Frank Skinner set to depart Absolute Radio after 15 years

Comedian and broadcaster Frank Skinner has announced that he will be leaving Absolute Radio after being with the station for 15 years. 

The 67-year-old first started presenting on the station in 2009 and has since hosted the Saturday breakfast slot “The Frank Skinner Show,” alongside co-hosts Emily Dean and Pierre Novellie, and also hosts “Frank Skinner’s Poetry Podcast,” which will continue for two more series.

Skinner revealed he will be leaving in May and said: “My manager (called)… you know every year, about this time, we’ve just celebrated our 15th anniversary on the show, so obviously that means the new contract is coming, and every year I do self-deprecating jokes about the fact that we probably won’t get it renewed.

“Guess what?! Yeah, we didn’t! So, um, we’re not just going now, I’m not going to say bye and that’s the end we’ve got, like, several other, we’ve got some notice to serve, but um yeah, but no that was um… that’s it!'”

He continued: “We had a good run but I realise that in recent times but I am ever more becoming Grandad from “The Simpsons,” but even so um, yes, I’m not going to pretend I took it… well I took it well in that we’ve had 15 years and Absolute have actually been very, very good to us in those 15 years but I didn’t take it well, I took it well in the way David Tennant took it well as the tenth Doctor when he started to regenerate and said: ‘I don’t want to go!'”

Paul Sylvester, Absolute Radio’s content director said: “Frank has been a huge part of the Absolute Radio story and after 15 years this is truly the end of an era. We are hugely grateful for the contribution he’s made to both Saturday mornings and our charity comedy nights at the London Palladium.

“We’ll share details of our future summer schedule in due course, but there’s still a few more weeks to enjoy Frank, Emily and Pierre on Saturday mornings.”

Skinner’s work with Absolute Radio led the “Three Lions” singer to be inducted into the Radio Academy Hall of Fame in December 2015, while his TV work includes creating and hosting three series of Frank Skinner’s Opinionated for BBC Two, presenting multiple series of BBC One’s “Room 10”1 and “Portrait/Landscape Artist of the Year” for Sky Ar