A BUS driver from the dale is gaining his own fame because of his uncanny resemblance to Paul Chuckle, from TV’s Chuckle Brothers.
Gainford’s John Simpson has become renowned among his passengers and in Blackpool as a Paul Chuckle lookalike and has been dubbed a “doppelganger” by the television celebrity himself.
He has also appeared in the Daily Mirror because of the resemblance.
It was shortly before the coronavirus pandemic that passengers on the X75 and X76 route from Barney to Darlington began making the connection.
The 57-year-old said: “It was just little comments that the passengers were saying. I never saw the connection but then I went to have my eyes tested for reading – there were some frames similar to Paul’s and I put them on [and I saw the similarity].”
The notion was reinforced when he and his wife Denise visited Blackpool.
Mr Simpson said: “We sat in the front row to watch a comedian and he ripped into me straight away. He said, ‘It’s nice to see Paul Chuckle has arrived safe and well’. Then I thought there must be something in it.”
The couple take short visits to Blackpool regularly because Mrs Simpson is a carer for a family member and they have become a hit in the seaside town. Whenever they attend gigs the groups on stage regularly introduce him to the audience who want photographs afterwards.
The bus driver, who is a former darts league player and also has a sideline job as a photographer and videographer, said: “There was the Elvis Birthday Celebration in January this year and I got introduced there again – more photographs. Plus, it was my wife’s birthday and she got introduced as Mrs Chuckles.
“There was on old lady, she must have been in her 80s, she sat herself down on my knee to have her photograph taken.”
The ultimate recognition came when Mr Simpson had a haircut similar to Mr Chuckles and submitted it to the celebrity’s Facebook page.
He said: “I got a message off the man himself which said, ‘perhaps you are my doppelganger’. I was over the moon.”
Mr Simpson has been a fan of the Chuckle Brothers for as long as he can remember. In 2014 he went to Darlington’s Civic Theatre to watch the brothers perform in the Chuckles of Oz pantomime, where he had a photograph taken with the duo.
He said: “It was the best pantomime I have ever seen. Of course when he was on Master Chef my phone went absolutely crazy with people sending me messages.”
Other incidents fondly recalled are being asked by a friend in Newton Aycliffe to turn on his Christmas lights, with the man’s wife convinced it was a Chuckle Brother, and,when buying a car, the salesman had a photograph taken which his friends who were convinced he was the real deal. Even visiting his local, the Cross Keys pub, he has been asked by a patron to have a photo taken.
Mr Simpson said: “His dad is a massive fan and he was gutted he wasn’t there because he was convinced I was the real one.”
Although he enjoys being mistaken for the celebrity, he said he would never try to impersonate Paul Chuckle.
He said: “I don’t try to be him – as far as I am concerned there is only one.
“I love it [being mistaken for Paul Chuckle]. After what we have been through with the lockdown and everything, we could all do with something on a lighter note, a laugh basically.”
