Paul Harman Elliott is a comedian from Rotherham, Yorkshire, who makes up one half of comedy duo, the Chuckle Brothers.
The 73-year-old and his brother Barry had their own extremely popular children’s TV show, ChuckleVision, but Barry sadly died on the 5th August 2018 aged 73.
They started their career on the talent show “Opportunity Knocks” in 1967, before presenting their own children's game show “To Me, To You” from 1996 to 1998.
ChuckleVision was one of the longest running children's programmes on the BBC continuing and ran for an astonishing 22 years from 1987 to 2009.
The duo also have two older brothers Jimmy and Brian who are known collectively as the Patton Brothers and occasionally appeared alongside their siblings on ChuckleVision.
Paul Chuckle - Family Life
Paul was born in Rotherham to parents Amy and James Patton Elliott on the 18th October 1947. His father was a Gang Show performer whose stage name was Gene Patton. Paul grew up with three brothers: Barry, Jimmy and Brian. Jimmy and Brian often performed together as the “Patton Brothers” until Jimmy’s death in 2019. The Patton Brothers made several appearances in ChuckleVision, Jimmy as the nameless character known widely as “No Slacking”, and Brian as another unnamed character known as “Getoutofit”.
The Beginning of The Chuckle Brothers
The Chuckle Brothers, performing as The Harman Brothers, won the television talent competition show “Opportunity Knocks” in 1967, followed by success on “New Faces” in 1974. The Chuckle Brothers began their TV careers as a double act, making their debut in April 1979 on the BBC comedy series “Lennie and Jerry”, hosted by Lennie Bennett and Jerry Stevens.
Paul and Barry’s primary work was mainly focused on children’s television, in 1985 they launched a pre-school programme on the BBC entitled Chuckle Hounds, where they performed routines with no dialogue while dressed up in giant dog costumes. However, it was in 1987 that the Chuckle Brothers’ success in children’s television came to light, with the launch of their iconic and legendary children’s show “ChuckleVision'' in which their famous catchphrase ‘To me to you’ was born. Their real-life brothers Jimmy and Brian Patton also made occasional appearances in the show.
Chuckle ChuckleVision
ChuckleVision proved a hit with children all over Britain, running for huge 21 series over a period of 22 years! Constant high ratings for the show got the Chuckle Brothers a Special Award for Lifetime Achievement at the British Academy Children’s Awards in 2008. The final series of the programme was aired in December 2009. Most recently, in 2019, ChuckleVision won the top spot on a poll of the best CBBC TV shows of all time, showing that the Chuckle Brothers have clearly made their mark in the industry forever more.
The comedy of the Chuckle Brothers shown throughout ChuckleVision derived from slapstick and other visual gags, with their most notorious catchphrases being “To me, to you!” and “Oh dear, oh dear!” ChuckleVision episodes were mostly independent to each other, with the main plot focus involving the Chuckle Brothers carrying out a job, task or some kind of adventure.
The Chuckle Brothers contributed even more to children’s entertainment, performing at the Children’s Royal Variety Performance in May 1992 and also launching a children’s game show titled “To Me, To You!”, named after their signature catchphrase, which ran between 1996 and 1998.
In April 2018, it was announced that the Chuckle Brothers were in the process of recording a new show for Channel 5, entitled “Chuckle Time”, it ran for one series during the summer of that year, it was cut short following the death of Barry Elliot in August 2018.
Paul and Sue
Paul has been happily married to Sue for a solid 33 years. The couple own various properties around the UK and abroad including France, Greece and Italy. Sue isn’t in the public eye so little is actually known about her.
Paul and Sue had a daughter in 1975, but she sadly died from a rare liver problem at just three months old.
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.”
Paul Chuckle Today
It is clear that Paul has suffered tremendous loss. Firstly, with the death of his daughter, then the death of his brother and co-star Barry, and most recently, the death of his older brother, Jimmy.
Following Barry’s death, Paul had said that losing his brother had been the “worst feeling ever” but he knew his ChuckleVision brother would want him to carry on performing, and that is exactly what he has done.
From appearing in pantomimes across the country, to hitting the decks and making himself known as a DJ in his own right, to now appearing on Thrillz to connect with you, the Chuckle fans! Paul has become a legend in his own right, all the while making sure to keep the Chuckle spirit very much alive.…
Paul Harman Elliott is a comedian from Rotherham, Yorkshire, who makes up one half of comedy duo, the Chuckle Brothers.
The 73-year-old and his brother Barry had their own extremely popular children’s TV show, ChuckleVision, but Barry sadly died on…
