​Before Mr Turnip, there was Snippet: a lively puppet boy who played an important part in Joy Laurey's early stage career.
 
Snippet often acted as the compere of Joy's puppet shows, speaking directly to the audience and linking one part of the performance to the next. The character gave Joy a versatile onstage personality who could introduce an act, respond to events and create an immediate connection with children.
 
BBC producer Michael Westmore saw Joy performing with Snippet and recognised her ability to give a puppet a convincing personality. That encounter helped lead to Joy's invitation to create and operate Mr Turnip for Whirligig in 1950.
 
Snippet continued to appear after Mr Turnip became a television star and was also featured in Enid Blyton's Playways. His present whereabouts are unknown. The archive hopes that the original puppet, or further evidence of his later history, may one day come to light.