The Sooty Show
The Sooty Show is a British children's television series, created by Harry Corbett, presented by both him and his son Matthew Corbett, and featuring the voice talents of Marjorie Corbett and Brenda Longman. The programme was initially produced for the BBC from 1955 to 1967, and then for ITV through Thames Television from 1968 until its final episode on 30 November 1992. The show focuses on the mischievous adventures of glove puppet character Sooty and his friends Sweep since 1957, Soo since 1964, and Little Cousin Scampi since 1990, and featured a variety of additional glove puppet characters and guest stars.
When the programme premiered on 24 July 1955, it was broadcast in a sketch-based format with a studio audience, and remained so throughout Corbett's era as presenter from 1955 to 1975. After his retirement from entertainment, Matthew retained the format, upon buying the rights to Sooty from his father, until it was decided to change the programme's format in 1981 towards a more sitcom-based format that would take place within a country cottage called "Sooteries", which included a few educational elements and the use of songs and narrations, conducted by Matthew, in various scenes involving the puppet characters only.
The Sooty Show proved a success with children's television, creating sequels such as Sooty & Co. in 1993 after the programme's conclusion, several stage shows, and even a spin-off during its later years entitled Learn With Sooty, as well as a collection of VHS and DVDs featuring episodes set around the programme's second format. Ramsbottom the snake first appeared in the 1970s and the voice was by Bill Garret, the shows model and prop maker who has a very strong Yorkshire accent
Premise
When the children's programme first premiered, Harry Corbett focused the format towards a series of comedy sketches aimed at entertaining children, conducting most of the filming within a studio and in the presence of a young audience. The format remained unchanged during the programme's tenure with the BBC, and continued to remain so after it moved over to ITV in 1968, and following Harry's retirement in 1976. Matthew Corbett maintained the format until 1981, when it was decided that it be changed towards a sitcom-based style of programme, dropping the use of a studio audience and a series of misadventures, and exchanging these for a single misadventure for each subsequent episode. As part of the change, the show incorporated the use of scenes taking place within a home that both Matthew and Sooty, alongside Soo and Sweep, lived in, alongside additional scenes filmed in various outdoor locations.Under the sitcom format, the group lived within a house that incorporated various rooms for them, including an attic space, a kitchen/dining area, bedrooms, and bathrooms, of which specially designed sets were created for use by the puppet characters, that were later updated and maintained in subsequent Sooty programmes - the bathroom created for this setup was specially designed so that the miniature faucets and shower head both dispensed running water. The main premise of each episode was that the group were attempting something new that would go wrong, or attempting to fix a problem that they had encountered. Some episodes also tended to be educational in various ways - the episode "What a Load of Rubbish" was aimed at teaching children about helping to keep the environment clean of rubbish. The new format also drew in the involvement of a variety of guest stars, including Mike Reid, Dennis Taylor, Mark Chamberlain, June Whitfield, Rory McGrath, Bonnie Langford and most notably Richard Cadell. The use of guest stars were more frequent during the 1980s, but reduced within the show's final three series.
Cast
Presenters
- Harry Corbett - 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, that 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.
- Matthew Corbett - The show's second presenter. Matthew took over in 1976, having initially worked in children's television, and maintained the same format as his father up until 1981. After the show's format was changed to a sitcom-based arrangement, Matthew transformed himself on screen into a well-meaning father figure, but also a somewhat sarcastic character who was slightly conceited with pomposity and boasting, to complement the mayhem created by Sooty and Sweep.
- Marjorie Corbett - The first voice of Soo, whom her husband Harry had created as a talking female panda. She remained a part of the show until after the first series of the format change. According to Brenda Longman, who took over the voice of Soo, the reason Marjorie was replaced was because her heavy smoking caused her to be short of breath. It was also felt that she made Soo sound too old.
- Brenda Longman - The second voice of Soo starting from the second series of the format change, following Majorie's retirement from the role, who also made frequent guest appearances as various characters within the show's sitcom format. Longman remained with the programme until its conclusion, and continued to work with Matthew and his successor Richard Cadell on subsequent sequels of The Sooty Show and other Sooty productions in the same role.
Puppet Characters
- Sooty – A mute yellow male bear, and the main protagonist of the show alongside its human presenters. The show introduced his trademark traits of tapping a surface to whisper into the presenter's ear what he wishes to say, owning a magic wand, the use of his magic words "Izzy wizzy, let's get busy!", and his fondness for using a water pistol.
- Sweep – A grey male dog, and Sooty's best friend, who was created in 1957. His trademark voice of bizarre squeaks was achieved by his original puppeteer Leslie Corbett, through a reed from a saxophone in his mouth to create the sounds.
