WATCH: Chuckle Brothers visit the Express & Star ahead of Peter Pan in Wolverhampton

The vaults of British kid's telly are filled with animated creatures, memorable puppets and stop-motion heroes, but the Chuckle Brothers are undoubtedly the best-loved real-life characters.

Just ask the students who turn out in their hundreds to nightclub photo opportunities with the pair, keen to meet the 'legends' and show their friends they've actually interacted with the 'to me, to you' duo.

Or ask the employees of the Star, who squeak and happily shuffle in their chairs when 70-year-old Barry and 68-year-old Paul turn up on Weekend Island. They're popping by ahead of their panto performances at Wolverhampton's Grand Theatre, and the excitement in the building is palpable.

As they stroll around the corner into the newsroom, we can't help but greet them in the most Chuckle-est way possible. "Elllooo!" we chirrup, emulating one of their catchphrases in a Yorkshire accent. They smile politely and return it, despite having heard it a million times before. They're a very warm pair, slightly quieter than we're used to seeing them – very softly spoken and not at all madcap. We show them around our newsroom and they're stopped dozens of times for selfies. Everyone from the sales team to the political editor wants to say hello and get a snap, and it's this universal appeal that makes them the perfect pair for pantomime.

• Read more about the Peter Pan panto at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre here

This year is the 50th year Paul and Barry have performed in panto, never taking a year off. It's quite the achievement. "Don't ask us to name every one!" pleads Paul. He's the chattier Chuckle, with Barry often finishing his sentences.

"We're used to working every Christmas now. You never really enjoy being away from home, but it's the same every year. It's not even the busiest time for us – we have been non-stop all year," say both men. They're not talking at the same time, just chiming in and out of one another's dialogue at intervals.

"We don't seem to have had two minutes to turn around! We've been visiting nightclubs and doing appearances at freshers' weeks. People who grew up with us just love to come and say hello and get a photo with us. We meet everyone who comes and get a photo with them all before they go home."

"It's a great part of the job," says Paul, "and it's a bottle of Scotch on my rider!"

It's no surprise the Chuckles speak like such a tight unit – it's been a long career together. The brothers (real surname Elliott, not Chuckle) won Opportunity Knocks back in 1967, before going on to New Faces in 1974.

But things didn't really kick off for them until 1985, when the siblings starred in their own BBC show Chuckle Hounds. It was a no-dialogue show featuring Barry and Paul as giant dogs, and it made the pair household names. In 1987, the BAFTA-nominated ChuckleVision was born, running for 21 series over 22 years. How many people can say they've enjoyed success of that magnitude on a mainstream channel like the Beeb?

"We've never aimed any of our material on a specific audience. It's just across the board, anyone can laugh at it. It's for anybody, 90-year-olds or three-year-olds," says Paul.

"You can't really describe our humour," adds Barry. "It's quite individual and different. It doesn't offend anybody, it's just a universal humour."

His brother tells us: "When we were young, there were a lot of acts that did our type of stuff. But we're the only ones left in the business now. Some people will say 'I'm not going to watch that, they're not funny' because they like swearing. Nowadays, that kind of stuff is more common."

Barry, who has sat for much of our chat rather quietly, says: "You can please most of the people most of the time, but not all of the people all of the time."

"That's deep for him!" comments Paul, laughing.

They might not be able to please all people, but they can still draw in a massive crowd. "We're doing lots of different things now, such as clubs and festivals," explains Paul. "We did Bestival this year and they said we were the hit of the weekend! We were in the big top which holds around 10,000 people and it was packed solid, like sardines. And people were around 15 or 16 deep outside trying to get in. So they've booked us again for next year to work on the big stage to 50,000 people!"

It's quite the achievement for a pair old enough to be comfortably retired. But entertaining runs in their blood, and if their older brothers are anything to go by, retirement is a long way off. The Patton Brothers, 84-year-old Jimmy and 81-year-old Brian, have been prolific on the panto scene over the years too, themselves starring in their 57th consecutive show this year up in Bolton. Do the Chuckles and the Pattons ever get competitive? A little family rivalry?

"Not at all," says Barry politely, with Paul chipping in: "We're funny!"

"They do comedy but they do singing and dancing as well," Barry continues. "We can do singing and dancing but we don't – we concentrate on the comedy. Our dad told us originally to concentrate on one thing. He said you can be too versatile, and that if you are they'll use you as a support on the bill. If you focus on one thing then you get to the top of the bill."

"Our dad was a comedian and gave us great advice," adds Paul. "He also said to us, which set us in great stead, to always give 100 per cent. Whether there's two people in there who have paid a tenner each or 2,000 people. You shouldn't ever think that just because there's a couple of people in that you shouldn't give it the same performance. It worked for us – that's how we got ChuckleVision.

"We were doing a children's matinee show at 2:30pm in the afternoon in Manchester. There was 28 people in. We thought about what our dad had said and went and gave 100 per cent. And they loved us. It's not easy to work to 28 people, but we got a call the next day from the BBC. The producer and director were among those 28, at the back in the top circle. We probably wouldn't have worked so well if we'd have known they were there. And that's where it all came from.

"When we were at the BBC we saw five different heads of the BBC off! One would go and another would come in and carry us on. We don't know what the secret to the success is, it would be difficult for anyone to come along now and do what we do. They'd say that nobody wants it."

That may be the case. Perhaps the Chuckles are lightning in a bottle – unable to replicate and impossible to explain. If their fans are anything to go by, it simply doesn't need explaining. We say goodbye in good time, to give the dozens of people lurking outside the doors a chance to get photo with the pair before they return to the theatre.

By Kirsty Bosley

The Chuckle Brothers star in Peter Pan at the Grand Theatre from tonight until January 24. Tickets from www.grandtheatre.co.uk