Sweep (puppet)


Sweep is a British puppet and TV character popular in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and other countries.
Sweep is a Daschund with long black ears who joined The Sooty Show in 1957, as a friend to fellow puppet Sooty. His general dim-witted behaviour and penchant for bones and sausages has made him an endearing, entertaining character that children still love to this day. Probably his most unusual characteristic is his method of communication. It consists of a loud high pitched squeak that gains its inflection from normal speech and its rhythm from the syllables in each word. The rest of the cast could understand Sweep perfectly, and would translate for the viewer. The original puppeteer achieved the sound of Sweep's voice using a saxophone reed. Versions of the puppet later sold as toys had an integral squeaker connected to an air bulb that was squeezed by hand.
Sweep's family first appeared on the Sooty Show in an episode called Sweep's Family. He has his mother and father, a twin brother Swoop, two cousins Swipe and Swap and another seven brothers in the litter. However Swipe and Swap are stated to be Sweep's brothers in the Sooty Heights episode the Hounds of Music.

Voice Actors