Web Page 3113 23rd March First Picture: Sooty and Harry

Second Picture; Sooty book

Third Picture: Sooty and Matthew Corbet

Fourth Picture; Sooty Record

Sooty The Sooty Show was, created by Harry Corbett. He was a children’s entertainer and magician. the puppet was discovered by Harold Corbet in a shop in Blackpool and he started to include Sooty in his stage act. The original Sooty did not have black ears, they came later. On his break into television he produced Sooty programmes for the BBC from 1955 to 1967, and then for ITV from 1968 until 1992. The show, part of the Sooty franchise, always focused on the mischievous adventures of the glove puppet character, alongside his friends Sweep and Soo, and their handler. Between 1955 and 1975, Harry Corbett presented the programme until his retirement, before it was taken over by his son Matthew Corbett. It also co-starred Marjorie Corbett, Harrys wife, as the voice of Soo from the character's debut in 1964, until her retirement in 1981, whereupon Brenda Longman replaced her. The show originally focused on a sketch-based format featuring slapstick comedy, music, and stories, along with additional puppet characters, and later the incorporation of a studio audience. In 1981, Matthew changed the format towards a sitcom setting, in which he and the characters lived within a country cottage and engaged in a new adventure in each episode. The new arrangement retained some elements from the original format such as songs. The Sooty Show proved a success with children's television, due to the popularity of Sooty, as well as several stage shows, and a spin-off educational series titled Learn With Sooty. In 1967,Harry Corbett fell into disagreement with BBC producers over the presentation of the programme, and he signed a deal with ITV to move The Sooty Show to their channel. The Sooty Show proved popular with children and helped to develop the Sooty franchise, culminating in the formation of additional television programmes that would run on the format brought in by Matthew Corbett in the 1980s. After the programme's conclusion, it was followed with a sequel in 1993, titled Sooty & Co.. The programme also spawned an educational spin-off series for young children, titled Learn With Sooty, that was produced for the direct-to-video market between 1989 and 1991, and several stage shows involving the puppets, Matthew, and Connie Creighton. Its early success led to it receiving a short-run comic strip based on the character, for the children's magazine Playhour between 1960 and 1961, drawn by Gordon Hutchings. Outside the UK, the show was also given international broadcasts in other countries: these included ABC in Australia; TVNZ in New Zealand; and the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States.