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Harry Corbett

Sooty was originally devised by Harry Corbett (nephew of Guiseley fish and chip shop chain owner Harry Ramsden), who bought the puppet as a present for his son, Matthew Corbett, from a stall when he was on holiday in Blackpool in 1948.

Sooty, a small yellow bear with black ears and nose, is mute to the audience but can communicate with his operator by apparently whispering in his ear. He first appeared on screen on the BBC in 1952 on the BBC's Talent Night. This particular show came from the TV Theatre at the annual British Radio Show held on this occasion at Belle Vue, Manchester. For ten days there had been nightly heats of hopefuls in the theatre culminating in each of the winners performing live on the Saturday night variety show transmitted nationally. Harry Corbett won his heat and then, by public vote, the overall winner on the live TV show. Sooty and Harry then became regulars on the BBC children's show Saturday Special from 1952-1955.

The original bear was completely yellow, and Harry covered his ears and nose with soot so that he would show up better on black and white television - hence the puppet's name. He would later be joined by other puppet characters Sweep (a dog who communicates by a saxophone reed type squeak), Soo (a shy and sweetly spoken panda), Kipper (a cat), Butch (another dog who occasionally plays the part of a villain), Ramsbottom (a snake), 'Enry the Robot, Cousin Scampi (another bear), Miki (another cat - this time Brazilian) and Maggie Mouse. Like Sooty, Scampi appears to talk only in a very light whisper which can be heard only when someone puts their ear close to his mouth.

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Matthew Corbett

Following Harry Corbett's retirement in 1976, Sooty was operated by Corbett's son Matthew, and enjoyed a new wave of popularity on stage and TV. The Sooty Show continued until 1992, evolving into a sitcom format. Like his father, Matthew took on a paternal role to the puppets, sharing a house with Sooty, Sweep, Soo (and latterly little cousin Scampi) and becoming the butt of many practical jokes. Matthew developed a well-meaning but slightly conceited screen character, whose boasting and pomposity was frequently punctured by the mayhem caused by Sooty and Sweep.

Connie Creighton, who with her husband John had worked with Harry Corbett and Sooty for many years, continued to work on the programme, and co-starred in several episodes as well as touring with the stage show.

In 1993 Sooty, Sweep, Soo, Little Cousin Scampi and Matthew all moved to Manchester for Sooty & Co., with the gang running a shop that "sells almost everything". Brenda Longman, the voice of Soo since the early 1980s, co-starred as neighbour Mo.

In May 1996, Matthew Corbett sold the rights to Sooty to the Global Rights Development Fund,(a subsidiary of the Bank of Yokohama) and HIT Entertainment, for £1.4million. Corbett commented: "I have worked hand in glove with Sooty for the past 20 years, but now it is time for him to stand on his own two feet. The plan is to use my 50th birthday in two years' time as a springboard to shoot Sooty to true international stardom."The deal included Corbett staying until 1998.

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Richard Cadell

Matthew Corbett retired in 1998, bequeathing Sooty to then co-star Richard Cadell, who presented the show through another five series, at first under the name Sooty Heights, then under the name, Sooty, both set at a hotel. He was joined in these by two female co-hosts, starting with Liana Bridges from 1999-2000 who worked in Sooty & Co. in the same period he did, and then Vicki Lee Taylor from 2001–2004. Cadell, who is a lifelong enthusiast of Sooty, said it was a dream come true to be able to own the rights to Sooty.

Repeats of Sooty Heights and Sooty were shown on the CITV channel between 2006 and 2010.

In June 2008 it was announced that Richard Cadell had bought the rights to Sooty, which had been put up for sale by HIT Entertainment in October 2007. Plans for three new TV show formats - a sitcom-style show similar to previous series, featuring the gang working at a handyman agency, a live variety show and a pre-school game show - were under way, plus a reworking of one of Matthew Corbett's stage shows. A brand new Sooty adventure, Sooty's Big Day Out, was released on DVD and was made available via the official Sooty Show website.

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A 26-part series aired in 2011 on CITV, set in a holiday camp with Richard Cadell as the caretaker.