Sooty News

I could be spectularly wrong on this and probably the most outrageous thing I might say in a while but something comes into my head that it was possibly a EBU directive saying that the voices of the characters must come from the person holding the puppet rather than a voiceover from somewhere else. This apparently was to add to the realism!

Again, I could be wrong!

Well I doubt you'd like the latest addition (Miki?). It is a cross between Scampy & Soo!

I can just see the headlines now:

SCAMPI AND SOO - ARE THE RUMOURS TRUE? IZZY WHIZZY LET'S GET BUSY (UNDER THE COVERS)

Shall we give Soo the number for the CSA then? I told you he was trouble. And a cousin too -- shocking behaviour.

What's her local authority then, is it Newport?

Whats a Scampy? Dear god I'm old.

I thought he had a serious illness(probably life threatening, but I could be wrong).

I seem to recall them making a big thing out of it on one prog a few years back.

Isn't the guy that does Sooty now also a magician as well. i think he's from the East Mids, if memory serves correctly (Richard somebody ?).

It has been some time since I've seen any Sooty. (Some of us do work 9 to 5, or 830 to 5 in my case !!)

I think Matthew just retired. It was his father Harry who retired due to ill health.

There was a special documentary to mark Matthew leaving Sooty. I think it was screened on a Bank Holiday. It was a proper documentary - not part of CITV.

http://www.rp-networkservices.com/tvforum/uploads/all_the_gang_1_2001.jpg

Scampy is the little bear with the cap. The grey cat is the new-ish puppet which is dull like Sweep but talks and has Soo's gob. (These are the cuddly puppets, not the horrible ones).

I'm thinking Scampi is a bit like Scrappy Doo to Scooby Doo. I couldnt stand Scrappy either.

I think Matthew had/has cancer, I think it may have been Lukiema. Apparently his son didn't want to take on the role on the show and so what happened happened.

BTW my mum is the source of this info so don't quote me on it!

I certainly wouldn't have negotiated with an American film studio if I was her. The Harry Potter films could really have put British cinema on the map. As it is the Yanks got there first.

That sounds more like it !

I remember seeing that documentary, The Sooty Show was good until 1992, that always seemed to be funnier, then Thames lost it's franchise, the rights were sold to Granada, they moved up north, and made a new programme called Sooty and Co, it was good for a few years, they always seemed to feature celebrities in it, I remember Matthew Kelly was in one, when they did their own Supermarket Sweep, but they couldn't get Dale. But I never knew why he retired, it's a shame as the show had gone downhill since. But his kids said strongly that they would not want to take over. But I think the woman who did Soo's voice did make regular appearances in the show, as the woman who had the curly hair and said Dwane Pipe alot. But they made the show funny and I thought it was a great show, but I do remember episodes such as Hot Cakes, and a box which had SOOT on it and they didn't realise that it said Soot. But I do have the first episode of Sooty and Co on video from the very first TX in Autumn 1993 and it is very good, I should watch it sometime.

But do Granada still own Sooty? As I have a funny feeling that they have sold the rights on to an Independent company. But can anyone confirm this?