted this greatly. The album was Around the World with Sooty...Harry Corbett and Sweep. This comprised eight songs with a linking story. The songs included both the A and B-sides of the single. These were released on the Music for Pleasure label. Stage shows Sooty also had a successful number of (mainly Christmas) stage shows across the UK.

During Matthew Corbett's reign, seven stage shows were performed repetitively. For the first half of the tours, Matthew and Connie Creighton would present, and during the second half, while Matthew was busy writing and filming the TV shows, Connie and Spencer K. Gibbens would present.

Sooty's Creepy Castle (1984/1985 - 1991/1992) Sooty's Picnic (1985/1986 - 1992/1993) Sooty's World Cruise (1986/1987 - 1993/1994) Sooty's Wild West Show (1987/1988 - 1994/1995) Sooty in Space (1988/1989 - 1995/1996) Sooty's Circus (1989/1990 - 1996/1997) The House That Sooty Built (1990/1991 - 1997/1998) After Matthew retired, six stage shows toured the country. All starring Richard Cadell, three of them also featured Richard's Sooty Heights co-star, Liana Bridges, with the fourth starring Amanda Howard in Liana's place.

Sooty's Magical Mystery Tour (1998/1999) Sooty's Treasure Hunt (1999/2000) The Magic and Mayhem Tour (2001/2002) The Izzy Wizzy Tour (2002/2003) The Comedy and Chaos Tour (2003/2004) From 2005 to 2008, annual shows, featuring the puppet characters and various different presenters, toured around the UK. The Wet and Wild Show (2005) The Izzy Wizzy Holiday Show (2006) Sooty's Magic Castle (2007) Sooty's Magic Wand Factory (2008) From 2009, stage shows will again feature Richard Cadell, as he tours the country with Sooty and the gang. The first, Sooty in Space, is a reworking of one of Matthew Corbett's scripts.

Sooty in Space (2009) Sooty's Creepy Castle (2010) It stated on on the message boards that Richard Cadell hopes to reuse more of Matthew Corbett's scripts. Books In the early to mid 1960s, there were at least five Sooty annuals published by the London Daily Mirror. These features an expanded cast of characters including: Sooty, who was shown as white not yellow and wore red trousers. Sweep, also white not grey, who walked on all fours like a normal dog, but could stand as a biped to play the bugle and so on. Cokey the clown, another close friend of Sooty. Mr Fusspot, Mayor of TV Town where the action takes place. PC Nab, one of the police of TV Town. Calico Joe, a fully clothed cat who smokes, always stands erect as a biped, and is a con man. Ali Artful, a black man who wears a fez and everyone knows is a thief. A Sooty annual also appeared in 1991-92.

Guest appearances The Sooty show had a number of celebrities from all walks of life making an appearance on the show. Most notable was Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain who is a self confessed Sooty fan and always has the puppet as a mascot on the front of his drumkit, and has occasionally donned a full size Sooty costume at shows as an entrance. A number of famous faces made cameo appearances - usually as themselves - in Sooty and Co, including Gareth Hunt, Matthew Kelly, William Roache, Jack Dee, Paul Merton, Shane Ritchie, Frank Bruno, Neil Buchanan, Jim Bowen, Harry Hill, Barbie Wilde, Brian Blessed and Father Christmas ! Sooty and Matthew Corbett had appeared on a Christmas episode of They Think It's All Over, attacking Nick Hancock with Sooty's water pistol after Hancock ruled against them in one game. Hancock exacted revenge by emptying a bottle of water over Corbett's head. Sooty and Matthew Corbett appeared in a special episode of Thames Television's other mainstay of children's programming, Rainbow.

The episode, "The VIP" was broadcast in 1990 and saw them performing a magic show for Zippy, George, Bungle and Geoffrey. Sooty also appeared in the video for "Is This the Way to Amarillo" 2005 remake mimed by Peter Kay. Sooty and his co star Sweep (puppet) appeared on the shoulders of Peter Kay as he ran down a corridor. Sweep (albeit with his face blurred) appeared in an episode of the BBC sketch show Goodness Gracious Me Sooty and Sweep appeared alongside Richard Cadell in June 2008, for a special 90th Birthday message for Nelson Mandela. It is available to view on YouTube. Sooty and Sweep have made a cameo appearance in the video for the Coronation Street version of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life. Sweep made his first appearance on Channel Four as himself in the 8th episode of the 2nd series of The Harry Hill Show. Product placement was occasionally featured on the Sooty Show and Sooty & Co in the 1990s. Examples of this includes the episode where Sooty, Sweep et al.

