Paul and Barry Chuckle, or as you may know them, the Chuckle Brothers, are best known as the British comedy double act who featured on the popular BBC children’s programme, ChuckleVision. What’s happened since their hit show? Thrillz has the story.
What are the Chuckle Brothers’ names and are they brothers in real life?
The dynamic duo consisted of Paul Harman Elliott and his brother Barry David Elliot.
Not long after ChuckleVision graced our television screens did it become a huge success with children all across the UK. Famous for their catchphrases “To me, to you!” and “Oh dear, oh dear!”, The programme ran for a staggering 21 series over a period of 22 years!
What was ChuckleVision about?
If for some reason you were living under a rock and never had the privilege of watching ChuckleVision bright and early on a Saturday morning, then I shall explain the set up for you.
Paul Chuckle and his brother Barry Chuckle are two hilariously accident-prone brothers who seem to cause chaos wherever they go. An average episode would consist of them being chased by someone who they are working for or trying to help. Occasioanlly, their antics end up saving the day.
The brothers are usually seen working for ‘Dan The Van’ or ‘Mr. No Slacking’ who both almost always end up getting very annoyed by the well-meaning Chuckle Brothers.
They get from place to place in their ‘Chuckmobile’, which consists of a two-seated bike with a hood and a personalised licenced plate that spells “CHUCKLE1”.
Success of ChuckleVision
For their dedication to the programme and for entertaining Britain for over two decades, the brothers went on to win a Special Award for Lifetime Achievement at the British Academy Children’s Awards in 2008.
In August 2019, ChuckleVision was voted the best CBBC show of all time by readers of Radio Times.
Outside of children’s TV
Paul and Barry Chuckle didn’t just appear on CBBC, they also took part in multiple pantomimes, released a number of songs and even a mobile game!
The brothers also won the first-ever series of Celebrity Coach Trip in 2010. They also made numerous appearances at various nightclubs and student events between 2014 and 2018, where they performed sets and posed for photos with students.
In 2017 both brothers appeared in ‘The Funniest Man in the World’, which was a short film about Joseph Grimaldi, played by Barry and directed by Jon Conway.
Following Barry’s death, Paul has appeared solo in a number of quiz shows for charity, these include Pointless Celebrities, Celebrity Mastermind and Tenable All Stars.
The Death of Barry Chuckle
On the 5th August 2018, Barry died after a period of ill health. Paul made a statement on the death of his close brother and stating “I’ve not just lost my brother, I’ve lost my theatrical partner of many, many years and my very best friend.”
Paul later revealed that his brother had been diagnosed with bone cancer, but had kept it a secret from him, as well as from their manager and fans, because he wanted to perform for as long as possible. His funeral was held on the 17th August 2018 at the New York Stadium, where Rotherham United play their home matches.
The funeral was attended by a number of the duo’s showbiz friends and a large number of fans waited outside the stadium to pay their respects. On his brother’s death, Paul said: “It’s like losing my right arm, being without him. Working on stage is what I miss most. No one could make me laugh like he could. We started out in show-business together when he was 18 and I was 15 and we were never apart from then on.”