The Chuckle Brothers: Life after television for Barry and Paul Elliott

The brothers are back in the spotlight – courtesy of the Dave Lee Travis trial

"Ch-ch-chucklevision, Ch-ch-chucklevision, Ch-ch-chucklevision…" is a theme tune embedded in the consciousness, for better or for worse, of generations of children. And there can have been few more incongruous sights recently than that of "Chuckle Brothers" Barry and Paul Elliott grinning toothily for the cameras outside Southwark Crown Court. But fear not – no cherished memories of innocent childish enjoyment were about to be trashed by unseemly allegations. The Elliotts have been accused of absolutely nothing; they were at Southwark to give evidence in favour of Dave Lee Travis in the bearded DJ's trial for alleged indecent assault.

Paul, aged 66, and Barry, 69, worked with Travis in pantomime in Crawley in the early 1990s and, giving evidence separately, Paul was interrupted by the judge when he referred to himself as "we". The collective pronoun is understandable. The brothers have been performing together since long before winning the ITV talent show Opportunity Knocks in 1967 and New Faces in 1974 – a unique double in what were The X Factor/Britain's Got Talent of their day.

Born into a showbiz family from Rotherham, their father, Jimmy Elliott (aka "Gene Patton"), was a well-known Gang Show performer who once appeared alongside an 18-year-old Peter Sellers. Paul and Barry's two older brothers, Jimmy and Brian, also formed a double-act, the Patton Brothers. And while another sibling, Colin, eschewed the family trade, their late sister, Sheila, married an actor – Coronation Street star Bill Waddington, no less, of sainted Percy Sugden memory.

It was children's television that finally made Paul (he's the tall one) and Barry (he's the short one) – playing the accident-prone protagonists in BBC1's ChuckleVision. For 10 years following their New Faces victory, the brothers had trodden the variety-show circuit – even joining the circus for a while – before being spotted by BBC producers in 1984 and offered seven weeks' work in a new childrens' TV series called Roger the Dog. "It was like Laurel and Hardy", recalled Barry in 2010. "But we were dressed as dogs". It gives a whole new meaning to Ollie's "Here's another nice mess you've gotten me into".

Roger the Dog begat The Chucklehounds which, in 1987, begat ChuckleVision, with Paul and Barry finally allowed to reveal themselves as Laurel and Hardy in shell suits instead of dog-suits. They were physically mismatched slapstick clowns known for their catchphrase, "To me, to you"– which was, says Barry, "a family thing... we used to say it at home, when we were moving furniture for example."

It was a simple formula, with surprising longevity, ChuckleVision running for 292 episodes between 1987 and 2009, a fair number of the shows also featuring Paul and Barry's older brothers, Jimmy and Brian, who would take it in turns to play a character named after the catchphrase "No Slacking". And when the Chuckle Brothers won a Special Children's Bafta in 2008, it was presented by Queer as Folk/Doctor Who re-boot creator Russell T Davies, who had written for ChuckleVision in the early Nineties. There's a lesson for any aspiring television gods.

The Chuckle brothers outside Southwark Crown Court earlier this week The Chuckle brothers outside Southwark Crown Court earlier this week Outside TV, Barry and Paul have starred in at least 40 consecutive years of panto, as well as being prolific creators of such stage shows as Indiana Chuckles and the Kingdom of the Mythical Pout and Chuckle Trek – The Lost Generation. Their latest production, The Chuckle Brothers in a 2014 Space Oddity, continues its tour of major regional theatres later this month. "It's a friendly sort of humour," says Barry, so don't expect a satire of their latest outing; there will be no Barry Potter and the Legend of the Hairy Monster. "Oh dear, oh dear", as another of their catchphrases has it.

PROMOTED VIDEO
Have you tried new the Independent Digital Edition apps?
Arts and Entertainment

ebooksNow available in paperback
Arts and Entertainment

ebooks
Arts and Entertainment
Joel Edgerton, John Turturro and Christian Bale in Exodus: Gods and Kings
film
Arts and Entertainment
Paul Weller, Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, February 2011
music
Arts and Entertainment
Queen Ariadne takes over Atlantis after the death of her father King Midas
tvReview: Much like the Hollywood franchise, there were battles in the arena and a love triangle this week
Arts and Entertainment
The starship in Star Wars: The Force Awakens
filmsThe first glimpse of JJ Abrams' new film has been released online
News
The Speaker of the House will takes his turn as guest editor of the Today programme
arts + ents
Latest stories from i100
Have you tried new the Independent Digital Edition apps?