go to Camelot Theme Park, at the time owned by the Granada TV company, and featuring a daily Sooty show in its theatre. This was featured as one of the four pictures from the Odd One Out round on an episode of Have I Got News for You on the subject of product placement. Miscellenia In Sooty's late-sixties' and early-seventies' shows, a musical act featured were The Sooty Braden Showband. This featured Sooty and friends on various instruments playing alongside Musical Director Alan Braden and his band. The Sooty Show would close with a rousing performance from the band. Richard Cadell actually made a guest appearance in The Sooty Show Christmas Special in the 1980s - 10 years before taking over from Matthew Corbett. A large number of shows ended with or contained a song relating in someway to the episode, although over the years a number of songs were repeated and quickly became classics - the most famous being "Battle Of The Drums" and "Home Is Where The Heart Is".

Twice during the Sooty Heights era, ITV2 declared Christmas Day as being "Sooty Day" - and dedicated its schedule to episodes and documentaries about Sooty. Sooty appeared on Kellogg's "Puffa Sugar Stars" cereal in the 1960s, then on "Puffa Puffa Rice" cereal starting in 1973. The Doug Anthony Allstars wrote a song describing Sooty as a skinhead. There used to be an extremely popular 'World of Sooty' museum in Shipley, West Yorkshire open in the early 1990s, but this was later replaced by an animatronic cat exhibition, which was in turn replaced by a marketing agency. There were also Sooty related attractions at the now defunct Granada Studios Tour in Manchester, and also at The American Adventure Theme Park in Derbyshire until the late 1990s. The park has since closed. The original Sooty now resides in the northern UK village of Brancepeth near Durham , with owner Charlotte Lonsdale also possessing a more recent version of the famous puppet.

In the television series "The Final Cut", one of Francis Urquart's junior ministers, Jeffrey Boozer-Pitt is referred to disparagingly by the Opposition MPs as Sooty in reference to his being a sock puppet for Urquart During many of the episodes of Sooty & Co, action can be seen on a street set. Eagle eyed viewers will spot this is the Coronation Street set at Granada Studios, although none of Corries famous landmarks (The Rovers Return, The Kabin etc)are visible. This was more than likely used as an exterior location because Sooty and Co was filmed in the same studio complex.

On 1 September a Sooty CD will be out with songs like 'The Tripod Stomp' which is from the 2009 show 'Sooty in Space.' (Wikipedia) TV presenter sweeps up Sooty for £1m | Media | The Guardian TV presenter sweeps up Sooty for £1m Thursday 26 June 2008 19.01 EDT First published on Thursday 26 June 2008 19.01 EDT Share on Messenger Close Sooty, the silent puppet bear with a penchant for magic tricks and water pistols, has been sold to his presenter, who plans to bring the children's TV character back in a new series. Richard Cadell, who has presented the TV show featuring the much loved children's character for 10 years, has teamed up with his brother to buy the rights to Sooty and his friends Sweep, the squeaking grey dog, and Soo the panda. The deal is believed to be worth almost £1m.

The characters were put up for sale in October by Bridgefilms, a joint venture backed by Hit Entertainment, which also owns Bob the Builder and bought the rights to Sooty from the previous presenter, Matthew Corbett, in 1996. Sooty has featured on British TV since the 1950s, first appearing on the BBC under the watch of Harry Corbett, who had bought the puppet on Blackpool pier to amuse his son Matthew. The show moved to ITV in 1968 and Matthew later succeeded as presenter. Sooty, a mischievous yellow bear with black ears, would never speak except into the ear of his presenter and performed magic tricks to the catchphrase "Izzy wizzy, let's get busy". He would get into scrapes with Sweep, who spoke only in squeaks, the sensible Soo, and, in more recent series, his schoolboy cousin Scampi. Matthew Corbett backed Cadell's buyout. "I am delighted that Sooty is in, or should I say on, the right hands.

