One of Yorkshire’s favourite TV characters, Barry Chuckle, half of the comedy duo the Chuckle Brothers, has died.
Barry, real name Barry Elliott, was 73 and made his TV debut back in 1967 with brother Paul.
The brothers, who were born in Rotherham, won the talent show Opportunity Knocks.
Paul paid tribute to his brother and said: “I’ve not just lost my brother, I’ve lost my theatrical partner of many, many years and my very best friend.”
Barry’s death was confirmed this morning by his manager Phil Dale who said: “It is with great sadness that the family announce that Barry passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by his wife Ann and all his family.
“The family would like to express their thanks to the many people who have been fans of the Chuckle Brothers and they know that they will share in part the great, great loss they feel.”
The Chuckle Brothers shot to fame in 1987 when they created a children’s television show called ChuckleVision – which was aired on the BBC for 22 years until the final episode in 2009.
During that time, Paul and Barry were also seen presenting a spin-off game show called To Me To You, the duo’s famous catchphrase.
There were lots of tributes on social media.
One Twitter user posted a message of sadness that reads: “My childhood mornings and school afternoons, my sister and I always watched Chuckle Brothers, they made my days better.”
Another added: “So saddened to hear the news of Barry Chuckle’s passing thoughts are with Paul and the rest of their family.”
Referencing the famous catchphrase, former England rugby union international and broadcaster Brian Moore wrote: “’To me; to me.’
Doesn’t really work does it. RIP Barry Chuckle.”
The brothers’ last Facebook page update showed Barry grinning.
It was shared on August 3rd at 11.56am with the caption: “Hooray it’s Friday. Tag a friend to see Barry.”
A picture of Barry was shared to his Twitter page in June, showing him smiling while sunbathing in his garden.
It was captioned: “While Pauls away I can slack abit.”
