'It's not good...'

Frank Skinner has ‘named and shamed’ Joe Pasquale as a joke thief.

The Black Country comic exposed Pasquale after he lifted a routine that Skinner performed on a DVD more than a decade ago, and used it on ITV1’s Comedy Rocks.

He told his Absolute Radio audience that he was particularly aggrieved because the material – about sneaking a bolt onto a roller-coaster, then dropping it heavily just as it began its descent to terrify the other passengers – was something he did actually do as a child.

And he said it’s not the first time Pasquale had performed the stolen material on TV.

Skinner told the story on his 1997 video Live At Birmingham Hippodrome, saying it was the first joke he ever did.

He told listeners last week: ‘Was I not watching Comedy Rocks the other night, hosted by Jason Manford, and Joe Pasquale was on and did one of my gags.

‘I’ve seen him do it before. I’ve seen him do the same gag on Paul O’Grady. It’s a pity, because he’s such a sweet man.

‘I wouldn’t mind, but it was something I used to do as a kid. Me and this mate of mine used to go on the big wheel when the fair came. We had this big metal bolt and we used to drop it on the floor and pretend it had dropped out of the workings to frighten people.

‘I did it on a DVD about 15 years ago. Joe’s obviously thought it’s a shame now not to keep it going. Joe’s become my tribute act. It’s not good.’

Pasquale – who’s reputation for stealing jokes has previously formed the basis of a Stewart Lee routine – could not be reached for comment this weekend.

Skinner’s gag is about two and half minutes into this clip:

And Pasquale’s is about five minutes into this clip:

Published: 4 Apr 2010