Frank Skinner

Room 101 is reducing the numeral of its network, moving from BBC2 to BBC1, while increasing the number of participants. Whereas previous hosts Nick Hancock and Paul Merton quizzed a single celebrity about their little list of things to be eliminated, new chairman Frank Skinner has a trio competing to delete. Friday's first panel is Fern Britton, Danny Baker and Robert Webb.

This is a big alteration - a chat-show becoming a panel game - and the presumable justification is a move to a more mainstream panel, although the obvious risk is that a show which had a distinctive premise and form has been made to look like several others. Rather inconveniently, Webb will have been seen 48 hours earlier on BBC1 in the now structurally similar Would I Lie To You?

Frank Skinner: The top ten greatest comedy double acts

From one of the most quotable funny acts of all time to a duo who loved language, Frank Skinner chooses those comedians who have most inspired him.

A superstar in the 30s and 40s, George Formby has since become a figure of mockery; a byword for fusty music hall comedy. Frank Skinner, a huge Formby fan, sets out to rehabilitate public perception of the entertainer in this documentary, originally shown earlier this year. Skinner traces Formby's career, from his time as a jockey to the boom years as a comic, where his earnings would vastly outflank those of his contemporaries. There's a sad coda to this piece; Formby died of a heart attack in his 50s, leaving an ugly legal battle over his will.

Downton Abbey, an Old Etonian government, a striking workforce and rioting on the streets - it seems that class is, once again, dominating the headlines. And class is always a fruitful subject for comedians to kick against, which is exactly what they're doing in this one-off special. Frank Skinner is joined by cockney-made-good Micky Flanagan, 'salt of the earth' Roisin Conaty and Rev's well-heeled Miles Jupp to dissect the issue with some comedy chat and experiments in front of a studio audience.

Frank Skinner takes a light-hearted look at a topic the British can never quite escape - class. He's joined by comedians Roisin Conaty, Miles Jupp and Micky Flanagan, who embark on various class-oriented missions, before bringing their findings to a studio audience. Conaty goes on a date with a man who struggles with the concept of fish fingers, Flanagan tries to get to the bottom of Modern Art, and Jupp has his home counties accent softened to see if he can fit in at the local market.

Apropos of absolutely nothing, Frank Skinner hosts a vaguely awkward cross between a televised debate and a generic comedy panel show on the subject of class. Observations are made by Skinner (not posh) and guests Miles Jupp (posh), Micky Flanagan (not posh), and Roisin Conaty (not posh, so skewing the balance quite considerably), interspersed with each guest going out and doing something that makes them feel socially awkward.

The bits that end up on the cutting room floor of a panel show are invariably better than what goes out for broadcast, so you can expect some even funnier or risqué tall stories and banter in this series finale of outtakes. Featured with regulars David Mitchell and Lee Mack are the always-entertaining Dara O'Briain and Frank Skinner, plus leading ladies Sarah Millican and Miranda Hart.

Frank Skinner interview

"Being on radio gives me more courage to try things because if listeners don't laugh, I won't know."

Portrait of the artist: Frank Skinner, comedian

'The Mirror called me a money-grabbing reptile. I could cope with the reptile part, but money-grabbing hurt'

Frank Skinner interview

Frank Skinner is back with more topical banter from around the country...