| Frank Skinner MBE | |
|---|---|
 Skinner atWembley Stadium in 2008 | |
| Birth name | Christopher Graham Collins |
| Born | (1957-01-28)28 January 1957 (age 68) West Bromwich,Staffordshire, England |
| Medium | Radio,stand-up,television |
| Education | Birmingham Polytechnic (BA) University of Warwick (MA) |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Genres | Blue comedy,musical comedy,observational comedy |
| Partner(s) | Cath Mason |
| Children | 1 |
Christopher Graham Collins (born 28 January 1957), known professionally asFrank Skinner, is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. At the 2001British Comedy Awards, he was named Best Comedy Entertainment Personality.[1] His television work includesFantasy Football League from 1994 to 2004,The Frank Skinner Show from 1995 to 2005,Baddiel and Skinner Unplanned from 2000 to 2005, andRoom 101 from 2012 to 2018. From 2009 to 2024 he hostedThe Frank Skinner Show onAbsolute Radio, broadcast live on Saturday mornings and released as a podcast. In October 2024 Skinner launched theFrank Off The Radio podcast, with the same crew as the radio show.
Along withDavid Baddiel, he provided vocals and wrote the lyrics for "Three Lions", the official song in collaboration with Liverpudlian indie bandthe Lightning Seeds, to mark theEngland national football team's participation in the1996 European Championship (which was hosted in England); he also reprised his role to release two subsequent versions of the song for the England team's involvement in the1998 FIFA World Cup and2010 World Cup. The 1996 version is the only song ever to have four separate stints at number one in the UK singles chart with the same artists, the most recent coming in July 2018 following England reaching the semi-finals of the2018 World Cup.[2]
Skinner was born on 28 January 1957 inWest Bromwich,Staffordshire,England, and grew up in acouncil house in neighbouringOldbury.[3] He was the youngest of four children born to John Collins (1918–1990) and his wife Doris (1919–1989).
Skinner wrote in his autobiography that his father, who was born inWest Cornforth,County Durham, played forSpennymoor United before theSecond World War, and met his mother in a local pub after Spennymoor had playedWest Bromwich Albion in anFA Cup game in 1937. Club officials and historians could not find his father in their records.[4]
Skinner attended Moat Farm Infant School from 1961 to 1964, St Hubert's Roman Catholic Junior School from 1964 to 1968, and thenOldbury Technical Secondary School from 1968 to 1973. He passed twoO-levels in summer 1973 and tookA-levels in English language and art, along with several O-level resits, at Oldbury Technical School Sixth Form. He subsequently took four A-levels (including English language and literature) atWarley College of Technology and graduated from Birmingham Polytechnic (nowBirmingham City University) in 1981 with a degree in English. This was followed by amaster's degree in English literature at theUniversity of Warwick inCoventry the following year.[5]
Despite his given first name of Christopher, his parents called him by his middle name Graham;[6] all his friends referred to him, and some still do, as Chris.[7] Skinner once explained that whenever someone called at his house to ask if "Chris" was there, his mother would say yes, only to then turn around and shout for "Graham".[6] He adopted thestage name Frank Skinner when the actors' unionEquity told him there was already a singer fromBurnley on their books called Chris Collins.[6][8] He took the name from a member of his late father'sdominoes team.[9]
After graduating, Skinner spent three-and-a-half years on unemployment benefit before finding work as a lecturer in English atHalesowen College. In 1987, he decided to givestand-up comedy a try on the side. Skinner performed his first stand-up gig in 1987 and made his television debut a year later. In 1990, he co-wrote and starred in the comedy variety showPacket of Three onChannel 4 but continued to see his reputation as a stand-up grow. Before becoming a full-time performer in 1989, he suffered a bout ofinfluenza in September 1986 that made him give up drinking, and he remains a high-profile recoveringalcoholic.[10]
