1. A video was released in 1997 (The Unseen Frank Skinner TV Show), featuring out-takes from his BBC1 chat show. The clips came from both the 1995 and 1997 series, although it favoured the latter run. The video included footage ‘banned’ by the BBC, including a performance by Mr Methane (farting along to ‘The Blue Danube’), The Krankies doing jokes about abortion, a depressing interview with a couple who practised wife-swapping, a monologue about Michael Jackson having sex with animals and children, and an item in which Skinner announces ‘Ladies and gentlemen, Rose West!’ before giggling incredulously at the audience’s knee-jerk applause. There was also footage of a man dressed as a huge Polo mint, which had been cut because it contravened the BBC’s policy on product placement. Skinner enjoyed hamming up the ‘offensive’ content of his material. When a sketch entitled ‘Chuck out your chimp’ (spoofing an advert called ‘Chuck out your chintz’, but with simian lifeforms being battered to death rather than comfy sofas), received many complaints, he apologised on air. Pausing slightly, he then added: ‘It was lucky we didn’t go for our original idea. But we were worried it may offend the Chinese community’.

2. The second show of his third BBC1 series (22/4/99) featured an interview with Tara Palmer Tomkinson. Tara, clearly coked up to her boring eyeballs, apparently called Skinner a ‘wanker’, snarling ‘You don’t know who I fucking am’, but both exchanges were cut from the transmitted interview. Tara requested that they curtail the conversation quickly and move onto the publicity photos - hence the donning of her leather jacket and her ‘camera click’ mime at the close of the interview. (Source: The Daily Mirror, 24/4/99)