The Frank Skinner Show - Starkers

Episode Date: May 9, 2025

In this podcast Frank has had a unique cinema experience. Also, Emily and Pierre have an email to share with Frank about an honour he's not been made aware of. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spring is here and you can now get almost anything you need delivered with Uber Eats. What do we mean by almost? You can't get a well-groomed lawn delivered, but you can get chicken parmesan delivered. Sunshine? No. Some wine? Yes. Get almost, almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol in select markets. See app for details. Actuaries are truly global. Wherever there's risk to manage,

they use their math skills to solve real-world problems. The Society of Actuaries has the designation for any destination. They're all here, open brackets, hooray! Close brackets today! And this is Frank of the Radio. I'm joined by Emily Dean and Pierre Novelli, yes? They're here. Follow the podcast on X on Instagram. You can email the podcast via frank of the radio, avalonuk.com.

And what's more, you can what-ap us on... It's ought to be called What's More. It's like you're making an extra point. Well, we've had an email about WhatsApp I'll be sharing with you shortly. Okay, you can WhatsApp us on 07457 417 769. I don't like that jingle. No? I'll do another one. It sounds a bit ball ring shopping center. Yeah. You know that, see? Oh, seven, four, five, seven, four, one, seven, seven, six, nine.

So we're back in spirit land, our spiritual home in many ways for this podcast. There's talk of us, our management actually making a recording studio. Is that right? Can you imagine how expensive that will be? What, to hire you mean? Yeah, exactly. Or be at least. At least. It won't be any cheaper. So you think, oh, it's your own management. It'll be cheaper. It won't be any cheaper. You know they're listening to me. I'm not the best, it'll be the same. You've got to have an ongoing relationship with them.

You know, I think their parity begins at home. I think that's as generous as they get. Cross-stitched into a little hanging display. So I'm all for staying here. Just saying. I love that this is how you communicate with them via the podcast. No, they don't listen to the podcast. I left three weeks ago via the podcast. I'm still getting the checks. Can I ask you about your t-shirt? You can.

Well, put a picture of this up on the socials so people aren't thinking, what on earth is the man wearing? It's a tambourine t-shirt. Yes. The body of the tambourine is sort of psychedelically coloured. Yes, and it's also, it's what I believe they call a crescent tambourine. Oh, is that what they're called? So it's not a complete circle like a full moon. A demi-tambourine. Yeah, is that what it's called?

I don't know. It sounds good though. You sound like my instructor on Duolingo. The owl? I hate the owl. Have you good though. You sound like my instructor on Duolingo. The owl. I hate the owl. Have you ever neglected the owl for months? It doesn't just look sad. It's sickens. After a bit.

What does it do? When it's on its deathbed. Yeah. It's got snot running out of its beak. I'm not exaggerating. And a thermometer sometimes. It's really disgusting. And what does it say? For children. Remember Tamagotchi's that used to die if you didn't look after them.

Oh yeah. Oh, you've got to learn early. I think it's quite good for children to learn. Yeah, but you had to look after them like three in the morning. If you didn't feed them at three in the morning, they'd die. I'm glad those days are over. Who got up? Muggins. A lot of responsibility. That's the name of Frank's butler by the

way, Muggins. Alfred Muggins. He was a petty thief in the 70s when I first met him. But he's all right, he's a good one. And he drives like the wind when I need him to. That's it. Gosh, twenty more an hour. Dream on. Maybe we turn to the subject of your t-shirt. Was this free? Yes. Almost everything I'm wearing was free. Why?

I mean, for the last 30 years. 30 years apart? I don't dress, I am clothed. By the community. I think it represents one of the owners of the company. What is the company? Tambourines RRs? Well, who do you know is associated with his tambourine work and who also owns a clothes line. Oh, Liam Gallagher. Not a clothes line. Liam Gallagher. We all own a clothesline if we live in houses. Pretty green.

Pretty green, you're right. Liam Gallagher. Oh, is it? I didn't know you had a clothesline. Oh, yeah. He walks into it all the time. Yeah. You know, isn't it weird?

