The Joy Laurey Archive shares Joy's work through exhibitions, talks and special displays. This page records both forthcoming events and highlights from previous projects.
 
75 Years of Whirligig
 
Tiptree Jam Museum · October to December 2025
 
This special display marked the seventy-fifth anniversary of the first broadcast of Whirligig. It explored the story of Mr Turnip, the character designed, made and operated by Joy Laurey and voiced by actor Peter Hawkins.
 
Original archive material helped visitors discover how Mr Turnip was created, how Whirligig was made and why the programme became such an important part of early British children's television.
 
Thunderbirds and Co: The Joy of Puppetry
 
Colchester Castle · 2024
 
From March to 30 June 2024, Colchester Castle celebrated the history and magic of British television puppetry with Thunderbirds and Co: The Joy of Puppetry.
 
The exhibition brought together two remarkable chapters in British television history: the pioneering work of Joy Laurey, creator and puppeteer of Mr Turnip, and the extraordinary television worlds created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, including Thunderbirds and Lady Penelope.
 
Long before Thunderbirds became a television phenomenon, Joy Laurey was helping to establish puppetry as part of Britain's new television culture. Her mischievous vegetable character Mr Turnip became a star of the BBC children's programme Whirligig and one of the best-known children's television characters of the early 1950s.
 
The Joy Laurey Archive at Colchester Castle
 
Every Mr Turnip item displayed in the exhibition came from the Joy Laurey Archive.
 
The exhibition therefore represented an important milestone for the Archive, allowing original and historic material preserved within the collection to be displayed publicly at Colchester Castle and introducing Joy Laurey's work to a new generation of visitors.
 
Placed alongside material representing the later television creations of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, the display also demonstrated Joy's important place in the developing story of British television puppetry.
 
The exhibition was accompanied by the Thunderbirds and Co: Big TV Weekend on 6–7 April 2024, celebrating television puppetry with additional displays, memorabilia and special guests.
 
More than seventy years after Mr Turnip first appeared on British television, items preserved by the Joy Laurey Archive were once again on public display — celebrating the remarkable imagination and artistry of Joy Laurey and the enduring appeal of her most famous creation.
 
Exhibition: Thunderbirds and Co: The Joy of Puppetry
Venue: Colchester Castle, Colchester, Essex
Dates: March – 30 June 2024
Mr Turnip collection: The Joy Laurey Archive
Special event: Thunderbirds and Co: Big TV Weekend, 6–7 April 2024
 
Details of future exhibitions and appearances will be added here as they are confirmed.