Sooty & Co.

Sooty & Co is a British children's television series that was aired on ITV from 1993 to 1998 for six series, replacing/succeeding the 37 year old Sooty Show.

The programme centres on Matthew Corbett, and puppets Sooty, Sweep, Soo and Little Cousin Scampi, as they try to run a shop in Manchester, North-West of England. In 1998 Matthew Corbett decided to retire, and a new TV series began with new presenters called Sooty Heights. Matthew sold the rights to Sooty for almost one and a half million pounds.

Plot

Matthew Corbett runs a shop in Manchester, with puppets Sooty (a yellow bear that can perform magic), Sweep (a squeaking dog), Soo (a female panda), and Little Cousin Scampi (another, if smaller, bear). Sooty and the gang are often getting up to mischief, and it is usually Soo and Matthew that are the more sensible ones.

A regular visitor at Sooty and Co, is Mo (from the market) (played by Brenda Longman - the voice of Soo), and most episodes involve Matthew getting into a mess due to the puppets, whether it is having water poured over him or having cream cakes thrown at his face. Some episodes finish with a song, usually performed by Matthew and the group.

Mostly (but often quite normally) some other episodes conclude with the sooty gnag and Mattew waving "Bye Bye, Everybody, bye bye".

Characters

• Matthew Corbett the show's presenter.
• Connie Creighton a guest presenter
• Sooty - a mute yellow bear who is the protagonist of the show. He owns a magic wand whose power is invoked using the words "Izzy wizzy, let's get busy".
• Sweep - a dim-witted grey dog with a penchant for bones and sausages. He wears red wellingtons and communicates using bizarre squeaks.
• Soo - a calm and collected female panda who acts as the foil for both Sooty and Sweep. Usually wears a red skirt. Voiced by Brenda Longman.
• Little Cousin Scampi - Sooty's cousin, who is very cheeky and a serial troublemaker. He wears a navy blue school uniform and, like his Big Cousin Sooty, is mute.
• Mo from t'market - a regular customer with a blonde perm. Always introduces herself with "Hello, it's only me, Mo from t'market." Played by Brenda Longman (the voice of Soo).
• Dwayne Pipe - Mo's nephew. A stereotypical geek who is balding and wears thick glasses, and has 2 children Shane Dwayne and Jane Dwayne.

Episodes

Setting

The show was shot on the same studio set as Coronation Street. A few of the sets were visible whenever Matthew and the gang would go outside. A notable episode featured Les and Toyah Battersby appearing on the Season 6 Episode 'Estate Agents' and they were very rude to Matthew.

Controversy

A particular controversial episode of the show was "Soo's Babies", where Soo pretended to be pregnant. It received complaints from viewers, made it into the newspapers, and made E4's Top 20 Most 'Controversial TV Programmes' at number 20. On E4's show, Brenda Longman (who plays 'Mo' and voices 'Soo' in the show), said the idea came about because Matthew tended to write for his daughter. Matthew stated that he recalled his daughter wandering into his room with a pillow up her jumper, saying she was going to have a baby. He also said how it was a sort of educational piece.

In the same episode Soo says she feels she has got the whole of the Manchester football team inside her, a joke also seen as unsuitable for children by some. In the show's defence, Longman stated how the show was also watched by parents, and that there were jokes in it for parents. Uri Geller said the story was played in a 'nice' and 'humorous' way.

UK VHS & DVD Releases

Other Sooty-based shows

Below is a list of other Sooty-based shows, before and after Sooty & Co.

External links

• Sooty & Co. at the Internet Movie Database