Since you've told me it's pretty green, I'm not to prefer it now. You like it better. Isn't that always the one? Isn't that awful? This is why I say when you go to an art gallery, do not look at the label with the name on until you've had a good look at the painting. Because if you see something like Rembrandt, you'll think, oh, this is good, whether it is.

And then you realize it's been turned to face the wall. So I look out, Spiritland's quite empty today, actually. I don't know if you're aware of this, Tim Key was on last week and he was surprised to see that we are literally in a booth in the corner of the restaurant. I mean there are people just the other side of the window of our recording booth.

Through one window I see a sound engineer. When I say sound, I mean sound. But the other side, people sit and eat. We are in a very similar role to, I don't know if you remember in 1960s, botlins. But you could swim and there was windows that led to the restaurant. Oh really? So Uncle Dave would come swimming past the window while you were having your chips. Oh really? Are you with me? Yes, I know exactly what you mean. would come swimming past the window while you were having your chips. Oh really?

Yes, I know exactly what you mean. So there was a table with a window at the side, but the window was one of the walls of the swimming pool. Oh, I see, I see, I see. Right, you still see footage of it, like black and white footage, and they wave to Uncle Dave. I would worry about that. Were any of the windows underwater, so you could sort of like an aquarium of people?

That's what I would worry about, Pierre. Creeps and things, you know what I mean? Taking advantage. Oh, really? Yeah. Listen, I went to a nightclub called the Aquarium with a swimming pool in it. And I don't want to tell you what happened there.

There was one man I knew and he ended up, he came out and you were just suddenly, halfway through the night, you'd go there wearing a bikini under your nightclub clothes. Wow. And halfway through the night, you'd all get in the pool, which was a great idea. All these drunk people.

Yeah, that's perfect. In water. And not just drunk, I say, I imagine. I don't think people had these thoughts. I know people talk about the swinging sixties, but they arrived in most, apart from like Carnaby Street and the King's Row, the swinging 60s arrived in about 1984 in most regions. It was a ripple. A ripple coming out from London.

The most stressed lifeguard in the world in the nightclub swimming pool? In the aquarium. No running. Well there was one man. What about the one at Botless? Stop all this heavy petting. What about the one at Botless? When he had his lunch break he had to watch them from underneath to see if they were safe.

If a body start to drop past limply, he has that, hold on, just dabbing his mouth. And off he went. When you see that footage, everyone is smoking. There's kids at the table, fish chips smoking. The people swimming are smoking. I think they've got special spheres on the front of their face, lest they should have to stop smoking. Little contraption over their head with an ashtray in it. Oh man, it was so popular smoking. Yeah. It really was.

And which Botlins was this? Was it just a... I think most butt lens had got the window to the pool in the dining room. Built according to a sort of pattern. Yeah. Have you ever been to a butt lens? I've gigged at a butt lens. Wow! I've not been. Bogner Regis. I gigged at... Why does it produce a laugh when all I said is I've not been?

I gigged at Warner Holiday World. Did you? In great yarmouth? How was that? I was on with Stevie star the regurgitator. I see yes. I must have missed that Yeah, he was he was tremendous Stephen star. Yeah, he He had a massive man-sized swig out of a bottle of fairy-like liquid Oh, then he smoked a cigarette all the way down in one drag. Oh, and react.

Right the way down. And then he belched out an enormous smoke filled bubble. It was absolutely brilliant. I would hate to have to follow that. Yeah, I did have to follow that. Did you? Oh no, I think I was on before him. Thank God for that. Because that's have to follow that. Yeah, I did have to follow it. Did you? No, I think I was on before him. Thank God for that, because that's hard to follow. He had to drink seven pints of water before he went on.

And then when I got into the dressing room after he was, when he came back, he had to throw them all up again. That was part of his routine. Oh man. Yeah, showbiz. Not as easy as it sounds, guys. Oh man. Yeah, showbiz, not as easy as it sounds, guys. Oh man. I was thinking, you know what a spoonerism is?

When you sat, there was a man, Reverend Spooner, who used to say things the wrong way around. He accused a student of having tasted the whole worm. I wasted the whole term. Lovely. I was thinking that if Keir Starmer wanted to increase people's faith in him, he could be Steer Karma, which suggests that he knows where he's going and he's not fazed by it. He should absolutely rebrand himself. That's a great idea.

