 | This article uses a non-standardepisode table. Please convert it to use{{Episode table}}. |
| Frank Skinner's Opinionated | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Presented by | Frank Skinner |
| Opening theme | "No Bulbs" byThe Fall |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 18 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Avalon Television |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC Two |
| Release | 16 April 2010 (2010-04-16) – 15 December 2011 (2011-12-15) |
Frank Skinner's Opinionated is aBritish televisioncomedytalk show hosted by the comedianFrank Skinner and produced by Avalon Television for theBBC. The show focusses on various topics in the previous week's news, with Skinner joined by two celebrity guests, also interacting with the studio audience. Each half-hour episode is filmed in a different location around the country. It was first shown onBBC Two, with a first series of six episodes broadcast from 16 April 2010, and a second of six more beginning on 25 March 2011. The third and final series began broadcasting on 10 November 2011.
The show is a studio basedlight heartedtalk show focussing on events of the past week, with a large amount of audience participation while also having supporting film clips. Skinner opens the show on his own, and in the opening piece outlines what the general themes of the night's show will be. The two celebrity guests then enter the studio, and they proceed to discuss those topics in more detail, with Skinner guiding the discussion and inviting questions and comments from the audience, some of whom are pre-selected to talk about a specific topic.
The two celebrity guests each week are all primarily known as or having originated instand-up comedy, in addition to other regular appearances on comedy or light entertainment television. Some have appeared on more than one episode. The show has featured:
A pilot for the show was recorded in December 2009 atBBC Television Centre in London. After the first series was completed, two more series were commissioned.[1] Due to the nature of the series, filming of each episode occurs in the days just before broadcast. As such, when promoting the upcoming second series on the BBC'sThe One Show, Skinner could only refer to film from the previous series.
The studio set consists of just a redsofa and chair, with Skinner sitting in the individual seat, and the two guests on the sofa. The show is filmed in various studios around the UK, with the location also forming part of the discussion topics. Across the three series, Skinner visited Epic Studios inNorwich,Waterfront Hall in Belfast and regularly visitedDock10 atMediaCityUK,Greater Manchester. Other filming locations included Glasgow, London andMaidstone.
Each series contains 6 half hour episodes, broadcast weekly in the 10pm slot on Friday nights on BBC Two. The first series ran from 16 April to 21 May 2010. The second series began on 25 March 2011 and finished on 29 April 2011.
| # | Title | Guests | Location | Original broadcast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | "Episode 1" | Miranda Hart andAl Murray | London | 16 April 2010 (2010-04-16) | |
Topics included plastic surgery, Frank's "lightbulb shaped" head,Kenny Rogers,Dolly Parton andDennis Avner (Cat Man); theforthcoming election,class andPrescott: the Class System and Me;marriage,Elizabeth Taylor's possible ninth marriage andKerry Katona;speed dating,ophidiophobia (fear of snakes), with the audience including famed speed dater Joseph Ireland, anelocution coach and a woman who set the 2000Guinness World Record for most cosmetic procedures – 47. | |||||
| 1.2 | "Episode 2" | Dave Gorman andLaura Solon | London | 23 April 2010 (2010-04-23) | |
Topics includedbinge drinking;infidelity andsnooping on partners and neighbours, rear view sunglasses; the postponement of the23rd James Bond film; theair travel disruption caused by an Icelandic volcano, with the audience including apublican, twovolcanologists and anair stewardess. | |||||
| 1.3 | "Episode 3" | Lee Mack andSarah Millican | London | 30 April 2010 (2010-04-30) | |
Topics includedspiritualism, the increase inghost sightings;dieting,the Obamas favourite chocolates andBeyoncé's maple syrup diet;driving,White Van Man – the rudest drivers, driving tests; andGordon Brown'sbigotgate election gaffe; with the audience including a dieting woman who lost 10 stones 6 pounds in 13 months, a worker at the reputedly hauntedHampton Court Palace andTower of London, and ProfessorRichard Wiseman who studies unusual phenomena. | |||||
