ChuckleVision

Celebrating ChuckleVision

Written by: Jake Godfrey
Published: Monday 26th September 2022

So ingrained are The Chuckle Brothers in British popular culture, it is impossible not to equate two men moving any object with the phrase 'To Me, To You!", or admonishing somebody with the legend "And remember, No Slacking!".

Running for 22 years, several generations took ChuckleVision to their hearts.

Although it was Paul and Barry Chuckle (real name: Paul and Barry Elliott), at the centre, the person responsible for commissioning it was producer Martin Hughes.

In 1982, Paul & Barry were hired to go on tour with ventriloquist Ward Allen, who at that time was appearing on television with his sidekick Roger the Dog. During a matinee one day, there were just 28 people in the theatre, barely enough to make a crowd, never mind an audience. Nevertheless, they remembered the old adage that their father, comic Gene Patton, drilled into them - always give one hundred per cent no matter if you're playing to a single person or a thousand. This snippet of advice served them well, because amongst those 28 people, was Hughes himself along with Peter Ridsdale Scott, the producer of Allen's television show. They were so impressed with how well Paul & Barry worked the crowd, despite the numbers, they offered them a part in Allen's television series. The catch? They were each to be ensconced in giant Labrador costumes! And thus The ChuckleHounds were born.

Sadly, the show had never been commercially released, but the small amount of footage available gives a fascinating glimpse of the archetypes that were to define their career - Paul was the bigger dog in charge of Barry, to whom he delegated all the work. Barry, as the smaller dog, always found a workaround in the end. Because the format was completely silent, using music instead of dialogue, the programme was sold around the world and became a huge success.

Paul & Barry knew that, as nice as it was to be popular, nobody realised it was them inside the costumes. At this point, they were already in demand for pantomimes and summer seasons but a break in television as themselves always seemed just out of reach.

When ChuckleVision was eventually commissioned in 1987, the sheer number of episodes and the material that had to be generated for them meant that they needed a writer. They turned to John Sayle, who had written material for people as diverse as Ken Dodd, Dave Allen and The Two Ronnies. Sayle stayed with the show right until the end, scripting 118 out of the 292 episodes that were produced.

The format, though, was dramatically different. Taking on the guise of a breakfast magazine show, it saw Paul & Barry attempt to navigate different topics each week, from breakfast television to fitness. While their patter was as funny as ever, the tone was very uneven, veering from puns to magic to a ten minute story narrated by presenter Billy Butler.

The show changed from Series 3 onwards. This is when the most popular iteration began. The basic premise for each episode was that Paul & Barry must complete a job or task, and fail spectacularly. Within this framework, Paul & Barry drew upon decades of stage experience as a double act to insert classic gags and routines, many of which were inspired by other double acts like Laurel & Hardy or Abbott & Costello. The majority of the earlier episodes don't feature any guest stars at all.

One of the first things that springs to mind whenever anybody mentions ChuckleVision is the ridiculously catchy theme music - "Ch-Ch-ChuckleVision!". This theme, along with the incidental music to every single episode, was written and composed by Dave Cooke, a veteran of children's television who also wrote the iconic theme to Bananaman.

ChuckleVision also bore two other iconic catchphrases, both of which were delivered by Paul & Barry's real older brothers. For over fifty years, Jimmy & Brian were known professionally as The Patton Brothers. To this day they hold the record for most appearances in pantomime; over 54 consecutive years. In ChuckleVision, Jimmy appeared as a character known only as 'No Slacking'. This was due to his propensity to set Paul & Barry a task with the legend "And remember - No Slacking!". Brian, meanwhile, was almost invariably cast as villainous characters, snarling "Getoutofit" at anybody who irked him.

Their adventures took them from window cleaning to gardening, removal men and, in later series, solving the mystery of a missing ruby and even going into space. Much like the aforementioned double acts, the characters of Paul & Barry were so well defined that the writers could create comedy by dropping them into any situation. Opticians, brush salesmen, hanging a tapestry, even breaking a world record in an episode featuring the final filmed appearance of Record Breakers presenter Roy Castle (the punchline being that Barry wins the world record for most failed world record attempts).

Dig into the credits of ChuckleVision and you'll find an eclectic range of guest stars, from the great and the good of the comedy world to those that you perhaps wouldn't expect. Noted comedy critic Kate Copstick appeared in multiple episodes, as did Barry Killerby as Sir Percy. Killerby is a name you may not recognise, but if you grew up in the early nineties you will almost certainly know his work - he was the man inside the Mr Blobby costume in Noel's House Party and beyond.

Comedians frequently featured, these included Greg Davies, Harry Hill, Debra Stephenson and Ted Robbins in the episodes Henry VIII and His 7th Chuckle, Mind Your Manors, Stop That Stamp and Super Heroes Super Zeroes, respectively.

Veteran sitcom stars including 'Allo 'Allo!'s John D. Collins, Men Behaving Badly's Ian Lindsay and Hi-De-Hi!'s Paul Shane popped up in a single episode each, which were Dear Diary, The Exterminators and My Lucky Number's 9 , while children's television presenters Chris Jarvis and Dave Benson Phillips also made appearances in New Pages and On The Radio. Voice of Doctor Who's K-9 John Leeson even appeared in a later episode, Big Break.

According to Paul Chuckle in an interview, they even considered including Richard Branson but, alas, their schedules never aligned. More surprising guest stars include Bernie Nolan of The Nolan Sisters, in Chuckles In Charge, and even an uncredited cameo from Mike Leigh stalwart Timothy Spall as a hot dog vendor in Well Suited.

Such was the show's popularity, it spawned a spin off in the form of game show To Me, To You, which ran for 3 series from 1996 to 1998. The basic premise was that Paul & Barry had two teams of children competing with each other on Chuckle Island. The idea was to get a trolly of prizes to the team's end of the board, or 'To Me, To You'. Celebrity guests included Bodger & Badger, Mr Blobby, a young Paul Zerdin and even The Demon Headmaster, as played by Terrence Hardiman.

ChuckleVision came to an end in 2009, after 22 continuous years on the air. It began to be commercially released, with the first 3 series available on DVD to date.

ChuckleVision holds a special place in the hearts of several generations. Its humour is universal and the episodes are endlessly rewatchable, the comedy and camaraderie of Paul & Barry remains timeless and will entertain families for generations to come.

See also: Writing ChuckleVision