The Sooty Show

The idea for Sooty, the teddy bear puppet, came about in 1948 when Harry Corbett spotted him in Blackpool. The act first appeared on TV in 1952, with a series on BBC-TV from 1955, but the corporation took a dim view of the introduction of Sooty's girlfriend Soo in 1964. The show moved to Thames and has remained with ITV ever since. Harry's son Matthew Corbett took over as host in the 1970s and these episodes date from 1983, 1987 and 1990. Harry passed away in 1989, aged 71. My favourite character is Sweep, a squeaking and sometimes argumentative dog with long ears and a liking for water pistols, who joined the series in 1957…