| 1.4 | "Episode 4" | Sarah Millican andAl Murray | Norwich | 7 May 2010 (2010-05-07) | |
Topics included the renaming ofNorwich Union to Aviva, the American grandmother Pearl Carter'sincestuous relationship;lying, snooker playerJohn Higgins, common lies;beauty,Cristiano Ronaldo andDidier Drogba onVanity Fair, strange crushes, the stress of relationships; andlaughter andWorld Laughter Day; with the audience includingMiss EnglandKatrina Hodge, an expert on lyingGlenn Wilson, a woman who fanciesIan Beale, and aLaughter Yoga instructor. | |||||
| 1.5 | "Episode 5" | Jason Manford andKaren Taylor | Manchester | 14 May 2010 (2010-05-14) | |
Topics included football, theforthcoming World Cup,Wayne Rooney,Manchester City andManchester United; thenew coalition government,Sky News bias,Lembit Öpik's resemblance to a banana; protesting, anti-war demos, the GreekRiot Dog,Leila Deen's attack onPeter Mandelson;sleep disorders and oddpositions, sleepwalking andnarcoleptic dogs; with the audience including aPlane Stupid activist, a couple who protest nude, and the couple behind theSleep Talkin' Man blog. | |||||
| 1.6 | "Episode 6" | Patrick Kielty andSarah Millican | Glasgow | 21 May 2010 (2010-05-21) | |
Topics included celebrity and fame, thefinalBig Brother series, the knighting ofSimon Cowell,Sheena Easton's hostile Glasgow gig, the attack onLeona Lewis, celebrity disguises; a survey suggesting 20% of women would rather give up sex then chocolate; theLabour leadership election; theLord Triesman bribery allegations; with the audience includingX-Factor winnerSteve Brookstein, a teenager undergoing a sex change, and Doctor Martin Toby, talking aboutevolutionary psychology. | |||||
| # | Title | Guests | Location | Original broadcast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1 | "Episode 1" | Miranda Hart andLee Mack | London | 25 March 2011 (2011-03-25) | |
Topics includedMidsomer Murders;Charlie Sheen; religion, risingatheism & potential bias in theforthcoming census, recognition ofThe Druid Network; animals, the death ofKnut, human's relationship with their dogs, dog-hairjumpers, dog sex-toys and clothing, Miranda's new dog Peggy,Greyfriars Bobby;The Budget andMuammar Gaddafi'sAmazonian Guard; with the audience includingAndrew Copson of theBritish Humanist Association,Arthur Uther Pendragon a Druid Chief, Catrima Gabrielle atelepathicanimal communicator, and a woman who uses a website to date older rich men. | |||||
| 2.2 | "Episode 2" | Katy Brand andRoss Noble | Salford | 1 April 2011 (2011-04-01) | |
Topics includedApril Fool's Day,practical jokes andJeremy Beadle; living in the country; who has not completed theircensus form; theBig Society, community spirit andreal-life superhero crime-fighters such as "The Statesman" in Birmingham and "Man in Black" in London; with the audience including asocial scientist, aninvestment banker who quit the city, a Jewish community assistance group, and the "Knight Warrior" who patrols Salford. | |||||
| 2.3 | "Episode 3" | Victoria Coren andGreg Davies | Glasgow | 8 April 2011 (2011-04-08) | |
| 2.4 | "Episode 4" | Sarah Millican andRoss Noble | Norwich | 15 April 2011 (2011-04-15) | |
| 2.5 | "Episode 5" | Chris Addison andAndi Osho | Norwich | 22 April 2011 (2011-04-22) | |
| 2.6 | "Episode 6" | Katy Brand andAlan Davies | Maidstone | 29 April 2011 (2011-04-29) | |
| # | Title | Guests[2] | Location | Original broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | "Episode 1" | Katy Brand andDave Gorman | Salford | 10 November 2011 (2011-11-10) |
| 3.2 | "Episode 2" | Alun Cochrane andSarah Millican | Maidstone | 17 November 2011 (2011-11-17) |
| 3.3 | "Episode 3" | Victoria Coren andGreg Davies | Maidstone | 24 November 2011 (2011-11-24) |
| 3.4 | "Episode 4" | Chris Addison andKaty Brand | Norwich | 1 December 2011 (2011-12-01) |
| 3.5 | "Episode 5" | Russell Howard andJamelia | Norwich | 8 December 2011 (2011-12-08) |
| 3.6 | "Episode 6" | Reginald D. Hunter andSarah Millican | Glasgow | 15 December 2011 (2011-12-15) |
The first episode was watched by 1.877 million viewers, an 8.8% audience share, ahead of the first episode ofFacejacker (1.186m) onChannel 4, and an episode ofGrey's Anatomy (0.853m) on5.[3]
The song played during the credits and the interludes is "No Bulbs" byThe Fall, Skinner's favourite group.[citation needed]
