Andy Drozdziak
Comedian Frank Skinner has opened up about his Catholic faith and said that it’s time to ‘bring forgiveness back.’
Skinner left the Catholic church at the age of 17 but returned about 12 years later, after struggling with alcoholism.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Times, reformed alcoholic Skinner, 67, said that he sympathised with ‘people with a good heart.’
“If I do get to heaven, I’ve often wondered what job I’d get. I’d like to be a defence lawyer for borderline cases: people with a good heart who’ve made a few poor decisions,” he said.
“We used to call it forgiveness and it used to be quite popular, but the world isn’t so keen on it these days. Maybe it’s time to bring it back.”
Skinner also shared how his Catholic faith guides him. He said: “People make a big thing about me being Catholic. To me it’s like CCTV, keeping a benevolent eye on you, making sure what you’re doing is right.”
Skinner has previously addressed his faith in a lighthearted manner in his 2021 book, A Comedian’s Prayer Book, which contained Skinner’s reflections on ‘hell, judgement, atheism, money, faith and the X-Men.’ He described the book as ‘a bit like reading the Bible, except you only get one side of the conversation and all the jokes are left in.’
Following performances at the Edinburgh Fringe and 7 nights at the Lyric Theatre, Frank Skinner is about to kick off his new tour of the UK and Ireland entitled 30 Years of Dirt, starting on 12th March. It has been praised as ‘a beautifully confessional new show’ by Stephen Armstrong in The Sunday Times and ‘a delight’ by Paul Fleckney in The Guardian.
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PA Wire/PA Images Picture by: Matt Crossick