Richard Cadell is as close to a Corbett as you can get and we are very confident that he will give Sooty the love and attention that he deserves." Sooty | Sooty Database Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Hobbies magic, mayhem, and custard pies Sooty is a British glove puppet and TV character popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and other countries. The children's television show which bears the same name and has featured the character since the 1950s was, according to the Guinness Book of Records, the longest-running children's programme in the UK. He was 60 years old on 19th July 2008; as this was close to Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday, Sooty sent him a birthday message as well. Matthew usually on the end of a soaking, although even royalty have fallen foul of the water. Matthew carried on Harry's tradition of ending every show with the line "Bye bye everybody, bye bye", and in Matthew's final ever episode, his final scene was a collection of him saying the immortal words from the preceding years.

In the late nineties, Matthew Corbett retired, marking the end of Sooty and Co. (based around the idea of the Sooty gang running a shop that "sells almost everything") and essentially gifted Sooty to then co-star Richard Cadell, who presented the show through another five series, at first under the name Sooty Heights, then under the name, Sooty, both set at a hotel. He was joined in these by two female co-hosts, starting with Liana Bridges from 1999-2000 who worked in Sooty and Co. in the same period he did, and then Vicki Lee Taylor from 2001-2003, who had previously worked on The Queen's Nose. Sooty is frequently shown on the CITV Channel in the UK, usually weekdays at 3pm. In June 2008, it was announced that Richard Cadell had bought the rights to Sooty, having been put up for sale by HIT Entertainment in October 2007. Plans for three new TV show formats are underway, with a reworking of one of Matthew Corbett's stage shows due to tour early next year.

Sooty also had a one-off animated cartoon series in the mid-'90s titled Sooty's Amazing Adventures . It featured Sooty, Sweep, Soo , and Little Cousin Scampi living in an old theatre by the coast. It was produced by Cosgrove Hall Films (the producers of Count Duckula and Danger Mouse); they gave Sweep , and Scampi actual voices and kept Sooty the same, having to nod his head to say "yes" or "no" or miming what his ideas are.

Sooty is currently aired on weekdays at 9.25am (repeats of Series 1) and 8.25am (repeats of Series 2) and brand new episodes air at 7.25am on weekends Contents First appears on the BBC's Talent Night (1952) Sooty and Harry become regulars on the BBC children's show Saturday Special (1952-1955) The Sooty Show is aired on the BBC (1955-1967) In 1957 Sooty is joined by Sweep, and in 1964 Soo is introduced as Sooty's girlfriend The Sooty Show is cancelled by the BBC, changes to Thames Television and is aired on ITV (1968–1992) In 1976 Matthew took over his father's role. In 1990, Sooty's little cousin Scampi arrived causing mischief, originally just a one-off character, but joined the line-up one year later. Sooty & Co.

is aired on ITV with Granada Television (1993–1998) Sooty's Amazing Adventures, an animated cartoon series is aired (1996–1997) In 1998, Matthew retired and hand-picked Richard Cadell and Liana Bridges to replace him Sooty Heights was aired on ITV (1999–2000) Sooty was aired on ITV (2001-2004) Sooty, and occasionally Sooty Heights, can currently be seen weekdays, 3pm on the CITV Channel in the UK. Richard Cadell buys the rights to Sooty, and promises a new stage show, and a new TV series. Sooty returns to the west end in two back to back Christmas seasons Sooty (2011) Series 1 airs on CITV Sooty 2011 series 2 airs on CITV Sooty Live Tour (2014) is announced for the first UK tour since 2009 Sooty performed at Manchester Winter Wonderland in 2013.

TV series Sooty (2001-2004) Sooty (2011) (in licensing reasons, Sooty and Sweep) 2011- There was also an animated cartoon series, Sooty's Amazing Adventures, aired from 1996–1997. Sooty appeared on US television on The Mickey Mouse Club, each Tuesday during the first two seasons. Stage shows Sooty also had a successful number of (mainly Christmas) stage shows across the UK. During Matthew Corbett's reign, seven stage shows were performed repetitively. For the first half of the tours, Matthew and Connie Creighton would present, and during the second half, while Matthew was busy writing and filming the TV shows, Connie and Spencer K. Gibbens would present.

