Duncan Norvelle (born 2 April 1958,

Hoton Hoton is a village and civil parish in the Charnwood district of Leicestershire, England, on the A60 north-east of Loughborough, just south of the border with Nottinghamshire. Nearby places are Prestwold (to the south), Wymeswold (to the ea ...

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second larg ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

, England) is an English

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

in the

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

tradition, who appeared on British television from the early 1980s. He was often referred to as Duncan "Chase me" Norvelle, stemming from his

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

"Chase me!". His act was based on appearing to be a stereotypical

camp Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

Entertainment career

In the mid 80s, he hosted an unscreened pilot dating show called ''It's a Hoot'' for

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 unt ...

. The series was eventually re-titled ''

Blind Date A blind date is a social engagement between two people who have not met, usually arranged by a mutual acquaintance. Structure A blind date is arranged for by a mutual acquaintance of both participants. The two people who take part in the blind ...

'' and hosted by

Liverpudlian Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

singer and entertainer

Cilla Black Priscilla Maria Veronica White (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer, actress and television presenter. Championed by her friends the Beatles, Black began her career as a singer in 1963. Her ...

. In 1991, Duncan appeared on the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

comedy panel game show ''

Through the Keyhole ''Through the Keyhole'' is a British comedy panel game show created by the TV producer Kevin Sim and originally presented by Sir David Frost in the studio and Loyd Grossman on location. The location presenter goes around celebrities' houses and ...

''. 2008 saw him go out on tour as part of the ''

Ricky Tomlinson Eric "Ricky" Tomlinson (born 26 September 1939) is an English actor. He is best known for his television roles as Bobby Grant in '' Brookside'', DCI Charlie Wise in ''Cracker'' and Jim Royle in '' The Royle Family'', and playing the titular cha ...

Laughter Show''.Ricky Tomlinson meets Scargill at opening - GALLERY
''

The Star ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', 6 March 2008. Archived fro
the original
on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2021 Norvelle spent the 2009

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

season playing

Buttons A button is a fastener that joins two pieces of fabric together by slipping through a loop or by sliding through a buttonhole. In modern clothing and fashion design, buttons are commonly made of plastic but also may be made of metal, wood, ...

in ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'' in

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

, South Yorkshire. In 2011, he appeared on '' Celebrity Come Dine with Me'' with Sean Hughes,

Gina Yashere Regina Obedapo "Gina" Iyashere is a British comedian who has made many appearances on British and American television. Early life Yashere was born and raised in Bethnal Green London to Nigerian parents. Before becoming a comedian, she worked ...

and

Paul Tonkinson Paul Tonkinson (born 1 August 1969) is a British comedian, radio presenter and television personality, best known for his presenting work on ''The Big Breakfast'' and ''The Sunday Show''. He was winner of the 1992 '' Time Out'' New Act of the Ye ...

Health

Norvelle was hospitalised in 2012 after suffering a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

, leaving him

paralysed Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 50 ...

down the left side of his body. After nine weeks in hospital, he cancelled his summer season with comedy duo Cannon and Ball, and was replaced by

Stu Francis Stuart G. G. Francis (born 30 January 1948 in Bolton, Lancashire, England) is a British comedian with a camp style of delivery who achieved celebrity as lead presenter on the children's television programme '' Crackerjack'' (1980–1984). His pr ...

. In 2015, Norvelle chose the Embassy Theatre,

Skegness Skegness ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire, England. On the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, the town is east of Lincoln and north-east of Boston. With a population of 19,579 as of 2011, i ...

, as his first performance after over three years off-stage, promising that funds from his show would be allocated to the Stroke Association.Comedian returns to stage at Skegness following life changing illness
''

Boston Standard ''Boston Standard'' (previously ''Lincolnshire Standard'') is a weekly newspaper based in the town of Boston, Lincolnshire, the ''Boston Target'' (another weekly newspaper owned by Local World) is its main rival. As of 2015, it was owned by Jo ...

'', 7 August 2015. Archived fro
the original
on 4 February 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2021

References

External links

* 1958 births Living people British comedians People from the Borough of Charnwood {{UK-comedian-stub