A GAINFORD bus driver’s uncanny resemblance to a Chuckle Brother even fooled famed comedian Bernie Clifton, who now uses the incident as part of his weekly live chat.
Paul Chuckle lookalike John Simpson was mistaken for the late celebrity when he went to watch the Legends of Variety show at the Darlington Hippodrome.
The show featured Freddie Davis, Bernie Clifton, Anita Harris, The Grumbleweeds, Billy Pearce and Tommy Cannon.
Mr Simpson said: “We decided to have a snack and a drink before the show and the girl that served us said, ‘You are part of the show, aren’t you?’.
“I said, ‘No, but you could put it on Tommy Cannon’s account’, as a joke.
“We then sat down and after a while the door for going back stage opened and the comedian Bernie Clifton appeared. I went to shake his hand and he said “forget that” , and he gave me a big hug.”
Later when Mr Simpson walked into the foyer where the cast had gathered Mr Clifton shouted “Paul Chuckle is in the building” .
Mr Simpson said: “He now explains to people in his weekly live chat, how we first met and someone had gone back stage and told him Paul Chuckle was in the foyer, and how for a while he thought I was Paul Chuckle.”
