Paul Chuckle is "absolutely devastated" following the death of his older brother Barry.
The 73-year-old comic – whose real name was Barry Elliott – passed away "peacefully" at his home last week after reportedly battling a terminal heart condition and sibling and comedy partner Paul, 70, asked his wife to respond to sympathetic fans on Twitter because he was too upset.
Paul’s wife Sue wrote: "Paul has asked me to send a message to thank EVERYONE for your lovely messages this morning, he is absolutely devastated so unable to respond himself but your messages really do help and he knows Barry would so happy to know how much he was loved, Sue X (sic)."
The ‘ChuckleVision’ star’s manager, Phil Dale, announced the death on Sunday (05.08.18) and 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."
After Barry’s death was announced, Paul paid a heartfelt tribute to his sibling in a statement.
He said: "I’ve not just lost my brother, I’ve lost my theatrical partner of many, many years and my very best friend."
The brothers – who returned to TV this year with Channel 5 series ‘Chuckle Time’ – began their careers as The Chuckles and won TV talent show ‘Opportunity Knocks’ in 1967, going on to appear on ‘New Faces’ in 1974.
Their most famous show, ‘ChuckleVision’, ran for 21 series over 22 years until December 2009.
They starred in an episode of ‘Benidorm’ earlier this year and Barry also appeared in ‘Still Open All Hours’.
Last year, Barry missed the wedding of his brother Jimmy, 86 – who appeared alongside his siblings on ‘ChuckleVision’ – to 27-year-old fan Amy Phillips, because he was ill.
Amy’s dad told The Sun: "Supposedly Barry was ill, that’s all I know."
Paul Chuckle ‘absolutely devastated’ over Barry’s death