Steer is in direction as opposed to large horned bull. No, not as large horned bull. I don't think those days are gone. Because Steer Karma would be a good sort of rodeo name for him in that sense. Yeah. Sort of bucking and lassoing. And Karma with a K, maybe.

It's got a sort of Ste karma. Yeah, yeah, big horns and you're gonna end up on the slab. He's not very like that, he's not very big horns. I had another thought for politicians that would have a fast food chain, who's the most obvious one you could most easily believe announcing that they've got? I'm going worldwide now. Oh, worldwide. Oh, DT. It's gotta be Trump.

Oh yeah, he loves hamburgers. He's like a cartoon. And back in the day, I would say, I could have imagined back in the day, John Prescott having a fish and chips show. Oh, maybe, yeah. Anyway, here it goes. What about for the Donald Trump franchise? Magamama. I'd go to see what it was like. So you have like a Magamil and then a Mega Magamil and then like the different sizes, you know, like going...

I don't want to delve into it, you know, I'm just the names. We'll leave that up to the chef. Yeah, I don't have to go into the whole... Doesn't he? How many McDonald's does he eat a week? A lot. Who? Donald Trump.

They released... McDonald Trump. That's what he'll change his name to. He'll be sponsored. Although a McDonald Trump sounds weird. Yeah. No, they released official figures about how many McDonald's he eats a week. It's a lot.

It's a phenomenal amount. I can't remember. Listen, lest we forget. Yes. You promised us some, what was it that we were referring to? And you said, oh, we had an inquiry about that. Yes. Well, there are a few things I need to share with you. Oh yes. I want to talk to you about the snooker at some

point but we also need to discuss we were talking about WhatsApp. Yeah. Do you remember? Yes. We were discussing that just now. Someone had an inquiry about this. Or did they have an inquiry? Well Southend Southend Sean, as he's known to locals. Whilst Frank was reading out the WhatsApp number, which you do regularly, maybe we should share it again for our listeners. No, he didn't want to do that. That was like when you ask a toddler, maybe we could say hello to the visitors and they just say nothing.

I'll do it again. You could tell your aunt about what you did yesterday. Do you like school? Nothing. Anyway, Southend Sean had a flash of clarity, Frank. I always thought WhatsApp was a play on the phrase, what's up, made famous by the American beer advert. made famous by the American beer advert. Yeah. But I now think it's actually a shortening of what's appended. As in you read a WhatsApp message in order to see what has gone on. So I presume Sean is referring to appended in the sense of a footnote.

The thing is with appended. Did he mean what's happened? Well I don't know. I think he might have misspelled it. Sean. He might have mean what's happened. You tasted a whole worm. Well he said what's appended here.

That's a fancy, huh? What's appended to this? But then you'd need some sort of, what do they call it when you get the call it, when you get the paper clip, an attachment. An attachment would be, if there wasn't a specialist of attachments, social media, that would be what's appended, wouldn't it? I think Pierre might be right.

I think because he's gone for the double Ds. We've all done it though. What's happened? We've all had the double D's, we've all done it though. What's happened? We've all had a double D period in our life, he's gone double D's and I think Pierre might be right, he actually might have meant to write what's happened. What's happened? You're right. But anyway, South End Sean does say it and I do like this about South End Sean,

no need to agree, I know I've nailed this one. Oh, you like that? Very confident. Yeah, okay, I'm not sure about it. It's not the level of spelling and grammar I've come to expect from Southend Sean. Yeah, it's like that one man play about Andrew Lloyd Webber. There's a song that says, no one says no to Andrew, it's got that kind of, no one says no to Southend Sean. I'm assuming though, really, that it's based on what's op, but it's app as in it's an app.

Yes. Piazza is the linguist, isn't he? What would you say? That feels more likely than what's appended. I don't want your feelings. I mean, I want some evidence. But feelings, nothing more than feelings. As I sang that, I'm not confident that nothing more was the next bit. No, it wasn't nothing. So many songs I just know that feelings, and then I have to leave it to everyone else.

