Duncan Norvelle, the comedian and impressionist, who has died aged 66, rose to fame on the ITV variety show Saturday Royal in the early 1980s and went on to appear on numerous popular shows such as Celebrity Squares, The Des O'Connor Show, Wogan, The Bob Monkhouse Show and the comedy game show Through the Keyhole.

Although Norvelle was not gay, his act was based on exploiting the popular John Inman-camp homosexual stereotype. Mincing on stage to the strains of Teddy Bears' Picnic, he would prance about, inviting men to "Chase me!" It became his catchphrase.

While some failed to see the funny side, in the 1980s the phrase - along with Norvelle's accompanying banter (cheeky rather than crude) and infectious sense of fun - could be relied upon to bring the house down. Often referred to as Duncan "Chase me!" Norvelle, he packed clubs and theatres nationwide and became a stalwart of pantomime.

In 1985 he hosted the pilot episode for a dating show called It's a Hoot!, which later became Blind Date presented by Cilla Black.

For a time Norvelle was one of Britain's top-earning acts, and on the proceeds of his success he bought a Nottinghamshire mansion with tennis courts and five acres of landscaped grounds. But in the 1990s, as variety shows fell from favour, his earnings began to slump.

His financial problems were aggravated by a gambling habit, and in 1993 he was declared bankrupt and forced to sell his home. By the end of the decade he had mainly returned to the northern club and panto circuit, albeit with occasional guest slots on shows such as Come Dine with Me and Pointless Celebrities. He also released an album, Music from My Life.

In 1998 Norvelle was reported to have embarked on a relationship with Cheryl Barrymore, whose marriage to the chat show host Michael had come unstuck after he announced he was gay. Some were unconvinced by the relationship. Trudi Dean, Norvelle's ex-wife and mother of one of his two daughters, told the Daily Mail it might just be a publicity stunt: "His career hasn't exactly been going places recently so who knows?"

"I did [a] pilot for Blind Date and had the audience and producers in tears of laughter," Norvelle reflected in 2000, "but the whole variety and live entertainment business has been quiet for years. There's nothing like Live at the Palladium any more, and I think that's really sad. The heydays were 10 years ago, before this alternative comedy took hold... I always get asked why I'm not on telly. It's a tough one to answer without bringing down the mood."

Norvelle's profile continued to languish until 2012, when he made headlines for a different reason. In April that year he had a stroke, followed by a second stroke in hospital, which left him paralysed down the left side of his body. "I felt this jolting through my entire body and it seemed to go on for ever," he recalled.

He was put into an induced coma, remained in hospital for several months and was told he might never walk or talk properly again. But he recovered and made a comeback in 2015 with a performance at the Embassy Theatre, Skegness, before touring with his own show, a comic take on his illness, A Stroke of Luck! Funds raised went to the Stroke Association: "I changed my catchphrase to 'Push me!' as I was sitting down for most of the performance."

He continued to campaign for charity, to raise awareness of stroke prevention, and became a popular after-dinner speaker.

Duncan Norvelle was born on April 2 1958 in Hoton, near Loughborough in Leicestershire, and after leaving school worked briefly in a menswear shop. He had done impressions since he was a child and aged 17 he turned professional, beginning his comedy career in the tough training ground of working men's clubs.

His catchphrase developed at one such gig: "I was in a club in Scotland... and there was a man who wasn't laughing. He was a big Scots bloke so I looked at him and asked him to chase me. It was purely an ad-lib but when I looked back he was laughing. Good job it worked though, he was about six foot eight, and I think he would have killed me if he'd caught me!"

Duncan Norvelle was married and divorced three times and had two daughters and a son who survive him with his partner Lynn Trevallion.

Duncan Norvelle, born April 2 1958, died December 12 2024