Izzy wizzy let’s get sold! Three puppets from Sooty Show sell for £5,000

Three puppets from The Sooty Show given to two children by their creator 45 years ago have sold for £5,000.

Harry Corbett gave the Sooty, Sweep and Soo glove puppets to Vicky Golding, then four, and her brother Max Jowett, then six, in 1974 after their mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Corbett even staged personal shows at their home in Otley, West Yorkshire, as the children’s father, Derek Jowett, was his financial adviser.

Three vintage puppets have sold for £5,000. The Soo (left), Sooty (centre) and Sweep (right) puppets were gifted to Vicky Golding, then four, and her brother Max Jowett, then six, in 1974

Harry Corbett, the creator of the show, gave them the puppets after their mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1974. Pictured is the Sooty, right, and Sweep, left, puppets

Harry Corbett, the creator of the show, gave them the puppets after their mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1974. Pictured is the Sooty, right, and Sweep, left, puppets

Harry Corbett, the creator of the show, gave them the puppets after their mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1974. Pictured is the Sooty, right, and Sweep, left, puppets 

Vicky and Max (blue jumper) are pictured on their last holiday with their mother Jackie Jowett. The childrens' father, Derek Jowett, was Harry Corbett's financial adviser and he performed the puppet show for them at their home in Otley, West Yorkshire

Vicky and Max (blue jumper) are pictured on their last holiday with their mother Jackie Jowett. The childrens’ father, Derek Jowett, was Harry Corbett’s financial adviser and he performed the puppet show for them at their home in Otley, West Yorkshire 

Vicky Golding, 49, said that she played with Soo (pictured) all the time. Her brother, Max Golding, used to play with Sooty. Sweep, she said, got left out

Vicky Golding, 49, said that she played with Soo (pictured) all the time. Her brother, Max Golding, used to play with Sooty. Sweep, she said, got left out

The puppets, dating back to the 1960s and used in the TV show, had been in a box for decades before being auctioned on Tuesday along with signed photos.

Mrs Golding, now 49, said: ‘I remember Harry coming to our house and entertaining us with Sooty shows. Knowing dad so well, he must have been touched by our plight.

‘He gave us a set of vintage puppets. I played with Soo all the time. Max used to play with Sooty a lot. Sweep got a bit left out.

Pictured is an autograph from Sooty and Sweep creator, Harry Corbett, and a picture of him holding the three puppets

Pictured is an autograph from Sooty and Sweep creator, Harry Corbett, and a picture of him holding the three puppets

Harry Corbett and Sooty is pictured with Derek Jowett, right. Before the auction, the puppets, that had been on the show during the 1960s, were stored in a box

Harry Corbett and Sooty is pictured with Derek Jowett, right. Before the auction, the puppets, that had been on the show during the 1960s, were stored in a box

Vicky, three, and brother Max Jowett, five, are pictured around the time they enjoyed personal Sooty shows thanks to Harry Corbett. Vicky, now 49, has said that she plans to make a donation to MacMillan with the proceeds of the auction

Vicky, three, and brother Max Jowett, five, are pictured around the time they enjoyed personal Sooty shows thanks to Harry Corbett. Vicky, now 49, has said that she plans to make a donation to MacMillan with the proceeds of the auction 

‘Harry told us the puppets had been on the Sooty TV show. The puppets have been stuck in a box… it would be nice for them to go to someone who would treasure them. They deserve to be seen and enjoyed.’

Her mother Jackie died in 1980 aged 46. Mrs Golding said: ‘I plan to make a donation to Macmillan Cancer Support from the proceeds of the sale.’

The puppets were snapped up by a private collector in Yorkshire, who bought another rare Sooty for a record £14,500 last year.

In the same auction, a Sooty Mobile camper van used on the TV show by Corbett’s son Matthew in the 1970s sold for £1,100.

Pictured is Matthew Corbett's original TV Sooty Mobile. In addition to the sale of the puppets, the Sooty Mobile sold for £1,100

Pictured is Matthew Corbett’s original TV Sooty Mobile. In addition to the sale of the puppets, the Sooty Mobile sold for £1,100

Corbett created Sooty in 1948 after buying a puppet for 7s 6d (37.5p) during a holiday in Blackpool to entertain his children.

The yellow bear was famed for doing magic tricks, accompanied by the catchphrase ‘Izzy wizzy, let’s get busy’.

Corbett retired in 1975 and died aged 71 in 1989. The Sooty Show ran from 1955 to 1992. It has since been revived on ITVBe as Sooty.

 

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