Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Chuckle Brothers
The Chuckle Brothers were an English comedy double act comprising real-life brothers Barry David Elliott (24 December 1944 – 5 August 2018) and Paul Harman Elliott MBE (born 18 October 1947). They were known for their BBC children's programme ChuckleVision, which aired from 1987 to 2009 and celebrated its twenty-first series with a 2010 stage tour titled An Audience with the Chuckle Brothers. The comedy of the Chuckle Brothers usually derived from slapstick, other visual gags, and wordplay, and their catchphrases included "To me, to you!" and "Oh dear, oh dear!"
The brothers were born in Rotherham to Amy and James Patton Elliott, in 1944 and 1947. Their father was a Gang Show performer whose stage name was Gene Patton; he worked with the 18-year-old Peter Sellers in 1943 in The No. 10 Gang and gave performances in London, Orkney and the Hebrides, Iceland, the Far East, India, and Burma. Their two older brothers, Jimmy and Brian, were known professionally as the Patton Brothers until Jimmy's death in 2019. The Patton Brothers appeared in ChuckleVision, Jimmy as the nameless character known colloquially as "No Slacking", and Brian as another unnamed character known as "Getoutofit".
The Chuckle Brothers gained wider attention as a support act for the Welsh singer Dorothy Squires.
After working as Butlins Redcoats in 1966, the Chuckle Brothers - performing as The Harman Brothers - won the television talent show Opportunity Knocks in 1967, followed by success on New Faces in 1974. The brothers began their television 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. They made two appearances on the game show 3-2-1, hosted by Ted Rogers, in January 1980 and April 1982, and appeared on the long-running BBC programme, The Good Old Days, in June 1980. In August 1983, the Brothers appeared on The Freddie Starr Showcase alongside the comedian Freddie Starr.
Their primary work was mainly focused on children's television, beginning initially on Christmas Day in 1980 with their taking part in a televised children's show, A Merry Morning, in which the brothers entertained around 250 children from the Leeds area in Yeadon Town Hall.
In 1985, the brothers launched a pre-school programme on the BBC entitled The ChuckleHounds, in which they performed routines with no dialogue, while dressed up in giant dog costumes. Their success in children's television came in 1987, with the launch of their iconic children's show, ChuckleVision, in which their real-life siblings Jimmy and Brian Patton made occasional appearances. The show proved a ratings hit with children, running for 21 series over a period of 22 years, and giving them 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.
The two contributed further to children's entertainment, performing at the Children's Royal Variety Performance in May 1992, and launching a children's game show titled To Me... To You..., which ran between 1996 and 1998 and which took its name from their signature catchphrase.
Outside of children's entertainment, the brothers have made appearances in many other television series, both together and separately. In May 2008, they appeared in the BBC documentary series Comedy Map of Britain, and won the 2010 series of Celebrity Coach Trip. In November 2011, the brothers starred in a series of TV advertisements for the UK-based van insurance comparison website Van Compare.com In October 2012, they appeared on Comedy World Cup on Channel 4, while on 15 March 2013, they were featured in David Walliams' sketch for Comic Relief. From 2013 to 2014, Barry made a number of appearances in the BBC comedy series Still Open All Hours as dog owner Mr Marshall, first appearing in the role for the 2013 Christmas special. On 13 March 2015, they appeared again on Comic Relief, this time in a sketch based around National Treasures. The duo appeared at the 2016 Royal Variety Performance, performing sketches with host David Walliams. In April 2018, it was announced the brothers were in the process of recording a new clip show for Channel 5, entitled Chuckle Time; It ran for one series during the summer of that year, although it was cut short following the death of Barry Elliott in August 2018.
Hub AI
Chuckle Brothers AI simulator
(@Chuckle Brothers_simulator)
Chuckle Brothers
The Chuckle Brothers were an English comedy double act comprising real-life brothers Barry David Elliott (24 December 1944 – 5 August 2018) and Paul Harman Elliott MBE (born 18 October 1947). They were known for their BBC children's programme ChuckleVision, which aired from 1987 to 2009 and celebrated its twenty-first series with a 2010 stage tour titled An Audience with the Chuckle Brothers. The comedy of the Chuckle Brothers usually derived from slapstick, other visual gags, and wordplay, and their catchphrases included "To me, to you!" and "Oh dear, oh dear!"
The brothers were born in Rotherham to Amy and James Patton Elliott, in 1944 and 1947. Their father was a Gang Show performer whose stage name was Gene Patton; he worked with the 18-year-old Peter Sellers in 1943 in The No. 10 Gang and gave performances in London, Orkney and the Hebrides, Iceland, the Far East, India, and Burma. Their two older brothers, Jimmy and Brian, were known professionally as the Patton Brothers until Jimmy's death in 2019. The Patton Brothers appeared in ChuckleVision, Jimmy as the nameless character known colloquially as "No Slacking", and Brian as another unnamed character known as "Getoutofit".
The Chuckle Brothers gained wider attention as a support act for the Welsh singer Dorothy Squires.
After working as Butlins Redcoats in 1966, the Chuckle Brothers - performing as The Harman Brothers - won the television talent show Opportunity Knocks in 1967, followed by success on New Faces in 1974. The brothers began their television 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. They made two appearances on the game show 3-2-1, hosted by Ted Rogers, in January 1980 and April 1982, and appeared on the long-running BBC programme, The Good Old Days, in June 1980. In August 1983, the Brothers appeared on The Freddie Starr Showcase alongside the comedian Freddie Starr.
Their primary work was mainly focused on children's television, beginning initially on Christmas Day in 1980 with their taking part in a televised children's show, A Merry Morning, in which the brothers entertained around 250 children from the Leeds area in Yeadon Town Hall.
In 1985, the brothers launched a pre-school programme on the BBC entitled The ChuckleHounds, in which they performed routines with no dialogue, while dressed up in giant dog costumes. Their success in children's television came in 1987, with the launch of their iconic children's show, ChuckleVision, in which their real-life siblings Jimmy and Brian Patton made occasional appearances. The show proved a ratings hit with children, running for 21 series over a period of 22 years, and giving them 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.
The two contributed further to children's entertainment, performing at the Children's Royal Variety Performance in May 1992, and launching a children's game show titled To Me... To You..., which ran between 1996 and 1998 and which took its name from their signature catchphrase.
Outside of children's entertainment, the brothers have made appearances in many other television series, both together and separately. In May 2008, they appeared in the BBC documentary series Comedy Map of Britain, and won the 2010 series of Celebrity Coach Trip. In November 2011, the brothers starred in a series of TV advertisements for the UK-based van insurance comparison website Van Compare.com In October 2012, they appeared on Comedy World Cup on Channel 4, while on 15 March 2013, they were featured in David Walliams' sketch for Comic Relief. From 2013 to 2014, Barry made a number of appearances in the BBC comedy series Still Open All Hours as dog owner Mr Marshall, first appearing in the role for the 2013 Christmas special. On 13 March 2015, they appeared again on Comic Relief, this time in a sketch based around National Treasures. The duo appeared at the 2016 Royal Variety Performance, performing sketches with host David Walliams. In April 2018, it was announced the brothers were in the process of recording a new clip show for Channel 5, entitled Chuckle Time; It ran for one series during the summer of that year, although it was cut short following the death of Barry Elliott in August 2018.