A CHILDREN’S television favourite is returning to his Bradford roots to mark a major milestone.

Sooty, a mainstay on TV for generations of children, will celebrate his 75th anniversary next year with a UK tour which includes a Bradford date.

The Sooty Show – 75th Birthday Spectacular, will be held on Saturday, October 21, 2023 at Bradford's Alhambra Theatre.

The live show will feature Sooty, Sweep and Soo and other characters including Butch the bulldog, Ramsbottom the snake as well as circus superstar Michael Jordan, who will be performing juggling. They have been joined on TV and the stage by Richard Cadell since 1998.

This will be something of a homecoming for popular puppet Sooty as he has strong roots in Bradford.

Sooty was created by Bradford-born Harry Corbett, nephew of chip shop giant Harry Ramsden, in 1948, after he bought the puppet from a stall in Blackpool for his son Matthew, who went to school in Apperley Bridge.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Harry Corbett gets it in the eye from Sooty during the opening of the Sooty Museum in 1987Harry Corbett gets it in the eye from Sooty during the opening of the Sooty Museum in 1987 (Image: Newsquest)

The Sooty Show has appeared on children’s television since the 1950s.

When Prime Minister Harold Wilson wished to have Steptoe and Son actor Harry H. Corbett awarded an OBE, the middle initial "H" was lost in the bureaucratic process, and the award went to Harry Corbett instead.

Both were awarded the OBE on January 1, 1976, Harry Corbett being cited "for charitable services".

After he suffered a heart attack at Christmas 1975, his younger son, Peter, stage name Matthew, took over. But the elder Corbett did make occasional appearances on 'The Sooty Show' for several years with his son. Harry died aged 71 in 1989.

There was even a Sooty museum in Shipley, which opened in 1987, and the famous yellow bear continued to make a number of appearances in the Bradford district over the years.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Soo, Sooty and Sweep have been popular for generations of children Soo, Sooty and Sweep have been popular for generations of children (Image: Newsquest)

Windhill Manor was a former school that for several years housed the World of Sooty museum.

It included a range of props used by puppeteer Harry in popular children's TV shows of the 1950s and 60s.

The building was later converted to offices when the museum moved to Manchester.

Guiseley-born Matthew Corbett announced in 1998 that he'd ended his partnership with the famous glove puppet.

Matthew, who is the same age as his furry friend, always vowed that he would retire when both he and Sooty reached 50.

For tickets, priced between £20 and £23.50, for The Sooty Show – 75th Birthday Spectacular, which starts at 2.30pm on October 21 next year, go to bradford-theatres.co.uk/whats-on/the-sooty-show