Sooty & Co.

Did You Know?

• After the rights to the series were sold to a Japanese bank in 1996, an episode was described by The Independent as 'Sooty has discovered sex'.
• Richard Cadell and Liana Bridges appeared on five episodes of the show in 1998 as guest performers.
• The programme received the Best Children's Comedy award at the British Comedy Awards in 1998.

Premise

He and the puppets Sooty, Sweep, Soo and Little Cousin Scampi run the shop, buying and selling anything and everything, but with little luck. Each episode involves hijinks such as trying to make money from the shop or dealing with an issue, and includes songs and educational insights. In some episodes the characters travel outside Manchester, for example on holiday to Spain. Brenda Longman, the voice of Soo, also plays a regular physical character named Mo, a market seller who often makes Matthew buy something from her. The programme introduced a specially designed campervan for the characters, and guest stars included Jack Dee, Paul Zerdin, Harry Hill, Neil Buchanan, and Jim Bowen. In the sixth and final series, Richard Cadell and Liana Bridges appeared as junior shop staff to test viewer reaction ahead of Corbett's retirement.

Controversy

The episode 'Soo's Babies' generated complaints from viewers and was reported in the national press, later appearing at number 20 on E4's Top 20 'Most Controversial TV Programmes'. In it, Soo pretended to be pregnant. Brenda Longman said the idea came from Matthew writing for his daughter, who had walked into his room with a pillow up her jumper saying she was going to have a baby; Matthew described it as an educational piece. The episode included a line from Yvonne (played by Beverly Hills) about having the whole of the Manchester Football Team inside her, a joke that could be seen as sexual innuendo and was later said by Soo.

Longman defended the show by noting it was watched by parents as well as children, with jokes for parents. Uri Geller said the story was played in a 'nice' and 'humorous' way. Another episode, 'Nature's Way?', showed characters inhaling fragrances from aromatherapy bottles; the Independent Television Commission upheld 11 complaints from viewers, including aromatherapists, who said children could be influenced to copy the behaviour.