Now those puppets and sundry other items from the show, including one of Sooty’s notorious water pistols, have been included in the sale at Ewbank’s. A talented musician and actor, Jago, a graduate of the Central School of Speech and Dramatic Arts in London, worked Britain’s theatres and holiday camps as well as cruise ships before being employed by Matthew Corbett for the Sooty Show. Probably his most unusual characteristic is his method of communication. It consists of a loud high pitched squeak that gains its inflection from normal speech and its rhythm from the syllables in each word. The rest of the cast could understand Sweep perfectly, and would indirectly translate for the viewer. But mischievous Sooty and exasperated Harry, who starred alongside his creation, hit a winning formula. This is a charming consignment from a talented man who devoted much of his professional life to keeping the Sooty flame alive for generations of children,” said Ewbank’s specialist Alastair McCrea.

Matthew Corbett (1976–1992) – 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. This is going to be a memorable sale,” said Alastair McCrea, “but we are keeping a close eye on Sooty and Sweep to make sure they don’t try to take over the rostrum!” As can be seen from his long association with the show, Peter Jago was held in high esteem by those he worked with. By maintaining his working materials so well over the years, he has left a legacy which will allow fans to hold onto their childhood memories.” Sooty, Sweep and Soo puppets will be available to buy along with the mischievous yellow bear's water pistol he often soaked presenter Matthew Corbett with, and a selection of magic wands used by the characters.The Sooty Show was created by Harry Corbett, a children's entertainer and magician, following the popularity of his puppet character Sooty on children's television and the decision by BBC Television to commission him for several episodes featuring the character. Corbett hosted several episodes for the BBC, originally under the title of Sooty, before later renaming it to the title that would be use throughout its broadcast history, along with creating additional characters that would become key elements to the children's media franchise sharing the character's name. In 1967, Corbett fell into disagreement with BBC producers over the presentation of the programme, and with the decision by Paul Fox, BBC1 controller at that time, to cancel the programme, he signed a deal with ITV to move The Sooty Show to their channel. [3] Production was handled by Thames Television shortly after its return in 1968, with Corbett presenting the programme until he was forced to retire in 1975, with his son Matthew Corbett presenting the programme until its conclusion in 1992, when Thames lost its franchise. 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. Matthew Corbett was already an established TV actor by the 1970s with appearances on Doctor Who and the Children's ITV show Rainbow.

Harry worked behind the scenes during Matthew's early years in charge, having retired from performing on-screen. Sooty's Christmas Party, Sooty's Christmas Special ( Billy Dainty) (Compilation DVD with ' Rainbow') Sure enough, there was an episode of The Sooty Show filmed in Heaton Park in 1992 so our memories did not deceive us.Original hand puppets used in The Sooty Show are part of a collection of props from the classic children's TV programme expected to fetch thousands at auction. Mr Jago worked as a musician and actor at theatres, holiday camps, and cruise ships before joining the show with Matthew Corbett, who took over from his father in the 1970s.

As can be seen from his long association with the show, Peter Jago was held in high esteem by those he worked with. 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.On Tuesday April 9th, 2013, Sweep along with Sooty and Soo appeared as the judging panel in one episode of "The Matt Lucas Awards" Season 2. It was on this show that Sweep gave us his excruciating impression of Pavarotti, which he had previously dreamed of doing in the Sooty & Co. episode "Stars in Their Eyes" on the 1990's talent show with the same name. Little Cousin Scampi – A mute white bear and Sooty's cousin. The character was created by Matthew Corbett and introduced in 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. In the early years of Sooty, Sweep also used to whisper in Harry Corbett's ear too and only squeaked as though he was barking. This later developed into Sweep squeaking full sentences for all to hear, which would immediately then be repeated by Harry Corbett in human language. Harry Corbett's brother, Leslie was Sweep's original puppeteer. Being a clarinet player, he achieved the sound of Sweep's voice using the reed of said instrument, until one day it disintegrated during one of the shows. After this, Leslie Corbett designed a new reed similar to what "Punch and Judy" puppeteers call a swazzle, which would enable the performer to change pitch of the voice, thus giving Sweep a whole vocal range.