FRANK SKINNER

Frank Skinner is undoubtedly one of the funniest and most successful comedians appearing on British screens. Born Chris Collins in 1957, he grew up in the West Midlands where he inherited his father's passion for football, a West Bromich Albion supporter, along with a liking for alcohol.

Expelled from school at 16, Frank held various jobs, later going on to gain an MA in English Literature. Nurturing a serious drinking problem from the age of 14, Frank eventually turned to Catholicism in 1987 and hasn't had a drink since.

He performed his first stand-up gig in December 1987. His first television appearance in 1988 met with fits of laughter from the audience and 131 complaints, including one from cabinet minister Edwina Currie. He met fellow comedian David Baddiel in 1990, and the two went on to share a flat throughout the early 90s and to create the hit TV series Fantasy Football League.

Winner of the prestigious Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival, Skinner's is a unique mixture of laddish and philosophical humour which has won him the prime-time ITV show "The Frank Skinner Show." Here, for the first time, Frank candidly tells us of the highs and lows of his fascinating life and career.