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The children’s comic’s role in a drama of ‘death, deceit and carnage’ shouldn’t be a stretch for an established master of destruction

Next year a British gangster film will be released, entitled Fall to the Top. Its plot concerns a frustrated labourer who becomes a drug dealer and ends up trying to control London’s entire criminal underground. Its official summary promises “death, deceit and carnage”. One thing it doesn’t promise, however, is what might turn out to be its biggest draw: Paul Chuckle.

Readers of a certain vintage will recognise Paul Chuckle as one of the Chuckle Brothers, the beloved slapstick children’s entertainment duo who starred in 292 episodes of Cbbc’s ChuckleVision between 1987 and 2009. A typical ChuckleVision episode would see Paul and his brother Barry take employment at a new workplace, and then essentially destroy everything around them with their dangerous ineptitude. It was brilliant.

To me, to you: comedian Paul Chuckle is going to the dark side for his latest role in thriller Fall To The Top.

Words you never expect to type – Paul Chuckle is playing a hitman.

Beloved by millions for his decades long career as one half of The Chuckle Brothers alongside his late brother Barry, they dominated children’s television for many years. ChuckleVision ran on the BBC from 1987 to 2009, clocking up a whopping 292 episodes and very nearly rivaling shows like Last Of The Summer Wine for the title of longest running sitcom.

Since Barry sadly passed away in 2018, Paul has continued working in pantomime and has taken on sporadic television roles, appearing in an episode of Doctors with Su Pollard and Ruth Madoc, and he has a recurring role in The Madame Blanc Mysteries.

His next role is very much against type, though. He will play a violent hitman...

Happy birthday, Cbbc! 30-years-old and still going strong, judging by this nostalgia-powered clip starring the likes of Edd the Duck and Gordon the Gopher.

Confronted with three decades' worth of the finest children's entertainment, it was a hard task to corral the Digital Spy team into picking the very best - or at least their favourite - Cbbc programmes.

So here are our picks, from ChuckleVision to Byker Grove and back again, which means you'll have to let us know yours in the comment box below.

1. The Animals of Farthing Wood (1992-1995)

This animated adaptation of Colin Dann's novel was so good it could have been on at any time of day instead of part of the Cbbc lineup.

It was gripping, heartbreaking and funny, and you found yourself getting perhaps too-attached to the likes of Fox, Badger, Toad and Mole (a tear may have been shed on several occasions). Though,...

From Bananaman to Grange Hill, join us in a spot of TV nostalgia as we celebrate 50 great 1980s kids' TV theme songs...

There comes a time to turn away from the horrors of the world and retreat underneath the soft, comforting duvet of nostalgia. That time is Friday. That metaphorical duvet is below.

Here are fifty of the best kids’ TV theme songs (spread over two pages and in arbitrary order) of the 1980s. Some, like Alan Hawkshaw’s distinctive Grange Hill intro, are unarguable classics of the era, while others, like Mike Harding's Count Duckula, only started in the late-eighties and spent the rest of their run in the next decade.

Obviously, there being only 50 on this list, we may have missed out your favourite (deliberately or otherwise). Let us know if so, but remember that links may take a while to appear in the comments thread because...

"Bring ChuckleVision back to TV" - now this is the sort of online petition we can really get behind.

Fans of children's comedy veterans Paul and Barry Chuckle have been campaigning to get more episodes of their Cbbc series ChuckleVision made, and it's only right we flag up their efforts and give it some much-needed publicity.

Over 5,000 supporters have backed the petition, calling for the BBC (or any other TV station) to revive the long-running series.

They've also suggested that fans bombard Netflix to make classic episodes of ChuckleVision available on-demand on the streaming service.

ChuckeVision, which featured Paul and Barry getting up to various hijinks that typically ended in a crescendo of slapstick humour, ran for 292 episodes between 1997 and 2009.

The campaign's Facebook page has 200,823 likes already.

Some of the Chuckle Brothers fans' messages of support reveal just how close this campaign is to their hearts.

Alison Park: "I remember...

"Martin Freeman used to sit and complain, 'I'm so hot. Can someone cool me down?' and all he had going on were his rubber feet. What about us with our boots, and our bellies?"

If Adam Brown has a gripe about filming 'The Hobbit' in the sweltering summer of New Zealand, that's his only one. For the rest of it, the British actor waxes lyrical about his time participating as a dwarf in Peter Jackson's prequel to the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy.

Adam Brown (right) plays Ori, one of the 13 dwarves befriended by Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) in 'The Hobbit'

"There was a pinch-me moment every day. Great actors, my first helicopter ride ... Martin Freeman warned me, 'Don't get used to this it isn't normal.' I could have turned into a monster."