Frank, we've also had some very exciting news. Do you want to share this Pierre? The plan? Or shall I? Yes. You've been honoured, Frank. Yes, you have. Very specially. What again? We heard from Jane Stead. Okay.

Who's speaking of rodeo cell names. Yes. Dear Frank-Emily-O'-Peer. And also very close to John Stead. From The Avengers. The dapper agent in the original TV Avengers before Marvel made everyone think the other Avengers were the Avengers. And rendered the original Avengers un-dooglable. Oh, I need to talk to you about exactly that. But carry on with Jane Steed. So Jane says, long-term reader, first-time emailer. This came up on my Facebook feed the other day as I live in Bearwood.

Oh. Yeah. Oh, Tiro lives in Bearwood. Bearwood, I should say. We used to have a saying locally, Bearwood for shoes. Oh. Bearwood is an area of, it's not quite Birmingham,

it nearly is, and I used to do a gig at the Bear Tavern there every Wednesday night. And Artiru lives there, Stuart Marconi. Oh really? Lives in Bearwood, incredibly. Well, so, Jane continues, this came up on my Facebook feed the other day, is I live in Bearwood. You almost certainly don't look on Facebook and I wouldn't blame you.

But Bearwood Parish Council are very worth following. This blue plaque is on the Bear Tavern, on the Bearwood High Street side. So the latest blue heritage plaque, stuck up by Bearwood Parish Council, honours the fact that Frank Skinner once ate a roast dinner here at the Bearwood Tavern. The council have actually put this up. It's not just some random sticker they've ordered online. Who would put that up and not inform me of it? Sorreptitious blue plaque.

Comedian and writer Frank Skinner ate a roast dinner here, is what it says. And where's it on? This is on the Bear Tavern. I used to do a gig there every Wednesday for about two years. What they've actually singled out was a roast dinner there. They haven't commemorated that. They don't want to remember the work. No. They want to remember the dinner.

Bearwood Parish Council, I love their work. Bearwood Parish Council always lets me down. Well au contraire my friend. I just say Bearwood Parish. Well I mean, if it's real I'm proud. Could it be an AI scam? Frank you're so suspicious. It's not an AI scam. No offence, but who would bother

to go to this trouble of scamming you. I would say an AI scam would be less bothering than actually putting up a blue flag. That's true. Yeah. But it does look like quite a sturdy object. They just singled out the roast dinner to make it rhyme. Do you remember a particularly astonishing roast dinner? I'll tell you what it says, guys. No, says Bearwood Heritage, and then it says Comedian and Writer, and I like that. How do you feel about that? No, I'm happy with it. Oh good, okay, excellent. But the roast dinner. Do you remember a particularly notable one? Well the Bear Hotel, as it was

originally, which then became the Bear Tavern, is the sort of place where you'd rather do a gig than eat a roast dinner, if you know what I mean. The risk and stress of the gig would be less. Even though I was doing new material every week, a roast dinner there would have been taking your life in your hands. I didn't even know they did. It wasn't that kind of a place when I was there.

What kind of a place? Where they'd have blue plaits? You might get chicken flavoured crisps, that's as close as you get to a roast dinner. You could get a joint in there, but that's a different story. Oh God. Frank, can I also share with you something about the snooker? Because you keep referencing the snooker. Is there a big thing happening?

It was the World Championship ended on Bank Holiday Monday. The first ever Chinese player to win the World Championship. That's exciting. So does that mean China have won? China? Well, it's individuals. But China now, I think we had, there was 50, I say we, the British had 15 people in the championship championship I think the Chinese had 10 so yeah they are they are a major force. I didn't know that, did you know that? It's very big in China and Hong Kong for a long time. Hong Kong for years. Well Dave would like to share this with us. Hi Frank I heard you saying you enjoy watching the snooker. Oh yes. I wonder if you agree with me about this.

Members, I don't understand this so Frank's going to have to explain because you're all so ignorant about snooker. Members of the audience who applaud when a player's break gets to the point where his opponent needs snookers. Yeah. I can't bear it. It's so pretentious. We're showing off it. It's so pretentious. We're showing off certainly.