Sooty's Creepy Castle (1984/1985 - 1991/1992) Sooty's Picnic (1985/1986 - 1992/1993) Sooty's World Cruise (1986/1987 - 1993/1994) Sooty's Wild West Show (1987/1988 - 1994/1995) Sooty in Space (1988/1989 - 1995/1996) Sooty's Circus (1989/1990 - 1996/1997) The House That Sooty Built (1990/1991 - 1997/1998) After Matthew retired, six stage shows toured the country. All starring Richard Cadell, three of them also featured Richard's Sooty Heights co-star, Liana Bridges , with the fourth starring Amanda Howard in Liana's place.

Sooty's Magical Mystery Tour (1998/1999) Sooty's Treasure Hunt (1999/2000) The Magic and Mayhem Tour (2001/2002) The Izzy Wizzy Tour (2002/2003) The Comedy and Chaos Tour (2003/2004) From 2005 to 2008, annual shows, featuring the puppet characters and various different presenters, toured around the UK. The Wet and Wild Show (2005) The Izzy Wizzy Holiday Show (2006) Sooty's Magic Castle (2007) Sooty's Magic Wand Factory (2008) From 2009, stage shows will again feature Richard Cadell , as he tours the country with Sooty and the gang. The first, Sooty in Space, is a reworking of one of Matthew Corbett's scripts.

Sooty in Space (2009) Sooty's Wacky Workshop (Cadbury World only) (2014) Sooty's Fun House (Cadbury World only) (2015) It is stated on the Sooty website message boards that Richard Cadell hopes to remake more of Matthew Corbett 's script. The Sooty Live Tour (2014) is a similar plot to Sooty's Birthday bake off in 2013 Sooty's Fun House will be presented by Bonnie Spencer while Richard is preparing For the Sooty Movie . Books In the early to mid 1960s, there were at least five Sooty annuals published by the London Daily Mirror. These feature an expanded cast of characters including: Sooty, who was shown as white not yellow and wore red trousers. Sweep, also white not grey, who walked on all fours like a normal dog, but could stand as a biped to play the bugle and so on. Cokey the clown, another close friend of Sooty. Mr Fusspot, Mayor of TV Town where the action takes place. PC Nab, one of the police of TV Town.

Calico Joe, a fully clothed cat who smokes, always stands erect as a biped, and is the normal villain. Ali Artful, a black man who wears a fez and everyone knows is a thief. A Sooty annual also appeared in 1991-92. Trivia Sooty was originally bought by Harry Corbett on Blackpool North Pier for 7s 6d. Sooty was originally a completely yellow glove puppet until Harry's wife covered his nose and ears with soot so he would show up more on black and white televisions. This is how Sooty got his name. Sooty can only talk in a very light whisper which can only be heard when someone puts their ear up to his mouth. Sooty has a very big fondness for honey. Sooty has recieved an OBE - an Order of the Bears Empire! In Sooty's late-sixties' and early-seventies' shows, a musical act featured were The Sooty Braden Showband. This featured Sooty and friends on various instruments playing alongside Musical Director Alan Braden and his band. The Sooty Show would close with a rousing performance from the band.

Twice during the Sooty Heights era, ITV2 declared Christmas Day as being "Sooty Day" - and dedicated its schedule to episodes and documentaries about Sooty. Sooty appeared on Kellogg's "Puffa Sugar Stars" cereal in the 1960s, then on "Puffa Puffa Rice" cereal starting in 1973. The Doug Anthony Allstars wrote a song describing Sooty as a skinhead. There used to be an extremely popular 'World of Sooty' museum in Shipley, West Yorkshire open in the early 1990s, but this was later replaced by an animatronic cat exhibition, which was in turn replaced by a marketing agency. There were also Sooty related attractions at the now defunct Granada Studios Tour in Manchester, and also at The American Adventure Theme Park in Derbyshire until the late 1990s. The park has since closed. The original Sooty now resides in the northern UK village of Brancepeth near Durham, with owner Charlotte Lonsdale also possessing a more recent version of the famous puppet.

In March 2007, a man dug up a potato identical to Sooty. On Thursday January 13th, 2011, the blue team (headed by antiques expert Anita Manning) on BBC1's "Bargain Hunt" purchased puppets of Sooty and Sweep and a Sooty xylophone for £40. The auctioneer's valuation was £20 based on the fact that "Sooty isn't very commercial any more". When sold at auction, they made £10 (making them a loss of £30). Overall, the blue team lost with a total of £39. When initially purchased, the new-style Sooty theme tune could be heard. On Tuesday April 9th, 2013, Sooty and Sweep and Soo appeared as the judging panel in one episode of "The Matt Lucas Awards" Season 2. Throughout the franchise, Sooty has always been aged 5. In 2009, Sooty along with Sweep and Soo appeared in Peter Kay's Animated All Star Band music video on "Children in Need".

