Chuckle brother takes on gangster role in new film

Paul Chuckle transforms from slapstick to scoundrel in a gritty new gangland film

He is best known as one half of a slapstick comedy duo which brought laughter to generations of families.

But Paul Chuckle is set to reveal a darker side to his professional self as the star of a gritty new gangster film.

Fall to the Top, which will be shown at The Light cinema in Sheffield on Sunday, sees Chuckle don a sinister set of shades and dive into the world of organised crime as he plays a character named The Jackal.

It is quite a contrast from the days when the 77-year-old and his late older sibling Barry graced children's TV as the accident-prone Chuckle Brothers for more than two decades.

But Rotherham-born Chuckle, whose real name is Paul Elliott, told BBC Radio Sheffield he "looked forward" to seeing himself as an on-screen mobster.

"I've always been a funnyman, a comic, apart from when I'm DJing - then I'm just cool," he quipped.

"I play a killer, but I never use a weapon."

Asked how his wife felt about seeing him play a scary role, Chuckle joked: "I didn't want to be, but some money came across the table!"

Director Pete Hirst said he had been inspired to cast Chuckle while watching him star in an episode of Benidorm

Director Pete Hirst said he had been watching Chuckle star in the comedy series 'Benidorm' while writing the film's script.

"There was just a glint in his eye in one of the scenes where I thought, 'There could be something sinister there'," he said.

"I was typing away and I thought, 'I have the perfect role here'."

Mr Hirst described The Jackal as "still a joker and a laughable character but not someone you'd want to mess with".

He also said there had been an "unwritten rule" during filming that nobody would utter the Chuckle Brothers' signature catchphrase, "To me, to you".

"We kept it for as long as we could, before someone broke it," he added. "And it was Paul that did it!"

Fall to the Top will be shown at the Spirit of Independence film festival on Sunday 28 September.

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