It's so pretentious what they're basically doing is saying, look at me, I'm really good at maths. They are, they are doing that. Also it's not the end of the, I'm afraid Dave uses an expletive here, which I'm going to take out. Also it's not the end of the bleep frame. The other player could still win with a snooker. Applaud a great shot. Applaud a century. That's fine. But that is just showing off. Yeah, I know what that is. Can you explain what this means then? Well briefly there are only so many points on the table obviously so if you get if

you've got more points, if you're ahead by more points than are left on the table then that guy has got to he's got to get you to make some mistakes, some major mistakes and play some foul shots to have a chance. So you've reached, you basically, barring unlikely events, you're safe, you're home safe, but the game's not over. But to spot that, yeah, it's that kind of, oh, yes. I know. Is it a bit like applauding if you're watching a team and you know that they're technically winning on aggregate?

In some ways, because it's the maths of it. Well, football's a bit less scoring to do, but a cricket, the equivalent would be spotting a 50 partnership, I would say. Okay. So you've made a note of when the last person was out and you're just waiting to get 50 further runs. So it's the sports version of laughing loudly at Shakespeare jokes.

Yeah, exactly. Or applauding at an opera, applauding the orchestra more than the singers. Even as I've pointed out before, they're the only people who haven't learnt it off by heart. Or do what my parents do, bravo! Oh, it's so embarrassing. And I've seen some bits of opera which have been marvelous,

but I've never shouted bravo. Oh God. Have you wanted to? I've wanted to shout bravissimo but that's for circumstances I won't go into. Well that's interesting about what David said about Snuka. Now that I understand it, I'm in agreement with Dave. Yeah. I think it is a bit show-offy. It is a bit show-offy, yeah.

That you can do the sort of the ball maths extremely quickly. Because they're worth different points, aren't they? Even the snooker players themselves, you see them looking up at the scoreboard going, no you do quite often try to work it out. Frank, who's the favourite snooker player you've ever met? Oh. Have you ever met a snooker player?

Well, I interviewed Ronny O'Sullivan. What's he like? He was really nice actually, very nice. But I've met, I think I've met John Virgo, Dennis Taylor. Have you? You've met them all. I think Steve Davis I've, I did a, I was on a panel with once. Well we all know about him, he's a bit idiosyncratic. He's a big fan of a band called The Cardiacs, who my partner is absolutely crazy about. So she's read his book on The Cardiacs, Steve Davis's. You know, he's a massive music guy.

Oh, is he? Even when he was a snooker player, he had a sort of a fanzine on Northern Soul that he used to have. Isn't it horrible when you look back in the days of spitting image and things when they used to say things like Steve interesting David. The irony of that was they were absolutely spot on. He is very, he is unusually interesting for a sportsman. Exactly, where is Peter Emden? I saw a Q&A with him which said favorite food steak. Steak. Favorite night out, well I live in Dubai now and so blah blah blah, oh it's getting worse and then who's your best friend in Snooker? Well I've got six kids so I don't really need all the friends. How long left on this drive? What were you going to say about the Avengers?

Yes, so I went to see, the first time in my life I went to see a film with an asterisk. Oh, not asterix. No, not asterix. You finally saw your favourite French cartoon. Actually, that sounded a bit ruder than I meant it to. An asterisk on the title. So I saw Thunderbolts asterisk. And he thought, I'm looking for a footnote on the poster, nothing. But the reason it had an asterisk is that one week after

it came out in the United States, they had a thing went up online and it's one of the actors walking along with a poster under his arm and he puts a new poster over the thunderbolt asterisk and it says, instead of that, it says, the new Avengers. And the new Avengers is the reveal at the end of the film. So lots of fans who haven't got around to watching it are saying this is a massive spoiler, I can't believe you've done this.

But what I was saying about, when we're talking about the Avengers that used to be on the telly, people know if you said, oh, I used to love the Avengers, you'd absolutely think they meant Marvel I think. But there was also a sequel called The New Avengers. Was that with Joanna Lumley? With Joanna Lumley. So now they've even shot that one out the water as well with Gareth

Hunt. Don't even think. You can imagine. His name became an unfortunate rhyming slang in the 80s Frank would you say it did I know it was I? Love a Marvel film was Thunderbolts any good. I know you do you know what I? Can I say if you like anything like I go and see Thunderbolts oh No, go and see the new Avengers It's really brilliant. I am a friend of mine went to see, you know the last one was Captain America, the last Marvel film. I can't keep, there's about 52 of them?