Sooty was voiced by X-Factor announcer Peter Dickson in the Sooty episode, The Genie . Sooty has a Lifelong Membership Card from the International Brotherhood of Magicians. Sooty has stated that his favourite magic trick is to make an egg appear on somebody's head, so that it can then smashed by Sweep. It is joked in Record Breakers that he's a record holder for being silent for 60 years. Sooty and the gang starred in the "Make it!" episode of "Text Santa - Help with Hattitude" in 2013. In most illustrations which depict the puppet characters from head to toe, Sooty is often shown wearing red dungarees. Gallery Sooty's Television Debut - YouTube Sooty's Television Debut Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later.

Uploaded on Jan 27, 2009 Harry Corbett and the original Sooty make their debut on American television on the Mickey Mouse Club. Category The Sooty Show- Opening Titles 1950s - YouTube The Sooty Show- Opening Titles 1950s Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Jan 3, 2011 Some early intro titles for the Harry Corbett Sooty Show from the 1950s. Copyright to the respective owners, 1950s. Category Sooty and sweep - HD Photos and Wallpaper Directory Sooty and Sweep Author: Kevin, from Manchester Description: Anyone from England will know about the children's TV show called Sooty & Sweep. Well this is the lovely cottage of Matthew Corbett in Lymm in Cheshire. A little bit of history for you...

Sooty was originally devised by Harry Corbett (nephew of Guiseley fish and chip shop chain owner Harry Ramsden, who bought the puppet as a present for his son, Matthew Corbett, from a stall when he was on holiday in Blackpool in 1948. Sooty, a small yellow bear with black ears and nose, is mute to the audience but can communicate with his operator by apparently whispering in his ear. He first appeared on screen on the BBC in 1952 on the BBC's Talent Night. This particular show came from the TV Theatre at the annual British Radio Show held on this occasion at Belle Vue, Manchester. For ten days there had been nightly heats of hopefuls in the theatre culminating in each of the winners performing live on the Saturday night variety show transmitted nationally. Harry Corbett won his heat and then, by public vote, the overall winner on the live TV show. Sooty and Harry then became regulars on the BBC children's show Saturday Special from 1952-1955.

Following Harry Corbett's retirement in 1976, Sooty was operated by Corbett's son Matthew, and enjoyed a new wave of popularity on stage and TV. The Sooty Show continued until 1992, evolving into a sitcom format. Like his father, Matthew took on a paternal role to the puppets, sharing a house with Sooty, Sweep, Soo (and latterly little cousin Scampi) and becoming the butt of many practical jokes. Matthew developed a well-meaning but slightly conceited screen character, whose boasting and pomposity was frequently punctured by the mayhem caused by Sooty and Sweep. Matthew Corbett retired in 1998, bequeathing Sooty to then co-star Richard Cadell, who presented the show through another five series, at first under the name Sooty Heights, then under the name, Sooty, both set at a hotel. He was joined in these by two female co-hosts, starting with Liana Bridges from 1999-2000 who worked in Sooty & Co.

in the same period he did, and then Vicki Lee Taylor from 2001–2004. Cadell, who is a lifelong enthusiast of Sooty, said it was a dream come true to be able to own the rights to Sooty. Credit: Sooty and friends are put up for sale | UK news | The Guardian Sooty and friends are put up for sale Thursday 4 October 2007 19.04 EDT First published on Thursday 4 October 2007 19.04 EDT Share on Messenger Close Sooty, the silent puppet bear with a penchant for magic tricks and water pistols who has featured on British TV since the 1950s, is being put up for sale along with his friends Sweep and Soo. The rights are being sold by Hit Entertainment, home to Bob the Builder, Pingu and Thomas the Tank Engine. Although Sooty still appears on ITV's digital-only children's channel, a new series was cancelled last year, damaging the value of the brand. A sale could give a new lease of life to Sooty and the squeaking grey dog Sweep and Soo the panda.