- Soo – A calm and collected female panda with a normal human voice, who was created in 1964. The character's design was towards being a foil for both Sooty and Sweep, but with a motherly-like nature to her personality. She was originally voiced by Harry's wife Marjorie Corbett until 1981, whereupon after the show's format changed, she was voiced by Brenda Longman until the show's conclusion in 1992.
- Butch – A dark brown male dog, similar to 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.
- Mr. Woof - A Yorkshire terrier who is a friend of Sweep, he barks in communication, eats and sleeps.
- Ramsbottom – A brown male snake who spoke in a deep Yorkshire accent and had the habit of telling rather convoluted stories and ditties. The character was created by Harry Corbett, but retired by his son Matthew. He was originally voiced by Bill Garrett, the company model and prop maker who used his own strong Yorkshire accent and made the original puppet.
- Little Cousin Scampi – A mute white bear and Sooty's cousin. The character was created by Matthew Corbett and introduced in the Series 15 episode of the same name in 1990, and was designed to be a mischievous bear who liked pranks, making inventions and caring for mice. The character became a regular member of the puppet characters from 1991, and beyond the programme's conclusion in 1992.
Episodes
Broadcast
From its premiere in 1955, The Sooty Show was aired on BBC One until 1967, when it was cancelled by Paul Fox, the controller of BBC One at the time. Part of the reason for the cancellation was due to his decision to clear out long-running television programmes on the channel to make way for new shows. The programme remained on hiatus until it was picked up by ITV in 1968, who assigned its broadcast over to Thames Television shortly after its launch. The programme continued to be produced by Thames for ITV until They lost their franchise rights in 1992. Alongside broadcasts in the UK, the show was also given international broadcasts in Australia on ABC, in New Zealand on TVNZ, and in the United States on American Broadcasting Company.Comics
A comic strip based on Sooty ran in the children's magazine Playhour between 1960 and 1961, drawn by Gordon Hutchings.Legacy
The success of The Sooty Show led to the formation of the Sooty franchise. The programme spawned several sequels after its conclusion in 1992, which all stuck to the same sitcom format of The Sooty Show - a sequel in 1993 entitled Sooty & Co.; a second sequel entitled Sooty Heights, later renamed Sooty from 1999 to 2004; and a third sequel, also entitled Sooty in 2011. In addition, it also spawned several spin-offs - an educational programme entitled Learn With Sooty from 1989 to 1991; an animated spin-off entitled Sooty's Amazing Adventures! that ran from 1996–97; and a spin-off entitled Sooty's Magic Show!. In addition, the programme spawned several forms of merchandising and stage productions.UK home media releases
| DVD Title | Release Date | Episodes |
| Cult Kids Classics 2 | 5 March 2001 | Superdog |
| Sweep Superdog | 13 August 2001 | Superdog and the Comedian, Bouncers, Hot Stuff, Sweep's Family, Honking Nose, Swinging the Lead |
| The Original Sooty Show – Wet & Wild Water Fun | 15 July 2002 | A Very Special Day, Three Men in a Boat, Water Sports |
| Classic Kids Hits: from School Disco | 8 September 2003 | Super Star |
| Sooty – Wet & Wild Water Fun | 2 April 2007 | A Very Special Day, Three Men in a Boat, Water Sports |
| The Sooty Show – Izzy Wizzy | 7 July 2008 | Izzy Wizzy, Little Terrors, Sooty's Magic Lamp |
| The Sooty Show – Happy Birthday, Sooty | 7 July 2008 | Happy Birthday, Sooty, Sooty Wants a Pet, Honking Nose |
| The Sooty Show – Izzy Wizzy Re-Release | 19 April 2010 | Izzy Wizzy, Little Terrors, Sooty's Magic Lamp |
| The Sooty Show – Happy Birthday, Sooty Re-Release | 19 April 2010 | Happy Birthday, Sooty, Sooty Wants a Pet, Honking Nose |
| Sooty – The Big Surprise | 19 April 2010 | The Big Surprise, Hidden Talent, Sticky Situation, Little Cousin Scampi, Fanatical Fun |
| The Sooty Show – Izzy Wizzy Let's Get Busy | 13 July 2015 | Izzy Wizzy, Little Terrors, Sooty's Magic Lamp |
Also, in January 2008, a promotional DVD containing 5 early-1980s episodes was distributed by The Times newspaper, for Fremantle Media. The episodes featured were: Bob a Job; Safety First; Sleep Walking; Connie Comes to Tea; and Sooty's Christmas Panto.