Biography

He left school with no qualifications and worked in a metal factory. He enrolled in night school and eventually enrolled at University and graduated with a Masters degree in English literature.

As a self-confessed reformed alcoholic, he hasn't had a drink since September 1987.

He chose the stage name Frank Skinner after a man in his father's pub dominoes team.

He performed first ever stand up comedy gig at the Portland Club in Edgbaston, Birmingham in 1987 aged thirty.

He shared a flat with best-friend and frequent co-presenter David Baddiel for four years.

I hate classical music in all its manifestations.

[at the Lord Of The Rings premiere] Did I like it? Well, it's like Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) but without the jokes.

My CD collection has become The Fall and the rest. This is terrible. I've got the new Sigur Rós album, which I really like and I'm thinking, 'this is great, but I could be listening to The Fall'.

You know, Chaucer (Geoffrey Chaucer) used swearing. It's a very time-honoured language part and shouldn't be ghettoised the way it is just because some people don't like it. I don't want people using so much swearing that there's a blanket ban because there won't be then any room for the clever swearing, the beautiful, eloquent swearing. So I just think we need to back off on the stuff that's not necessary. But I think it's absolutely important that we keep swearing as a tool, a comic tool for television and any other area of comedy.

[on presenting Panorama (1953) in 2009] If you're going to have tennis coverage, you ask Sue Barker. If you're going to have something about offensive material, you ask me.