Frank Skinner

Christopher Collins was born in West Bromich in 1957, and grew up in Oldbury. He graduated from Birmingham Polytechnic with a degree in English, followed by gaining a Masters in English Literature at Warwick University. He worked as a lecturer at Halesowen College before deciding in a change of career in 1987.

As well as performing as a stand-up comedian, he co-wrote and starred in Channel 4's variety show Packet of Three in 1990, becoming known by his professional name Frank Skinner. A year later he one Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe. Partnering up with David Beddiel, the pair worked on Fantasy Football League between 1994 and 2004, and then on Baddiel and Skinner Unplanned between 2000 and 2005. In 1996 the pair wrote and performed Three Lions alongside The Lightning Seeds, a football song that became a number one hit in the UK for both that year's European Cup and the following World Cup in 1998, by which time it had become the unofficial England football anthem. Skinner and Baddiel continued their football association in 2006, providing a podcast for that year's World Cup for The Times newspaper, which also gained them a nomination at the 2007 Sony Radio Academy Awards.

In more recent years he has been a presenter for Absolute Radio, wrote and performed the Radio 4 comedy series Don't Start, and from 2012 has been the presenter of Room 101. Meanwhile, he has continued his stage career with a long tour in 2007, and in 2014 is undertaking another tour with Frank Skinner: Man in a Suit.

He has a long term partner, Cath Mason, and they have a son, Buzz.

He received an honorary degree from the University of Central England in 2006.