Peter Graham "Matthew" Corbett (born 28 March 1948) is an English actor, singer, comedian, magician, puppeteer, television presenter and writer, best known for presenting ''
The Sooty Show
''The Sooty Show'' is a British children's television series, created by Harry Corbett, and produced for the BBC from 1955 to 1967, and then for ITV from 1968 until 1992. The show, part of the ''Sooty'' franchise, focuses on the mischievous a ...
'' and later ''
Sooty and Co''.
He is the son of Sooty's creator,
Harry Corbett
Harry Corbett OBE (28 January 1918 – 17 August 1989) was an English magician, puppeteer and television presenter. He was best known as the creator of the glove puppet character Sooty in 1952.
Biography
Corbett was born in Bradford, Wes ...
, and took over the show from his father in 1976. He retired in 1998.
Early life
Corbett was born in
Guiseley,
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
, on 28 March 1948. In the late 1960s he had to choose another name when joining
Equity
Equity may refer to:
Finance, accounting and ownership
*Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them
** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business
** Home equity, the diff ...
, as there was already a Peter Corbett registered. He kept his surname and chose to go by the first name Matthew, retaining the name throughout his television career.
Corbett appeared in the ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...
'' serial ''
The Dæmons'' (1971) as a character called Jones and was a regular performer in the
Thames Television
Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992.
Thames Television broa ...
children's show ''
Rainbow
A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...
'', where he sang and performed and wrote with
Rod Burton
Rod Burton is a British singer, songwriter, actor, musician and entertainer. He is best known for being part of the trio Rod, Jane and Freddy along with their appearences on the children's TV series Rainbow and their own series "Rod, Jane and ...
and
Jane Tucker
Jane Tucker (born 20 October 1949) is a British actress, singer, songwriter, musician and keyboardist. She is best known for being part of the musical trio Rod, Jane and Freddy who appeared in many TV series, notably '' Rainbow''. She was born ...
as Rod, Matt and Jane, later on known as Rod, Jane and Roger and finally being better known as
Rod, Jane and Freddy
Rod, Jane and Freddy were a singing trio who appeared in children's programming on the British TV channel ITV in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. They starred both in the long-running series '' Rainbow'' and their own 15-minute show. The tri ...
.
In 1976, Corbett left ''Rainbow'' to take over ''The Sooty Show'' from his father
Harry
Harry may refer to:
TV shows
* ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin
* ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons
* ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...
, who was retiring (he made a special guest appearance on ''Rainbow'' with Sooty in the episode "The VIP"). Corbett retired in 1998 after 22 years, and chose
Richard Cadell
Richard Cadell (born 23 March 1969) is a British illusionist, puppeteer, actor and screenwriter, best known for being the in-vision presenter and the hand of puppet Sooty since succeeding Matthew Corbett in 1998.
He is a Gold Star Member of th ...
to replace him.
In January 2008, he reappeared on television, presenting ''Locks and Quays'', a regional interest programme shown in the
ITV Granada
ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was its ...
area (
North West England
North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...
), featuring a journey from the east to the west coast of England, along waterways such as the
River Humber
The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the ...
, the
Aire and Calder Navigation
The Aire and Calder Navigation is the canalised section of the Rivers Aire and Calder in West Yorkshire, England. The first improvements to the rivers above Knottingley were completed in 1704 when the Aire was made navigable to Leeds and the ...
and the
Leeds and Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool.
Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...
.
On Sooty's 60th birthday in 2012, he said that the bear was "in, or should I say on, the right hands".
Personal life
Corbett's great-uncle was the fish and chip shop chain owner
Harry Ramsden
Harry Ramsden's is a fast food restaurant chain based in the United Kingdom which offers fish and chips and assorted themed dishes. The business has 35 owned and franchised outlets throughout the UK and Ireland.
Harry Ramsden's website claims ...
, as revealed on ''Locks and Quays''.
Corbett contracted Covid-19 in 2020 and he nearly died from the disease and had to spend 10 days in intensive care.
As of 2022, he and his wife now live in a retirement village in West Sussex.
Filmography
References
Further reading
* Tibballs, Geoff (1990). ''The Secret Life of Sooty''. Letchworth, UK: Ringpress Books. .
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corbett, Matthew
1948 births
Living people
British magicians
British puppeteers
English magicians
English puppeteers
English television presenters
People from Guiseley