Sooty first featured on the BBC under the watch of Harry Corbett, who had bought the puppet on Blackpool Pier to amuse his son Matthew. The show moved to ITV in 1968 and Matthew later succeeded as presenter. Sooty, a mischievous yellow bear with black ears, would never speak except into the ear of Harry or Matthew Corbett and performed magic tricks to the catchphrase "Izzy wizzy, let's get busy". He would get into scrapes with Sweep, who spoke only in squeaks, the sensible Soo and, in more recent series, his schoolboy cousin Scampi. Despite plenty of chaos - often involving Sooty squirting water pistols - the havoc wreaked by the characters would always be amiably resolved. The show once fell foul of TV watchdogs, when in 1999 Sooty and Sweep were shown acting oddly after sniffing essential oils from what looked like medicine bottles. Hit Entertainment bought the rights for £1.4m from Matthew Corbett in 1996 as part of a joint venture with Guinness Flight Venture Capital Trust. They are thought to have lost value since ITV cancelled the new series last year.

Sooty, combined with another character, Mumfie the elephant, generated sales of £380,000 in 2005, with a pre-tax profit of £45,000. Since Matthew Corbett left the show in 1998, it has been presented by Richard Cadell. In its most recent incarnation, Sooty is set in a hotel where the characters' antics end up causing trouble for the manager, played by Cadell. Other children's characters which have been revived in recent years after changing ownership include Basil Brush, The Mr Men and Rupert Bear. The sale of Sooty comes as the media watchdog Ofcom warned of an impending crisis in homegrown children's television, with an ever smaller proportion of children's programmes made in the UK. ITV has put all its children's programmes on to a digital channel, while the BBC is believed to be considering moving its children's programmes from BBC1 to BBC2.

Whirligig Home > Children's Programmes > Whirligig One of the first exponents of variety on children's television was Whirligig, a fortnightly Saturday afternoon treat, which began in November 1950, devised by Michael Westmore and which was the very first children's programme to be broadcast live from the BBC studios in Lime Grove. Merely to mention Whirligig is to invite sighs of nostalgia. Whirligig alternated with other Saturday afternoon children's programmes. The first was called Telescope and was later replaced by Saturday Special , presented by Peter Butterworth. (l. to r.) Mr. Turnip, Humphrey Lestocq (HL), Sheilah Ward, Peter Hawkins, Patricia Driscoll, Steve Race, Hank, Francis Coudrill, Cassy, Sooty and Harry Corbett The programme included the following: Hank Rides Again HOWDY FOLKS!! Would you like your old pal Hank to tell you a story? You would? Well it was likey this.....

So began Hank the Cowboy tales with his goofy horse (his 'old timer'), Silver King and Big Chief Dirty Face ("Me Big Chief Dirty Face, Me always in disgrace") along with Mexican Pete the Bandit who sang to the tune of The Mexican Hat Dance: "I'm Mexican Pete, zee bad bandit Zee bad bandit I always 'ave bin I tie Senor Hank to zee railroad An' zat is zee end of 'im !" "I'm Mexican Pete ze bad bandit I've captured the little Cassy Senor Hank he must pay ze fat ransom Before little Cassy I free" "I'm Mexican Pete ze bad bandit Zees onions they makea me cry Please letta me out of zis kitchen Poor Mexican Pete he will die!" Other characters were Hank's nephew, Cassy, Freddie Parrot and Little He-He (son of Big Chief Laughing Gas and Minnie Ha-Ha) These characters were all the creation of Francis Coudrill (assisted by Alfred Wurmser). He used a simple technique of animated drawing by manipulating limbs, head and facial features on an otherwise static background. The method did not require time-consuming stop-frame animation.

Coudrill had been a ventriloquist from the age of seven, and became a skilled painter as well as a science master at a Birmingham school. His work on the music hall stage led to trial TV programmes in the early '50s. The 'Hank' spots usually began and finished with his Hank dummy but the adventures, filmed by Coudrill at his Beaconsfield home, were animated. Many of the scenes involved quite complicated mechanics with cams and cogwheels moving the eight-inch-high figures. Coudrill produced the shows from start to finish, including the music and all the voices. Metal model made by Sacul in the '50s ADIOS AMIGOS! YIPPEEEE!! Francis Coudrill moved down to St. Ives in Cornwall around the late sixties /early seventies and ran The Mermaid studio in Fish Street for some years (it is now the Mermaid Restaurant). He then moved to Cadgwith on the Lizard peninsula and opened Studio Golva where he died around 1991 and all his artwork, puppets and other paraphernalia were auctioned off by his family who still run the studio.