ES Rentals

    Independent Dating
    and  

    By clicking 'Search' you
    are agreeing to our
    Terms of Use.

    Homeless Veterans appeal: 'It took a lot of help for me to find my voice'

    Homeless Veterans appeal

    Ex-soldier Michael Crossan was able to get off the streets and develop his skills as an artist thanks to Veterans Aid
    Building a British naval base in Bahrain is a 'symbolic choice' – for no clear reason

    Building a British naval base in Bahrain is a 'symbolic choice' – for no clear reason

    The authoritarian kingdom where doctors are tortured is a strange place for this £15m investment, says Patrick Cockburn
    Smart farmers call in the gleaners: Volunteers are salvaging crops that supermarkets refuse to take – and giving them to food charities

    Smart farmers call in the gleaners

    Volunteers are salvaging crops that supermarkets refuse to take – and giving them to food charities
    Shmuley Boteach: Sex, Sainsbury's, celebrity... and anti-Semitism

    Shmuley Boteach: Sex, Sainsbury's, celebrity... and anti-Semitism

    The self-proclaimed 'Rabbi of America', says Britain has grown worryingly anti-Israel – and he wants us to listen to him
    The best and worst restaurants of 2014: From delicious dishes and sensational service to eating in the dark and bullies in the kitchen

    The best and worst restaurants of 2014

    From delicious dishes and sensational service to eating in the dark and bullies in the kitchen
    Britain branches out: Shoppers reject imported Christmas trees in favour of home-grown ones

    Britain branches out

    Shoppers reject imported Christmas trees in favour of home-grown ones
    Stephen Hawking right about dangers of AI... but for the wrong reasons, says eminent computer expert

    Stephen Hawking right about dangers of AI...

    ... but for the wrong reasons, says eminent computer expert
    Ed Harris: The actor on painting houses, smashing chairs and learning not to be so terse

    Ed Harris opens up

    The actor on painting houses, smashing chairs and learning not to be so terse
    Eric Garner 'chokehold' death: A grand jury blind to the evidence before it

    A grand jury blind to the evidence before it

    The decision not to bring charges after the death of a black man in police custody suggests a fatal flaw in the system, says Rupert Cornwell
    Oh, what a circus Jeremy Thorpe's Liberals were...

    Oh, what a circus Jeremy Thorpe's Liberals were...

    The Seventies' party was quite unlike its modern successor. It really believed in pluralism and tolerance, says DJ Taylor
    The 12 food trends of Christmas: From mince-pie cocktails to deep-fried crackling

    The 12 food trends of Christmas

    Flavourless white turkey and mushy sprouts with a cava chaser? No more! Make this year’s celebrations the foodiest ever...
    Bill Granger recipes: Our chef banishes the grey-sky blues with his soul-warming Asian feast

    Bill Granger's Asian feast

    From sticky ribs to earthy shiitake, our chef likes to see off the cold weather with steaming bowls of Asian comfort food
    Southampton vs Manchester United: Why Ronald Koeman and Louis van Gaal will never be friends

    Why Koeman and Van Gaal will never be friends

    As the Dutch managers prepare to go head to head in the Premier League, Miguel Delaney explores their relationship
    The Last Word: Candidate Sebastian Coe must demand that doping is a criminal offence

    Michael Calvin's Last Word

    Candidate Coe must demand that doping is a criminal offence
    Al-Jazeera journalists imprisoned by Egypt to ‘teach Qatar a lesson’ for supporting the Muslim Brotherhood

    Al-Jazeera journalists imprisoned by Egypt to ‘teach Qatar a lesson’

    Mohamed Fahmy, one of three reporters held in a Cairo prison, has written to Robert Fisk to outline his grievances against his employers