The Sooty Show

The Sooty Show
The Sooty Show title card (1981–1984)
Presented by	Harry Corbett (1955–1975) Matthew Corbett (1976–1992)
Starring	Marjorie Corbett (The voice of Soo from 1964–1981) Brenda Longman (The voice of Soo from 1981–1992)
Composer(s)	Alan Braden
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	43
No. of episodes	481 (92 missing)
Production
Production location(s)	Teddington Studios
Running time	10–20 minutes
Production company(s)	BBC (1955–1967) Thames Television (1968–1992)
Distributor	BBC (BBC series) Fremantle Media (Thames series)
Release
Original network	BBC (1955–1967) ITV (1968–1992)
Original release	24 July 1955 (1955-07-24) – 30 November 1992 (1992-11-30)
Chronology
Followed by	Sooty & Co. (1993–1998)

The Sooty Show is a British children's television series that aired on BBC Television from 1955 until 1967 when the BBC eventually cancelled The Sooty Show after Paul Fox, the then-controller of BBC One at the time, cleared out some of the long running shows.

After it was cancelled by the BBC that year, The Sooty Show swiftly moved to ITV shortly after the launch of Thames Television in 1968, where the series remained until Thames lost its ITV franchise in 1992.

It features the glove puppet characters Sooty, Sweep (who first appeared in 1957) and Soo (first appeared in 1964), and follows them in their many mischievous adventures. The show was presented from the 1955 to 1975 by Harry Corbett, and from 1976 to 1992 by his son, Matthew, as he bought the rights for Sooty for £35,000 from his father, and acted as the token human being. In 1981, The Sooty Show changed from a sketch-based format with a studio audience into a more sitcom-based format set in the Sooteries cottage.

In 1992, The Sooty Show concluded its final series, when Thames Television lost its franchise as part of the ITV network. So, in 1993 (nearly a year after the series was concluded), the show was replaced/succeeded by Sooty & Co., also presented by Matthew Corbett and was made by Granada TV in Manchester, North-West of England.

Characters

• Sooty – A mute yellow male bear who is the main protagonist of the show. He owns a magic wand whose power is invoked using the words, "Izzy wizzy, let's get busy!"
• Sweep – A grey male dog with a penchant for bones and sausages. He is best known for communicating using bizarre squeaks (these were achieved by original puppeteer Leslie Corbett inserting a reed from an saxophone in his mouth). Sweep serves as Sooty's best friend.
• Soo – A calm and collected female panda with a normal human voice, who acts as the foil for both Sooty and Sweep. She usually wears a red skirt. Soo serves as Sooty's love interest. Originally voiced by Harry's wife Marjorie Corbett from 1964 to 1981 and voiced by Brenda Longman from 1981 until the show's end. Brenda still voices Soo to this day.
• Butch – A dark brown male dog, similar to Sweep, but able to talk. Introduced by Harry Corbett in the early 1970s, but withdrawn by Matthew Corbett in 1980 returning to play the part of a villain.
• Ramsbottom – A brown male snake who spoke in a deep Yorkshire accent and had the habit of telling rather convoluted stories and ditties.
• Little Cousin Scampi – Sooty's cousin, also mute like Sooty. Introduced in an episode of the same title in 1990 and he became a regular character from 1991.

Episodes

Broadcast

In the United Kingdom, The Sooty Show aired on BBC One between 1955 and 1967, and then on ITV between 1968–1992. In Australia the series aired on ABC, and in New Zealand in aired on TVNZ. In the United States it aired on ABC.

UK home media releases

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.

Other Sooty-based television series

A number of followup Sooty-based television series have resulted from The Sooty Show, including Learn With Sooty (1989–1991), Sooty & Co. (1993–1998), Sooty's Amazing Adventures! (1996–1997), Sooty Heights (1999–2000), Sooty's Magic Show! (2000–2002), and a 2001 version and a 2011 version with simply the title Sooty.

External links

• The Sooty Show on IMDb