It's Brave New World, Captain America. Oh, Aldous Huxley. She said I went, yeah, no. Captain America grapples with the morality of a stratified society. Very boring outing for Chris Hemsworth. It's actually one of mying for Chris Hemsworth. It's actually one of my favourite books. I'm going to go and see that. Captain America saying, ah, brave new world that had such people in it.

Hello, I've come to see the new Aldous Huxley. I would be very confused if I saw that. Anyway. You were saying? Oh yeah, so a friend of mine went to see the 4D version of Captain America. You can smell the Hulk. You're shaken about and water squirted at you and you get soaked and robed up. And I said, well I went to watch it just at a commercial cinema. I had basically the same experience.

It wasted your money. Hang on, the Hulk, why is he involved? In this one. Yeah, I get confused. It's Harrison Ford, he's a different Hulk. He plays the Hulk? In the Captain America one. Isn't it old for the Hulk?

He's Red Hulk. He's Red Hulk, which is Hulk with like mean, nasty Hulk. I didn't know they were bringing Hulk out in all different colors. He's an American president who is a funny color and becomes completely out of control. It's a bit farfetched. That is the story. I'm serious. Does Harrison Ford have, you know what I love about the Hulk, thank?

Donald Trump trying to... What, the ripped trousers? Well, not just the ripped trousers. The fact that the button on the denim cut-offs always remains intact despite the rest of the trousers, as we've established before, having wildly serrated edges as a result of his temper. Does Harrison Ford wear the jean shorts? There's a terrible moment where Harrison Ford, having gone from president to Red Hulk, goes back and he's kind of naked and it lasts like two seconds because Harris, you don't see it, you don't go below

the waist but Harrison Ford's obviously said, look the days when I could be topless on cinema of, so they either had to give him a CGI or just make it quick so you get a very quick frail old half naked Harrison Ford and then it's gone. But enough to break my heart. Oh Frank! But listen, just before it started, and this happened with Thunderbolts as well, I actually wrote this on my phone in the cinema. Can I ask a question? I'm so sorry, were you on your own?

What, for Thunderbolts? Watching these Marvel films. Now for both of them I took my son. Oh good, I'm relieved. Okay. Yes, I've seen them on way home. I know you have. No shame in it. That's why I'm relieved.

Anyway, it says just before the Captain America, intense, this is actually literally when the title comes up, intense sequences of violence and action and strong language. So the warning comes up on the title and I think what am I supposed to do with this warning? Yes. I've played, I'm in my seat, I've got popcorn and now you're saying to me oh by the way there's strong language in this and violence. What is the point of that warning? To excite you? Well, maybe. Like saying, hey, you know, stick around. There's violence. Also, violence and action, it says.

Action. Oh, I wasn't ready for that. In a Hulk superhero film? But this is the bit I want to get to. When the titles ran at the end, for the Captain America one, this is, they credited three therapy dogs. What? Yeah. For the Hulk?

For the two, I don't know who they were for. To keep them calm. Does the Hulk have dogs? That's not a good idea. No, the Hulk doesn't have dogs. I wouldn't leave him in charge of my shitsoo. But that'd be terrible because he springs, like, you know, he springs into the air. He's a springer, springer's manual.

Yeah. So the dogs would be on their own for days on NY The Hulk was out, I don't know, destroying some junta in South America. He's not emotionally responsible enough to keep the dog. No, he can't, you couldn't. Also, he has to always go from town to town, a lonely, a somewhat lonely figure unable to put down roots. That's Green Hulk. No, but also.

Oh my god, I can't keep having all these hulks. We had a Hulk. No, but he is a... We knew his story. We knew his clothes. We knew he was green. I hate to break it to you, and it's a different Captain America. Oh, for God's sake.

Well, I've got news for you. There's another Captain America in the New Avengers. It's just ridiculous. Do you know what? They're cheapening the whole concept of Captain America. Well, don't say that, because the new one is a person of colour, so they're not cheapening it at all. They're bettering it.

