Celebrity fans include Bee Gee Barry Gibb, who took a Sooty mascot onstage at a Royal Variety Performance, while George Harrison summed up Sooty’s appeal to grown-ups in his foreword to Geoff Tibballs’ book, The Secret Life of Sooty: “Sooty symbolises the speed at which I wish the world was still turning.” Cadell made his first appearance on The Sooty Show as a 15-year-old guest performer when he was named Young Magician of the Year by the Magic Circle. He forged lifelong friendships with the team and when Matthew, who is now 74, hung up his gloves in 1999, he suggested Cadell as his replacement.

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. [5] Bobby Davro hosted a Sooty parody sketch called "Sooty in Soho" on his sketch show in 1989, which saw him doing an impression of Matthew and depicting Sooty and Sweep owning a brothel. The sketch was interrupted by the real Matthew Corbett showing up and assuring the audience that the Sooty which Davro had was an imposter. He then produced the real Sooty, who promptly squirted both Davro and Matthew with his water pistol. When Richard Cadell was a little boy he had a set of Sooty and Sweep glove puppets. “My mum made me a puppet booth out of a clothes horse and I would waggle the puppets for whoever cared to watch,” he says. Fifty years later, he’s still waggling them, only now he does it professionally, on stage and television. Wasn’t it true,” Cadell cuts in, “that if you made a mistake Matthew would give you a little boot?”The yellow bear and his friends are celebrating seven decades in showbusiness this year and, in many ways, they are bigger than ever. The Sooty show, presented by Cadell, is still shown every day on ITVBe. The gang – Sooty, Sweep and the panda Soo – perform live up and down the country. And this summer sees the opening of Sooty Land, a multi-ride attraction at Crealy Theme Park in Exeter. As well as outdoor rides and various indoor activities, the venue will feature a museum full of sets and props from the TV series, including Sooty’s bedroom, bathroom and campervan. In 1956, Philips Records released a 78 r.p.m. record P.B.528. It contains (side 1) "Sooty" (by Corbett) performed by Marie Benson and also featuring Harry Corbett and Sooty with instrumental accompaniment, and (side 2) "Mr Dumpling" (by Heathcote) performed by Marie Benson with instrumental accompaniment.

Sooty and Sweep had appeared on a Rubber News sketch with Alastair Burnet on a Series 2 episode of Spitting Image. Over the years, there have been several attempts to meddle with the Sooty formula, but he’s always been saved by those who loved him. In 1968, the BBC wanted to replace the ageing Harry Corbett with a young, female presenter. An outraged Corbett took the show to ITV, where it was revitalised with a bigger budget. Then, in the 1990s, Matthew Corbett sold the rights, which eventually ended up with Bridge Films, a company owned by HiT Entertainment, the owners of Bob the Builder and Thomas the Tank Engine, and, under their stewardship, the TV show lost viewers and was eventually axed. Sooty and Sweep had appeared as the Prime Minister and Home Secretary, respectively of the Puppet Government in The Goodies episode " The Goodies Rule – O.K.?". Soo and Kipper the Cat also made cameo appearances. Brewer, Susan (2010). "9. Traditional toys that granny knew too". Collecting Classic Girls' Toys. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Books. ISBN 978-1-84468-068-9.Harry Corbett (1955–1975) – The show's first presenter and the creator of Sooty. Corbett ran the programme mostly within a sketch-based format throughout his era, later creating the characters of Sweep and Soo to accompany the show. His most notable contribution to the show, aside from the puppet characters, was the catchphrase he used to conclude an episode's run, which would continue to be used by his successors – "Bye bye, everybody. Bye bye." Harry returned to the programme as a guest star during his son Matthew's era, and was knighted with an OBE for his contributions with the programme and characters following his retirement. The third format used by the programme was introduced by Matthew in 1981, later becoming a staple for all future programmes in the Sooty franchise. Under the new format, Matthew discontinued the use of a studio audience and comedic sketches, in lieu of a sitcom format focused on a single misadventure, with himself, Sooty, Sweep and Soo sharing a suburban house together. Elements of the previous format, such as guest stars and music, were retained, with narration added in for scenes focused entirely on the puppets; story-telling was also retained, but phased out over the 1980s. The new format included the use of educational elements in some stories, and the creation of specially designed sets for the puppet characters, which would be later updated and maintained in subsequent programmes in the Sooty franchise – in particular, a bathroom set created for the programme was specially designed so that its miniature taps and shower dispensed running water. 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. From 2009, stage shows again featured Richard Cadell. The first, Sooty in Space, was a reworking of one of Matthew Corbett's scripts, and toured the country throughout the year. In an era of fragmented viewing habits, Cadell sees the new Sooty Land attraction at Crealy as a way of maintaining the character’s visibility in an increasingly distracted world. “I want to find a way for Sooty to survive forever,” he says.

