Barry and Paul Elliott were best known as the Chuckle Brothers – one of the most successful kids’ comedy duos of the 1990s and 00s. Born in Rotherham in 1944 and 1947 respectively, they joined a family of comics: their father, James, was a gang show performer known as Gene Patton; while two of their brothers, Jimmy and Brian, performed under the name the Patton Brothers. Barry and Paul became household names with their slapstick show ChuckleVision, which aired from 1987 to 2009. They toured together until 2015, and appeared in panto until Barry’s death from bone cancer in 2018. Paul is an ambassador for Marie Curie, the end-of-life charity that provides support for people living with terminal illness and their families.
Barry was my older brother, but the comedy dynamic between us was always that I was the boss – the one putting my feet up and saying “Faster!” while he was pedalling the Chuckmobile. When this photo was taken, we were filming series four of ChuckleVision and the BBC wanted some shots to advertise the show. It was a hard schedule at the time: the TV crew would come up for six weeks, film ChuckleVision all day, then Barry and I would do a stage show in the evening as we were doing summer season in Scarborough. We wouldn’t get to bed until after midnight, but we were young. I was only 42. I don’t think I’d be able to do it now.