Skinner won the 1991Perrier Award at theEdinburgh Fringe, beatingJack Dee andEddie Izzard. He has worked withDavid Baddiel, notably on the popular late-night entertainment showFantasy Football League from 1994 to 2004 and onBaddiel and Skinner Unplanned from 2000 to 2005. The duo also co-wrote and performed the football song "Three Lions" with theLightning Seeds and theEngland national football team forEuro 1996, and re-recorded it for the1998 World Cup. The song reached #1 in the UK charts both times. In 2001, he released hisautobiographyFrank Skinner by Frank Skinner, which became a bestseller. The accompanying TV show,Frank Skinner on Frank Skinner, in which Skinner showed where he lived as a child and interviews with Skinner, his friends and family members, was recorded and shown onITV in 2001. In July 2018, "Three Lions" re-entered the charts at number 1. Fans were celebrating the progress ofEngland at the2018 FIFA World Cup,[11] with the phrase "it's coming home" featuring heavily on social media and television.[12][13]
In 1998, Skinner took part in a documentary titledA Little Bit of Elvis. He paid over£11,000 at auction for a shirt which he believed was worn byElvis Presley at his famous 1956 Tupelo concert. Skinner visited the US to find out if the shirt was the genuine article. After a slightly awkward conversation with Dave Hebler, Presley's bodyguard, it appeared the shirt did once belong to Presley, but it was not worn at the concert. Skinner is a lifelong fan of Elvis and used to buy theElvis Monthly magazine.[14]
In 1999, Skinner wrote a script for a sitcomHeavy Revie, where he played Frank, a formerheavy metal rock-star who has gone off the boil, and is forced by his manager to record with a boy band. A pilot was taped, but the series wasn't picked up by ITV.[15][16]
From 1995 to 1998, Skinner had his own chat show onBBC One, which ended when the BBC refused to meet pay demands of a reported £20 million.[17] After a short break, the show found a new home atITV in 1999, where it ran until late 2005. He has appeared in a number of self-written sitcoms, includingBlue Heaven (1994) andShane (2004).[18]
In 2000, Skinner appeared as Buttons in theITV Panto adaptation ofCinderella. In 2003, he was listed inThe Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy.[19] In 2005, Skinner announced he was going to leave behind his television work in favour of returning to the stand-up comedy circuit. A second series ofShane had been made, but never shown.
In February 2006, Skinner received anhonorary degree from the University of Central England (nowBirmingham City University).[20] Skinner and David Baddiel covered the2006 FIFA World Cup by podcast forThe Times. The podcasts received a nomination for the 2007 Sony Radio Academy Awards.
In 2007, Skinner performed a new live stand-up tour, his first for 10 years, starting at a warm-up gig at theSwindon Arts Centre, continuing through to the Edinburgh Festival for 2 weeks at The Pleasance, the venue where he won thePerrier Award, and a 69 date national tour including three sold-out homecoming performances at theNational Indoor Arena inBirmingham in the autumn.
In November 2008, after senior broadcasting figures such as ITV chairmanMichael Grade and presenterTerry Wogan called for TV to reduce its use of vulgar language, Skinner decided to experiment with removing swear words altogether from his stand-up live act, although he said it would be a shame if 'clever swearing' was lost.[21] He also stood in for an illPaul Merton as a team captain on 21 November edition ofHave I Got News for You.[22]
From March 2009, Skinner started to present the Saturday Morning Breakfast Show onAbsolute Radio with his co-hostsEmily Dean andGareth Richards. The show is produced byAvalon Television. After an initial 12-week stint proved very popular with the listeners, Skinner's contract was extended until summer 2010.[23]
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Skinner plays thebanjo ukulele and in 2010, he contributed ukulele parts to a song byFairport Convention called "Ukulele Central" which featured on their albumFestival Bell. A great admirer ofGeorge Formby, he hosted aBBC Four TV documentary,Frank Skinner on George Formby, which aired on 27 October 2011.
In 2011, Skinner wrote and performed a Radio 4 comedy series,Don't Start, withKatherine Parkinson. Each episode was based on an argument between Skinner's character Neil and Neil's girlfriend Kim. Skinner said each episode was only 15 minutes as it was "too intense" to be any longer.Don't Start returned for a second series in 2012, and aired its third and final series in 2015-2016.
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From 2012 to 2018, Skinner was the host of BBC showRoom 101.[24] In August 2013, he was a team captain on the BBC comedy showI Love My Country.
