Frank Skinner and John Bishop BOTH to play at Middlesbrough Town Hall

Top comedians Frank Skinner and John Bishop confirm gigs at Middlesbrough Town Hall later this year

Comedy fans are in for a treat after comedy big hitters Frank Skinner AND John Bishop both confirmed Middlesbrough dates on their upcoming tours.

Fans will be able to bag a sneak preview of John's brand new material at a special ‘Work-in-Progress’ gig at Middlesbrough Town Hall on Friday September 19.

It comes before he begins his keenly anticipated 40-date Supersonic UK arena tour later in the year.

And Frank plays the same venue on Thursday, December 11 - thanks to his critically acclaimed Man In A Suit tour being extended by huge public demand.

Witty scouser Bishop shot to fame after a series of barnstorming gigs on a string of top TV shows including Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow and Live at the Apollo.

Huge sell-out tours quickly followed, and he raised a whopping £3.4million for Comic Relief in 2012 after completing a 290-mile triathlon from Paris to London in just five days.

Fellow big-hitter Frank Skinner has been a huge TV favourite ever since The Frank Skinner Show and Fantasy Football League pulled in over 11 million viewers, with both shows now widely credited for setting the tone for others to follow.

His previous tour in 2007 included a then record breaking 6,000 sell-out at Battersea Power Station, his current tour is wowing fans and critics alike, and millions of people are still glued to the telly with Room 101 currently in its third series for BBC1.

The two new dates add to an already tasty autumn Town Hall comedy programme which includes Ross Noble, Jason Byrne and Jimmy Carr this autumn.

Graham Ramsay of promoters Ten Feet Tall said: “We’ve been involved in literally hundreds of gigs these last few years, but we still get a real buzz when we manage to bag shows of this calibre.

“It’s great to get Frank Skinner on the calendar – it’s not that long since he returned to stand-up, and the shows have been getting fantastic reviews. I’ve been trying to book him on and off since he was starting on the club circuit, so it’s good to pin him down at long last!

“And as for John Bishop, he could have picked any theatre in the land for these warm-up shows.

"But he’s played here before, loved it, and decided to come back here.

"That tells you all you need to know about what a great comedy audience we have on Teesside, and what an amazing room the Town Hall is. We’re all really looking forward to both of these shows!”

Frank Skinner fans have chance to buy their tickets first, with a small allocation of pre-sale tickets available online at seetickets.com at 9am on Wednesday June 4, and ticketmaster.co.uk at 9am on Thursday June 5.

All remaining tickets for both shows then go on general sale at Middlesbrough Town Hall Box Office at 10am this Friday morning, 01642 729 729 or online.

• John Bishop: Work-In-Progress. Middlesbrough Town Hall. Friday 19 September. Doors: 7.30pm. Show: 8pm. Age: 16+. Tickets: £20.00. On sale 10am Friday 6 June from the Town Hall Box Office on 01642 729 729 or online.


• Frank Skinner: Man In A Suit. Middlesbrough Town Hall. Thursday 11 December. Doors: 7pm. Show: 7.30pm. Age: 16+. Tickets: £27.50. On sale 10am Friday 6 June from the Town Hall Box Office on 01642 729 729 or online.