One of the most legendary British TV stars of all time is reportedly in the mix for Celebrity Big Brother.
It’s been claimed Paul Chuckle, one half of children’s TV duo The Chuckle Brothers, was lined up for this year’s series before being dropped, with Louis Walsh reportedly taking his spot.
The revival of the beloved reality programme, which followed Jordan Sangha’s victory in the civilian series, saw David Potts crowned champion against housemates including This Morning’s Fern Britton, X Factor judges Sharon Osbourne and Louis, and Kate Middleton’s uncle Gary Goldsmith.
And now it’s said Paul, 72, could be following in their footsteps.
A source claimed: ‘After Louis and Kate Middleton’s ‘Uncle Gary’ Goldsmith were booked, the cast was skewed a little in terms of age. So Paul was dropped.’
They added to The Sun: ‘It’s early days as the Big Brother team is still busy with October’s civilian series but Paul’s name is in the mix for the celeb version in March.’
Paul has also revealed he’d be keen to partake in the competition, saying on Johnny Seifert’s Secure The Insecure podcast: They were talking about having me in the first Celebrity Big Brother this year, but then decided against it for some reason, but I’m still open for next year.’
When asked if he’d be part of the line-up this year, he added: ‘Yeah possibly.’
Paul, whose real name is Paul Elliot, was best known alongside his late brother Barry for ChuckleVision, which first aired in 1987.
It ran for 22 years, with the ‘To me, to you’ duo being awarded a Special Award for Lifetime Achievement at the British Academy Children’s Awards in 2008.
The final series of the programme aired in December 2009, with the pair going on to make various TV appearances in the years that followed until Barry’s death from bone cancer aged 73, in 2018.
In recent years, Paul has spoken about how he’s communicated with the ghost of his late brother, and in 2022, revealed he saw Barry’s spirit winking at him and giving him a thumbs-up before his first-ever solo performance after his death.
Earlier this year, Paul spoke about finding comfort in knowing Barry is still with him, saying in an episode of Celebrity Help! My House Is Haunted: ‘He’s always around me, I’ve always felt that from the day he did.
‘Almost every night he’s in my dreams; it’s a nice comfort thought that my brother is around.’
Metro.co.uk has approached Paul’s reps and ITV for comment.
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Celebrity Big Brother is available to watch on ITVX.
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