Paul Chuckle Says He Saw Brother Barry Appear As A Ghost
He said he saw his late brother shortly before he made his first solo panto performance
Paul Chuckle has revealed he once saw the ghost of his late brother and comedy partner Barry.
Barry and Paul fronted the long-running CBBC TV series ChuckleVision for more than two decades and often appeared together on stage both in panto and performing their own show.
Sadly, Barry passed away in 2018 at the age of 73, leaving behind brother Paul, now aged 74.
In a recent interview, Paul - whose real last name is Elliott - has said he was visited by his brother before stepping out for his first solo panto performance.
Speaking on Richard Herring's RHLSTP podcast, he said: "I did pantomime somewhere that year on my own for the first time. I'd never been on stage on my own, ever - except for DJ-ing.
"I remember standing in the wings, waiting for my entrance and the music playing, ChuckleVision playing.
"Barry would be on the other side, where he would come on and he wasn't there.
"But I swear I could see him to the side of the stage, and he's nodding and winking at me.
"It gave me the confidence to walk on stage and the audience lifted me beautifully.
"That was lovely."
He added: "He was my brother, my work partner, my best mate... everything."
Paul has previously said his brother regularly appears to him in his dreams. Speaking to the Mirror in 2019, he said: "He's been in so many of my dreams since he passed, and I believe in the afterlife - it's comforting he's contacting me that way."
Elsewhere on the podcast, Paul opened up about how his brother urged him to continue working, shortly before he died.
He told Herring: "When Barry was ill he said, 'you must carry on the business. Don't pack it in'.
"I said, 'Yeah, but you were half of me, you know? I'll only be half what I was without you'.
"And he says, 'You'll find something, just keep going. Just keep doing something'."
The brothers fronted ChuckleVision for a staggering 22 years - from 1987 to 2009 - and their 'to you, to me' catchphrase is still firmly lodged in the minds of fans to this very day.
The show was voted the best CBBC show of all time in a 2019 Radio Times poll.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: TV and Film, Celebrity
Claire Reid