Sweep made his first appearance on Channel Four as himself in the eighth episode of the second series of The Harry Hill Show. 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.

On 30 September 2008, Brenda Longman, assisted by Soo, appeared on BBC One's Bargain Hunt, buying antiques at London's Portobello Road Market and then selling them at Bellmans Auction House in Sussex. You just think wow, this little character does so much for so many people on so many different levels.’ Die-hard Sooty fans will easily recognise Richard as Sooty’s best friend wherever he is, and in whatever context, so is it possible for him to ever spend a little time away from the bear? He pretty much looks identical to this, and pretty much does the same thing – so Sooty has been able to live in children’s bedrooms and in schools, and in all manner of places, on the hands of fans and be exactly the same thing. I think that’s the key – and he’s never changed.’ Tryhorn, Chris (4 October 2007). "Hit Entertainment has put the rights to kids' TV puppet Sooty up for sale". The Guardian.Japanese buy Sooty for pounds 1.4m". The Independent. 24 May 1996. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022.

These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience – the local community. After Matthew retired, six stage shows toured the country. All starred 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. 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. 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. So, he’s been able to move from seamlessly from hand to hand over the generations and be exactly the same. He hasn’t changed – he looks the same, very similar to how you looked 75 years ago, and you’re still doing the same stuff.’

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Wink Taylor, Alex Skerratt and Richard Cadell are writing the film. Matthew Corbett will appear in the movie, Cadell has confirmed. Sooty, Sweep and Soo were the guest judges on the fifth episode of the second series of The Matt Lucas Awards, a TV programme originally shown on BBC One on Tuesday, 9 April 2013. MORE : Strictly Come Dancing ‘signs up Coronation Street star’ after quitting soap and splitting from partner Sooty appeared on Kellogg's "Puffa Sugar Stars" cereal in the 1960s, then on "Puffa Puffa Rice" cereal starting in 1973. 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.