We have been contacted by Phil Jenkins who is offering life-sized charicatures of faces painted on plywood by Francis Coudrill (see below). Anyone interested should contact Mr. Turnip via email and your information will be passed on to Phil. A very detailed Francis Coudrill website can be found here More Hank Information at Mr. Turnip Then there was the obnoxious string puppet Mr. Turnip (the invention of Joy Laurey ) and his hapless stooge Humphrey Lestocq, known to all as HL. Mr Turnip was often joined by his friends Sarah Swede and Colonel Beetroot. The voice of Mr. Turnip was created by Peter Hawkins who also went on to provide the voices for 'Bill and Ben the Flowerpot Men' and many other TV characters. HL's catchphrase was "Goody, Goody Gumdrops" and Mr.Turnip's was "Lawky, Lawky, Lum". Mr.

Turnip Merchandise Merchandise consisted of Mr Turnip Annuals, Painting by numbers sets, Picture play bricks, Soap, Felt bendy toys, a metal puppet, jointed cardboard cutouts on the back of cereal packets, a rubber doll, and Pelham puppets along with a few board games. Tower Press - Mr Turnip Boxed Jigsaw Cardboard cutout puppet from a cornflakes packet and a felt doll Advertisement for Joy Laurey's Puppet Studio Extract from a 1950 'Evening Standard' article by George Campey The first sci-fi series on British TV was a product of the Whirligig programme. Called 'Strangers From Space', the story was about Ian Spencer and his Martian friend Bilaphodorus who had crashed his spacecraft on earth. It was popular enough to gain a second series and in total 17 episodes were made. The cast included Valentine Dyall, radio's ' Man in Black ', and later 'The Black Guardian' in 'Doctor Who'. The young audience were invited to send in their ideas for the next episode in an item within the programme called 'Write It Yourself'. Frank Coven introduced the lucky contestant whose story had been chosen to continue that week's serial.

Other Whirligig regulars were Steve Race at the piano and Edmundo Ros while Rolf Harris made his TV debut with Willoughby, a drawing board which sprang to life. Rolf Harris with his Willoughby character Tin plate dexterity toy by Mettoy UK Magician Geoffrey Robinson, with his "Box of Tricks" and his fawn coloured loveable docile rabbit called Whirly, used as his introductory theme tune, Dukas' "The Sorcerers Apprentice". Whirligig arranged children's competitions and other forms of viewer participation. In a musical composition project, young viewers were invited to submit their own compositions, each programme focusing on a specific musical instrument. Here is an example entry . Steve Race at his old "Joanna" Geoffrey Robinson with Whirly Also appearing were Peter Butterworth (later of 'Carry On' fame) and Peter Hawkins (man of many voices including the Flowerpot Men and ,later, the voice of Captain Pugwash ). Peter Hawkins appeared in a spot called "Can we Help You ?" with James Ottaway as 'Clibber', Tony Dawson as 'Smeeth'and Raymond Rollett as 'Sly'.

H.L with Peter Butterworth The words to the Whirligig song went: Whirligig, Whirligig: Round and round we go Whirligig Whirligig: Time to say "Hello!" Turnip, Hank and HL want us all to know It's welcome to Whirligig - and on with the show! Whirligig, Whirligig: Come and join the fun Whirligig Whirligig: Room for everyone Steve's at the Joanna, Hank's behind the gun When Geoffrey gets his box of tricks - The Show has begun! Whirligig, Whirligig: Boys and girls agree Whirligig Whirligig: That's the show to see Turnip, Hank and HL join us after tea Oh one hour of Whirligig is the hour for me. Whirligig was written by Peter Ling who went on to write countless television serials for children on both BBC and ITV and also later co-wrote 'Crossroads' with Hazel Adair. Producer was Desmond O'Donovan.

Here is the record from The BBC Archive for Whirligig as broadcast on 7th January 1956 17.06.00

Question: Who originally devised and presented Sooty on TV in the 1950s?
Answer: Harry Corbett.