Joy Laurey was a pioneering British puppeteer and designer, best known for creating Mr Turnip, one of the most iconic characters of early British television. Born into a family of puppeteers, she learned the craft from an early age and developed a distinctive approach that combined expressive visual design with technical precision.
In the early 1950s, Laurey was commissioned by the BBC to create a puppet for the children’s programme Whirligig. The result was Mr Turnip, who rapidly became a national favourite and a defining figure of post‑war children’s broadcasting. Her work helped shape the emerging medium of television puppetry and secured her place as a significant figure in Britain’s puppetry heritage.
