A beloved children’s television star swapped slapstick for charity work as he toured the country to thank supporters of a hospice care charity marking a major milestone.
Paul Chuckle MBE has been travelling around the UK as part of a “thank you” tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of Marie Curie’s Great Daffodil Appeal, meeting volunteers, supporters and fundraisers who help the charity provide end-of-life care.
During a visit to a Morrisons store on Prince Charles Road in Exeter, Paul joined fundraising volunteers collecting donations and met members of the public while riding his “Daff bike” – a Marie Curie-branded Chuckle bike.
While there, he met local supporter Donna Manser, who is preparing to run the 2026 TCS London Marathon for Marie Curie next month. Donna also ran the marathon last year in aid of the charity, which is this year’s official London Marathon charity partner.
Donna spoke to Paul about the care Marie Curie nurses gave her father, Bryan Rainbow, and the support they provided to the family.
She said: “After a simple phone call, both Hospiscare and Marie Curie stepped in and, from that moment, until the day dad passed away, my mum and dad had a Marie Curie nurse with them overnight, every night (except Christmas Day when we were all there).
“This meant that dad had the care that he needed and my mum got to have a night’s sleep knowing that if anything were to happen in the night she was not alone.
“I remember dad’s last breath and looking at the clock beside him, I really did think time would stand still but it did not. The minutes ticked by while we all held him.
“The nurses had not long left, so we called them to let them know and within no time at all they came back. I remember being so incredibly grateful at how much kindness and respect they showed him at that time.”
Paul also met Marie Curie nurse Charlotte Bullivant, who works as part of a recently formed team supporting patients in the emergency department at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.
The team provides care for people attending the emergency department who have illnesses they are likely to die from, as well as support for their families.
Charlotte said: “To be able to share our new service with Paul and highlight the work we are doing to support people at end of life, who otherwise might not have the care and support they need, has been amazing.
“We know almost one in three people in England do not have access to the palliative and end of life care they need, often leaving them with no choice but to call 999 or attend the emergency department.
“When patients come into the emergency department they are often scared or frightened so if we can make that patient or their family just a little less scared then we have made a difference and allow them to die having received good end of life care.
“Palliative patients sometimes get admitted when hospital is maybe not the right place for them – we can support with getting them home again and allowing them to die in the place of their choosing.
“We have already supported 74 patients and their loved ones since we started in December, and we look forward to supporting more patients across the Exeter area as we continue with the service.”
Paul and his late brother Barry became Marie Curie ambassadors in 2016. Paul has remained a supporter of the charity following Barry’s death in 2018 after receiving care from Marie Curie nurses.
Paul said: “I am incredibly proud to be a Marie Curie ambassador. Marie Curie helped care for my brother Barry at the end of his life in 2018, so it is a charity very close to my heart.
“When you think about it, there is only one chance to give someone the best possible end of life. That is why the Great Daffodil Appeal is so important. Every penny raised will help Marie Curie provide expert end of life care and support to people with a terminal illness and those close to them.
“So, when I heard it was the 40th anniversary of the Great Daffodil Appeal, I knew I wanted to do something big, and something fun.
“Whilst I would love to be able to cycle the iconic John O’Groats to Land’s End route like so many incredible fundraisers do, I am really excited to get to travel the route with the ‘Daff bike’, raise lots of money for the charity and meet as many Marie Curie supporters, volunteers and staff as possible to say a huge thank you – from me to you.”
Speaking about why he supports the charity, Paul said Marie Curie provides vital support to families during some of the most difficult moments of their lives.
He said: “Marie Curie, it is a fabulous crowd of people. They look after you before somebody passes away and afterwards for as long as you need them. They are just there for you all the time, like a great big hug for everybody. They are just superb.”
Paul added that Marie Curie nurses had also supported members of his own family.
He said: “Barry got ill and they were there for him, they made sure he was fine. He wanted to die at home, so they got him a bed, a proper hospital bed in the house and looked after him every day, they were brilliant.
“Then just over a year later, the wife’s father passed away and they looked after him and the night he was on his deathbed at the finish, one nurse sat up with Sue all night long from about 10 o’clock at night until 7.30 in the morning so she would not be on her own because I was working.
“They do not make it easy. Nothing makes it easy, but they make it a hell of a lot better. They really do.”
Registered nurse Lottie Bullivant, who works with Marie Curie in Devon, said the funds raised through the appeal will help support more patients and services.
She said: “It is brilliant to have Paul Chuckle here supporting Marie Curie and supporting our 40th Daffodil Appeal. It is just amazing to have him, and we also know how much it meant to him when we cared for his brother, Barry, back in 2018.
“That will support patients receiving visits in their own homes to care for them when they are dying at home. It will support future staff being able to care for people and actually new services, like on our Exeter emergency department service.
“We are in the hospital setting, where people do not expect to receive palliative or end of life care quite like they would at home with Marie Curie, so it is making a huge difference.”
The Great Daffodil Appeal takes place once a year and encourages people to wear a daffodil pin and donate to help fund end-of-life care.
Donations can be made at mariecurie.org.uk/frommetoyoutour.
