Christopher Graham Collins (born 28 January 1957), known professionally as Frank Skinner, is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer.

From 2009 to 2024 he hosted The Frank Skinner Show on Absolute Radio, broadcast live on Saturday mornings and released as a podcast.

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 the 2018 World Cup.

[2] Skinner was born on 28 January 1957 in West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England, and grew up in a council house in neighbouring Oldbury.

Skinner wrote in his autobiography that his father, who was born in West Cornforth, County Durham, played for Spennymoor United before the Second World War, and met his mother in a local pub after Spennymoor had played West Bromwich Albion in an FA Cup game in 1937.

[6] He adopted the stage name Frank Skinner when the actors' union Equity told him there was already a singer from Burnley on their books called Chris Collins.

[9] After graduating, Skinner spent three-and-a-half years on unemployment benefit before finding work as a lecturer in English at Halesowen College.

In 1990, he co-wrote and starred in the comedy variety show Packet of Three on Channel 4 but continued to see his reputation as a stand-up grow.

Before becoming a full-time performer in 1989, he suffered a bout of influenza in September 1986 that made him give up drinking, and he remains a high-profile recovering alcoholic.

[10] Skinner won the 1991 Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe, beating Jack Dee and Eddie Izzard.

Fans were celebrating the progress of England at the 2018 FIFA World Cup,[11] with the phrase "it's coming home" featuring heavily on social media and television.

In 2007, Skinner performed a new live stand-up tour, his first for 10 years, starting at a warm-up gig at the Swindon Arts Centre, continuing through to the Edinburgh Festival for 2 weeks at The Pleasance, the venue where he won the Perrier Award, and a 69 date national tour including three sold-out homecoming performances at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham in the autumn.

In November 2008, after senior broadcasting figures such as ITV chairman Michael Grade and presenter Terry 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.

[20] From March 2009, Skinner started to present the Saturday Morning Breakfast Show on Absolute Radio with his co-hosts Emily Dean and Gareth Richards.

In 2011, Skinner wrote and performed a Radio 4 comedy series, Don't Start, with Katherine Parkinson.

[28][29] Skinner was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to entertainment.

[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.

[40] Skinner was a victim of the credit crunch in the late 2000s after investing in AIG, losing millions of pounds as a result.