20.4 C
Reading
Monday, August 18, 2025

Frank Skinner is ready to dish the dirt … 30 years worth

Comedian preparing for visit to The Hexagon this autumn

He’s on a sell-out tour of the country, including a visit to Reading, and his visit is by popular demand.

Following a previously sold-out tour of the UK and Ireland back in the spring, and a similar experience in London’s West End, Frank Skinner has added a host of additional dates for his 30 Years of Dirt tour.

The comedian needs little introduction now, but back in 1987 it was a very different story: he spent £400 of his last £435 staging a show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

It could have been a disaster. Instead, he returned four years later and scooped The Perrier Award.

Since then, he’s had a sparkling career, creating the hugely popular Fantasy Football Show with David Baddiel, and the spin-off hit record Football’s Coming Home with help from The Lightning Seeds.

He was a host of the BBC’s Room 101 comedy show, hosted Artist of the Year shows for Sky Arts, starred in Doctor Who, and presented documentaries on subjects such as Elvis Presley, George Formby, and Muhammad Ali.

Frank has also hosted radio programmes, including BBC Radio 4’s The Rest Is History, and his own Poetry Podcast on Absolute Radio.

An author too, his autobiography came out in 2002, and spent 46 weeks on The Sunday Times’ bestseller list, while a collection of his columns for The Times was also well received.

In 2019, he toured with a stand-up show entitled Showbiz, which led to a residency at The Garrick Theatre in London’s West End.

His latest, 30 Years of Dirt, premiered last year, and has received critical acclaim.

Praise included Dominic Maxwell from The Times, who said of Skinner: “(He has) a supernatural sureness of touch … just plain funny in a way that few other comics can touch … supremely fast-witted in his interactions with the crowd … exquisitely vivid in some of his turns of phrase: you can sense Skinner the poetry lover in lines.”

While Brian Logan of The Guardian wrote: “You come away happy that after 30 years Frank’s still dishing his dirt, and happier still that he can dish plenty more besides.”   

His Reading date will be on Friday, November 22, and is at The Hexagon.

Tickets cost £30.50, with the show suitable for ages 14 upwards. They are selling fast, so the gig may be sold out and a returns list may be in operation.

For more details, or to book, call the box office on 0118 960 6060, or log on to www.whatsonreading.com

​Get Cheeselogs in your inbox!

Sign up to our weekly newsletter for the latest posts, news and surprises. It's completely free, and goes straight to your inbox.

Hot topics

About us

We aim to celebrate events, activities, clubs and places...

Nish Kumar aims to kill the mood even further…

You've seen him on The Mash Report, Taskmaster and...

Stars of Whose Line Is It Anyway? coming to Reading town hall

https://youtu.be/dMjiKm3Axyk?si=dcD394Lm73X4DVYS Much-missed Channel 4 show Whose Line Is It Anyway?...

The Bell and Bottle is a welcoming pub of three halves

The Bell and Bottle in Shinfield's School Green is...

40 years on: celebrate The Black Ball Final, snooker’s biggest and best moment

https://youtu.be/hCZhirFC-gk The Hexagon in Reading will once again be the...

Norden Farm celebrates 25th anniversary with a packed autumn line-up

Norden Farm has announced its Autumn season of live...

Milo Edwards’ bum note will bring the laughter this autumn

Critically acclaimed comedian and podcaster Milo Edwards brings his...

Carl Donnelly brings brutally honest comedy to Norden Farm

Comedian Carl Donnelly returns to the stage with Another...

Get talking with Stephen K Amos

Veteran comic Stephen K Amos will do two shows...

Josh Glanc to bring his surreal human fireworks to South Street

Human fireworks are promised when comedian Josh Glanc comes...

Related Articles

Popular Categories