A longtime fan ofDoctor Who, Skinner appeared alongsidePeter Capaldi's Doctor in the 2014 episodeMummy on the Orient Express.[25][26] He subsequently featured in the 2019Big Finish Productions audio releaseThe Sinestran Kill, the first episode ofDoctor Who: The Fourth Doctor Adventures, Season 8.[27]
In 2015, Skinner appeared in the inaugural season ofTaskmaster. In an interview withGreg Davies andAlex Horne, Davies said that as the show was untried, there were some concerns about whether contestants "were going to be made fools of." Horne said that since the show was unscripted and contestants would just have to trust them, "that was a big step" of faith for people to make. Horne went on to say that Skinner's agreeing to be on the show was "a big moment".[28] Skinner performed moderately well on the show, and ended up tying for second place.[29]
In 2020 Skinner began a podcast,Frank Skinner's Poetry Podcast, in which he analyses and discusses his favourite poems.[30][31]
Skinner was appointedMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the2023 New Year Honours for services to entertainment.[32][33]
Skinner took part inA Show for Gareth Richards at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2023, which was staged by fellow comediansMark Simmons and Danny Ward to honour Richards's life after he died in a car-crash in April 2023. The show won the first Victoria Wood award at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2023[34] and raised almost £20,000 for Gareth's family.[citation needed]
In March 2024, Skinner's contract with Absolute Radio was not extended, ending 15 years of his Saturday morning show on the station in May 2024.[35]
In October 2024, Skinner started a podcast,Frank Off The Radio, with a format similar to his previous Absolute Radio show and featuring the same fellow presenters.[36]
In 2024, Skinner performed his show30 Years of Dirt.[37]
Skinner married in 1990,[38][39] but the marriage was annulled shortly after. He and his longtime partner, Cath Mason, have a son, Buzz Cody, who was born in 2012.[40][41]
RaisedRoman Catholic, Skinner reconnected with the faith in his 20s, and remains a practising Roman Catholic. He is also a supporter ofWest Bromwich Albion, and regularly attends games.[42]
Skinner was a victim of thecredit crunch in the late 2000s after investing inAIG, losing millions of pounds as a result.[43] He eventually got most of the money back.[44]
Skinnerstopped drinking alcohol at age 29, having become concerned when he changed from havingsherry for breakfast topernod.[45] He started performing stand-up comedy shortly afterwards.[46] He has said that he has never been able to replace the "white heat of joy" he got from alcohol and that his social life has never recovered from stopping drinking.[47]
In July 2019, Skinner toldThe Times that he had always voted for theLabour Party, but said he would probably vote for theGreen Party at the next election (which was held in December that year).[48]
In October 2001, Skinner's autobiography,Frank Skinner by Frank Skinner, was published.[49] In August 2009, he released a book centred on his return to stand-up after ten years –Frank Skinner on the Road: Love, Stand-up Comedy and the Queen of the Night.[50] In September 2011,The Collected Wisdom of Frank Skinner; Dispatches from the Sofa was published.[51] It consists of his weekly columns forThe Times, written from 2009 to 2011. In September 2020, he released a book,How to Enjoy Poetry. In it, he uses one poem ("Pad, Pad" byStevie Smith) to explore the art of poetry. Skinner, who is a practising Christian, released a book of prayers,A Comedian's Prayer Book, in 2021.[52]
| Title | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Live | 5 October 1992 | Live atLondon'sBloomsbury Theatre |
| Live at the Apollo | 1994 | Live at London'sApollo Theatre |
| Live at the Palladium | 14 October 1996 | Live at London'sPalladium Theatre |
| Live in Birmingham | 16 November 1998 | Live atBirmingham'sHippodrome Theatre |
| Stand-Up! Live from Birmingham's National Indoor Arena | 10 November 2008 | Live at Birmingham'sNational Indoor Arena |
| Live – Man in a Suit | 1 December 2014 | Live at London'sLeicester Square Theatre |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)To wit: his name isn't even Frank Skinner. It is Christopher Graham Collins. His parents still call him Graham, but when he was getting into stand-up comedy there was already a Chris Collins registered with Equity, a man who happened to be a singer from Burnley, so the comedian from the West Midlands had to change his name.
There's a few friends who still call me Chris, but even some of those have started calling me Frank. I became Frank in about 1988 and now, if anybody asks me my name, I'd say 'Frank'. That is how I think of myself, 99% of the people I know call me that.
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