Frank Skinner

TV Matters: Frank Skinner's Opinionated

Mark Lawson explains why Frank Skinner's loss is our gain.

Frank Skinner's TV appearances have been sporadic since he gave up his ITV1 chat show in 2005. This is the first full TV series of his comeback, a kind of comedy Question Time, with Skinner and two guest comedians discussing a topical issue before a "highly opinionated" studio audience. Something along the lines of Fantasy Football League, then, but reflecting Skinner's growing interest in politics. Each show will be recorded only shortly before transmission, but we can reveal that this first edition will feature comics Miranda Hart and Al Murray.

Russell Howard has got his Good News over on BBC3; now it's the turn of craggy-faced legend Frank Skinner to riff off the week's headlines. To shake up the theme, each show is filmed in a different part of the country, with two different comedians in tow. For tonight's promising series opener, Skinner is in London with Al Murray and Miranda Hart.

Frank Skinner finds the funny side to political debate

Topical chat on TV is all the rage at the moment. Frank Skinner tells Benji Wilson why he's adding his pennyworth.

It's comedy and charity combined, not to be confused with a comedy about charity, which would be plain wrong. Twenty-three of our funniest people (and Michael McIntyre) are at the 02 Arena in London competing to win your laughs at Britain's largest-ever live stand-up show, all in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Charity. Take your pick from Alan Carr, Noel Fielding, Catherine Tate and plenty more. If you still haven't had enough laughs for the evening, stay tuned for Frank Skinner recorded live at Birmingham's NIA. He's on the same channel at 11.05pm, so no action is required.

A funny five minutes with David Baddiel

The funny man, 45, on comedy porn, sharing a flat (and dead frogs) with Frank Skinner, Omid Djalili's moment with a banana and his comic heroes.

Baddiel & Skinner want all-star 3 Lions re-make

David Baddiel wants an all-star cast to join him, Frank Skinner and Robbie Williams singing on the new version of England footie song 3 Lions.

Frank Skinner: I've got a lot less money than I used to

The comedian talks about how he lost his spot in the schedules, and why it's good to be back with new TV and radio shows.

Frank Skinner to front BBC2 entertainment show

Frank Skinner's Opinionated will be his first regular presenting job for the BBC for more than a decade.

A topical news quiz on Friday night in which a witty panel are quizzed about the week's events. Hang on, haven't we seen this before? For the past 20 years?

Well, The Bubble has a twist. The guests are shut away from the world for a few days beforehand so they are oblivious to the stories, and then have to guess which one of a selection of them is true, and which are false.

Despite a few clunky elements, we enjoyed it. We're not sure we'll enjoy it every week, but in this opener the blend of guests and host was perfect.

Host David Mitchell's awkwardness in chairing proceedings amused through his discomfort in having to control and guide a show rather than the liberation of a panellist who can rant and rave without restriction. A weakness that Reginald D. Hunter took full advantage of, hilariously mocking the subdued Mitchell at every opportunity.

Victoria Coren's simmering disdain for the mothers of Mumsnet, whom she vilified for their shameless advertising of their fertility and deluded faith that they are in someway important, was a compelling advert for enforced national sterilisation in the belief that an extinct population is better than a conceited one. And she has a point.

While Frank Skinner picked out the idiosyncrasies in the stories, illuminating their absurdity. In the first round, he guessed that a report on Merseyside Police receiving a fine for using a mini-flying camera without permission because he thought an interview with a solicitor was too real: "No actor would play him that bleak."

We're not sure that the guests will be good enough to save it every week. If things get dour, we suppose Mitchell can always storm off on one of his tangential rants about the ridiculousness of the world. The opening news reports, however, were far too long and quite dull, while the show seemed to lack flow. You could see the join between each of the rounds as though the three rounds had been assembled from a much larger kit, most of which had been discarded because of obsolescence.

Although next week we'll be back. Tempted by the prospect of lines as good as: "The man who has celebrated Christmas every day for 14 years has been found crucified in his back garden."