Paul Chuckle honours brother Barry on what would have been his 80th birthday
Chuckle Brothers star Paul Chuckle has remembered his brother Barry Chuckle on his birthday six years after his death.
Barry, who died from bone cancer aged 73 in 2018, would have turned 80 this Christmas Eve.
On X today, Paul, 77, shared a picture of Barry and wrote: ‘Today would have been Barry’s 80th birthday .. miss you Baz.’
Earlier this year, Paul teased that Barry could be immortalised in AI in a cartoon spin-off of Children’s TV show ChuckleVision.
The brothers fronted the BBC programme from 1987 until 2009, filming 21 series and 292 episodes.
Voted as one of the greatest children’s TV shows of all time by a Radio Times panel in 2018, ChuckleVision was noted for its slapstick humour and catchphrases including ‘to me, to you.’
Speaking about a potential revival of ChuckeVision, Paul previously told the Secure The Insecure podcast: ‘It may be coming now, with a cartoon series. It will theoretically be ChuckleVision with cartoon characters playing me and Barry, doing very similar stuff.
‘With AI, they can actually use Barry’s voice, so it will be talking exactly the same as him.’
Paul also spoke about how he still feels Barry’s presence.
‘I still feel he’s with me all the time. Before he passed away, he was very rarely in any dreams, but from the day he died, he’s almost every single night in the dreams with me.
‘Wherever I am, Barry’s with me.’
Determined to continue performing for as long as possible, Barry kept his diagnosis a secret from those closest to him before he died.
He did not tell his manager, fans, or even Paul himself, as he wanted to carry on working.
Paul was with him on his last night, previously telling the Telegraph that he and his four grown-up sons went to visit Barry at his home in Ravensfield.
‘He was really struggling but he was conscious and communicating with us,’ he told the publication.
‘I remember that Rotherham United, our football team that we had followed since childhood, won the game they played that day 3-0. He was really chuffed, especially since they had also made it back into the Championship League.’
The next day, Paul received a phone call from Barry’s wife, Anne, to tell him he had died.
‘It was too soon for him to go, and I wish he’d told me earlier; we were so close, so we would have had more time to say goodbye, but I think he went out on a high,’ he reflected.
Barry was given a final send-off with a funeral held at the New York Stadium, where Rotherham United play their home matches, with many fans and showbiz stars showing up to pay their respects.
Since losing his other half, Paul has performed in panto and also works as a DJ – but recently, it was claimed the TV legend has been lined up for Celebrity Big Brother 2025.
A source claimed: ‘After Louis and Kate Middleton’s “Uncle Gary” Goldsmith were booked, the cast was skewed a little in terms of age. So Paul was dropped.’
They added to The Sun: ‘It’s early days as the Big Brother team is still busy with October’s civilian series but Paul’s name is in the mix for the celeb version in March.’
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