Frank Skinner: Comedian reveals he married long-term partner Cath Mason in 'secret' ceremony after 24 years

Skinner, 68, shared the news on the latest episode of his podcast Frank Off The Radio, telling co-hosts Emily Dean and Pierre Novellie: "Can you brace yourselves? You'll never guess what I did on Monday – I got married. I got f***ing married!"**

He added: "Don't be offended, we didn't invite anyone. Buzz was a witness. We got married not in a room but on the stairs at Camden Town Hall." Frank and Cath share a son, Buzz, born in 2012, who served as the witness at the quiet ceremony.

Explaining how the minimalist wedding came about, Frank said: "I said to Cath, 'Will you marry me?' and she said, 'I'm not having a fing party! I don't want a load of guests. I'm not going in a church. I don't want a ring. I'm not wearing a stupid f***ing white dress.' So it went on. 'I'm not doing this!' I said, 'Oh, forget it.'" "And then about two weeks later I said, 'Okay, we'll do it your way'. I felt bad for the friends. I would have invited everyone."

Even after agreeing to marry, Cath had more ground rules. Frank recalled: "'I'm not changing my name and I'm not wearing a ring. I don't wear jewellery', which is true. She said, 'If I wear a ring, I’ll feel trapped.' I said, 'You'll be married, you're supposed to feel f***ing trapped! That’s what it symbolises. It’s like a shackle!'"

Skinner has previously joked that Cath had rejected his proposals multiple times over the years. "Maybe it’s some terrible personal reason that I don’t know about. That she doesn’t actually like me as much as I think she does," he once said. "Her parents got divorced, so she got a bit cynical about it and thinks if we get married it would be like a slight curse on the thing."

Mason is a talent agent who has been in a relationship with comedian Skinner since 2001. The couple met while she was working for his management company.