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 appeared on the shoulders of Peter Kay as he ran down a corridor. Beginning as a stage manager on the show in 1976, he went on to become production manager and one of the main puppeteers. Jago often played the role of Sweep’s dad and operated Sweep’s squeaky voice (originally created using a saxophone reed). And yet all the while Jago, who died in 2016, continued to make sets for the show, painting scenery and props. He even wrote music and several scripts for the programme. Sooty’s catchphrase “Izzy wizzy, let’s get busy” comes to mind. Sooty and Sweep appeared as surprise guests on The Chris Moyles Show in his "Birthday Show" for BBC Radio 1 on 18 February 2011. [22] Cadell, 54, is only Sooty’s third handler in the character’s 70-year television career (a landmark that makes it the longest running children show in the world). He took over from Matthew Corbett, the son of Sooty’s creator, Harry Corbett, in 1999. From 2005 to 2008, annual shows, featuring the puppet characters and various different presenters, toured around the UK.The Sooty Show proved a success with children's television, due to the popularity of Sooty, spawning additional sequels including Sooty & Co. in 1993, as well as several stage shows, and a spin-off educational series titled Learn With Sooty. The programme itself was later made available on VHS and DVD, featuring episodes from primarily the 1980s to 1990s.

As a magician, Cadell brings large-scale illusions to Sooty’s stage show, including a flying car in which an audience member can take flight with Sooty. “I think the audience come expecting to see a preschool kids show and come away with a little bit more than they expected,” he says. German soft toy company Steiff have even got in on the act with their delightful ‘button in ear’ version holding the inevitable magic wand. Such is the continuing popularity of the Sooty show, parents can even buy knitting patterns to create their own versions. DVDs, books, party goodie bags and annuals are just a small part of the Sooty and Sweep merchandise that’s on offer to fans of the show. Matthew told me it was a family business, run around the kitchen table, and it needs that approach,” he says.Golden Bear was confirmed as the master licence holder for a brand new range of Sooty, Sweep and Soo toys. With their usual expert design and manufacturing techniques, they produced a gorgeous selection of huggable plush toys, many of which feature popular phrases from the show. Kids can also collect some smaller vinyl figurines of all the show's characters, as well as a selection of Sooty playsets. Butch – A dark brown male dog, like Sweep, but able to talk. Introduced by Harry Corbett in the early 1970s, the character was withdrawn by his son Matthew in 1980, returning to guest star in the role of a villain. The Sooty Show is a British children's television series, created by Harry Corbett, [1] and produced for the BBC from 1955 to 1967, and then for ITV from 1968 until 1992. [2] The show, part of the Sooty franchise, focuses on the mischievous adventures of the glove puppet character of the same name, alongside his friends Sweep and Soo, and their handler. Between 1955 and 1975, Corbett presented the programme until his retirement, before it was taken over by his son Matthew Corbett. It also co-starred Marjorie Corbett as the voice of Soo from the character's debut in 1964, until her retirement in 1981, whereupon Brenda Longman replaced her. Television history [ edit ] Harry Corbett era [ edit ] Sweep made his debut in 1957 and has remained a part of the franchise since his first appearance.