"Peter Jackson is lovely. You've got it in your head that he's Peter Jackson,...

The rolling green hills of The Shire never looked so good and Howard Shore’s majestic score has never sounded so sweet. That’s right, the first official trailer for The Hobbit has arrived and it’s so good it’ll make you grow hair on your feet. In it you’ll hear a voice over of Bilbo Baggins start into another storytelling session to Frodo and soon we see Gandalf luring Bilbo Baggins into his destiny to the Lonely Mountain in search of the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the dragon Smaug. Martin Freeman looks terrific as the younger Bilbo Baggins and he should be splendid in the lead role. There’s also a few familiar faces that will be sure to please fans as well as a roll call of the 13 dwarves joining Bilbo and Gandalf. The trailer is also planned to be shown in theaters before...

Yesterday, we brought you a first look at The Hobbit’s handsome dwarves Fili and Kili, played by Dean O’Gorman (Farscape) and Aidan Turner (Being Human) and last week was a look at Dwarven brothers Nori, Ori and Dori, played by Jed Brophy (Lotr), Adam Brown (ChuckleVision), and Mark Hadlow (King Kong) respectively.

Today, we have our first peek at a few “hair”-oic dwarves, if you’ll pardon the pun. Check out the hair on these guys! The hair and make up department sure have their hands full with this lot. Bofur, Bombur, and Bifur are played by James Nesbitt (Jekyll), Stephen Hunter (Spirited), and William Kircher (Out of the Blue):

Via IGN, Bofu, Bombur and Bifur are described as such:

While most of the Company of Thorin Oakensheild is related to the royal and noble line of Durin, Bofur, his brother Bombur and their cousin Bifur most definitely are … not.

Get the movie posters ready, Peter Jackson’s two-film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit received their official titles and release dates.

The first part will be called The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and be released on December 14, 2012. The second part is The Hobbit: There and Back Again will be released one year later on December 13, 2013.

The Hobbit films are prequels to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which were also done by Jackson. They tell the story of Bilbo Baggins who will be played mainly by Martin Freeman (BBC’s Sherlock, Shaun of the Dead) as the younger Bilbo, while Ian Holm will return to play the elder Bilbo who we saw in Lord in the Rings. Bilbo is joined by 13 dwarfs and their journey to the Lonely Mountain in search of the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the dragon Smaug.

The actors playing the dwarves are: James Nesbitt (Bofur,...

Production starts on The Hobbit: Part 1 on March 21, and the principal cast was introduced in a press conference in Wellington, New Zealand this past weekend. The story will center around Bilbo Baggins played this time by Martin Freeman (Shaun of the Dead, Sherlock, The Office UK) as well as 13 dwarves who travel to the Lonely Mountain and seek out the the dragon Smaug’s treasure.

The actors playing the dwarves are: James Nesbitt (Bofur, Millions), Rob Kazinsky (Fili, Timeless), Aidan Turner (Kili, Being Human UK), Richard Armitage (Thorin Oakenshield, Captain America), Ken Stott (Balin, One Day), Graham McTavish (Dwalin, Rambo), Peter Hambleton (Gloin, The Last Tattoo), John Callen (Oin, Man Who Lost His Head), Stephen Hunter (Bombur, All Saints), Adam Brown (Ori, Chucklevision), Mark Hadlow (Dori, King Kong), William Kircher (Bifur, Out of the Blue) and Jed Brophy (Nori, Lord of the Rings: Two Towers)

Saorise Ronan (The Lovely Bones...

Children's entertainer Barry Chuckle has revealed that there are plans for a Chuckle Brothers 3D movie in 2011. The ChuckleVision star, 65, said that the comedy double act had always wanted to work on a big screen project and exclusively revealed to Digital Spy that planning was already underway on a movie for next year. "We've always wanted to make a film. A Chuckle Brothers movie," he said. "We've got a lot of student fans and older guys and girls as well. They don't come to our shows (more)...

Debates over the suitability of Russell Brand's comedy have dominated the news agenda in recent days after his prank calls to Fawlty Towers star Andrew Sachs on his BBC Radio 2 programme sparked thousands of complaints. Meanwhile, The Chuckle Brothers are BBC stars with a rather different approach to comedy, having entertained children for years with their bumbling antics and familiar catchphrases on ChuckleVision. Digital Spy shows how Brand and the Brothers are linked through six degrees of separation... Russell Brand to... Dannii Minogue - The X Factor judge Dannii was far from impressed with Brand's antics after being interviewed by him on MTV two years ago. The Australian popstar described him as a "vile predator" after revealing that he had flirted outrageously before chasing her down a corridor and demanding her phone number. (more)...