Can I just say this one is going to be even better? Can I say, well, there's now a new one who is, it used to be known as Super Patriots. Anyway, let me tell you. Tell me about the dog. It's going to become like a sergeants major, Captain America. The thing that annoys me about the new guy, and he is a person of colour and I you know. Is this the new Captain America? He's really good, he's called Sam Wilson, but he refuses to take the super soldier serum. You know that Captain America has this thing that makes him like a massive. Oh yes. He refuses to take. super soldier serum. You know that Captain America has this thing

that makes him like a mess. He refuses to take it. What, the actor? No, no, the character. I don't think you have to take it if you're the actor. No, I think they call it something else. When you take for a movie in Hollywood, it's something else that begins with S, they take. But when you take it, you become like a superhero and he won't take it. Why? Because he wants to rely on his natural human. Captain America is now Jehovah's Witness.

I think he's a bit Robert F. Kennedy Jr. I don't want to take the, I don't believe in that super soldier serum. You need that to be captain. I'm not having it, don't need for it. I don't trust the vaccine. Can you put bleach? Is there any way you can put bleach in there. Do you remember when Trump asked that scientist that? He looked over and said, perhaps there's a way we could get sunlight inside the body.

And the scientist had to just nod as if to say, mm-hmm. Yep. But three therapy dogs. And there was none on Thunderbolts. Hang on. Were the therapy dogs for the actors? Well, it doesn't say, but it lists their names. I'll tell you one. It's like Sandy, Paul and Maria, the therapy dogs. One will be for Harrison Ford, just to get him psyched up for the nakedness, maybe.

Okay, yeah, maybe. He might even want the dog with you for that. You could look at the dog and think, well, the dog's naked, everyone loves him. It's normalizing nudity. Well they're not naked unless it's one of those Mexican dogs with a hairless. Could I just correct you? The dog is not naked, it is nude. Because you may well know the distinction from art history. I don't know the distinction. No, it's one of the first questions you get asked. I got asked about art history at every level, the difference between naked and nude. So naked would imply self-consciousness like Adam and Eve, expulsion from Eden. Nude is like the Rokeby Venus

who's very comfortable with being painted. Thank you. Where does Starkas come in? Or the Buff. Starkas comes in in 1970s sitcoms. It'd be funny to go round a museum and say, these are some of the most beautiful Starkers that he ever painted. Yes, Tishan's, start ball it naked, Venus. Venus in the buff. Venus in her birthday suit. Why are all the words for being naked so 70s? In your birthday suit, Stalkers! Yeah exactly, that was when it was still exciting in the 70s.

Oh didn't that's what it was? For anyone to be unclothed. I'm worried about these therapy dogs. I just think what were they doing on that set? Who were they working for? Well, I don't know. If anyone knows, let us know. If anyone knows! They've trained the dogs to say to actors that there is artistic merit in appearing in these films.

That's the dog's job. Hey, listen, I love these films. It's as good as any film. People love it. You're making a lot of children happy. No one will judge you. It's a difficult performance. I know it's green screen, it doesn't matter. The dogs have been trained. You do you.

Is it Paul Fiegg who does all the muck? Just cash the check. Buy a mansion. Do you know Paul Fiegg is like, I think Mr Marvel. I think that is now. Oh is that Paul Fiegg? He did a simple favour. But you can imagine him with like finger and thumb in the corners of the dog's jaw, making

it to the talking. It's fine. You can do a French art film next year. Your body looks great Harrison. Isn't that what Mickey Rourke said on Big Brother? They said, why are you doing this? Is it this or some stupid no money, heart house movie? He said, it was either this or a bad independent film. And then he proceeded to call everyone the chick with the pink hair.

Oh, Mickey. Oh, poor Mickey. Oh dear. We miss him. Oh Mickey. Oh dear. We miss him. It's Frank off the Radio, Frank off the Radio, Frank off the Radio. It's the Frank Skinner podcast don't you know. Thanks for listening to the podcast. Make sure to like and follow so you never miss an episode. And if you want to get in touch you can email the podcast via frankofftheradioatavalonuk.com