SCOTTISH comedian Frankie Boyle has revealed he plans to quit comedy to spend more time with his children.
The controversial comic – notorious for his swipes at disabled kids and cancer sufferers – said he would leave the stand-up circuit tour “pretty soon” to concentrate of writing books and comics.
The multimillionaire, who still lives in his hometown of Glasgow, allowed a rare glimpse of his sensitive side when asked to describe the greatest achievement of his life, simply answering “my kids.”
Boyle, who has previously admitted that his career has caused him to neglect his family, has a daughter, born in 2006 and a four-year-old son named Thor.
In a recent magazine interview, when quizzed what he would do if he ever quit comedy, he replied: “I will stop pretty soon. I’m planning on writing books and comics. I’ve spent a lot of my kids’ lives on the road, so I’m looking forward to being around a bit more.”
Disappointed fans took to Twitter following the revelation, with one, Rafael McBhoona, asking the star: “Why are you quitting comedy? Is it for your weans? and another adding: “Did you hear Frankie Boyle is quitting stand up?”
In the same interview, Boyle was back to his usual controversial form when he joked that he would be appearing as a guest judge on the new series of X Factor.
He said: “They don’t know about this, and it’s kind of dependent on me being able to smuggle a sniper rifle into Birmingham NEC.”
The former Mock the Week panellist said it was doubtful anyone would remember Simon Cowell in 20 years time, adding; “I like any man who appears on TV with his hair sculpted into some kind of topiary rhomboid.”
When asked what bare essentials he would need to make his life happy, Boyle said: “A list of politicians’ addresses, a handgun and cancer.”
Boyle caused outcry earlier this year after making “sickening” comments about 2,100 schoolchildren who formed the Olympic rings in their school grounds to raise money for charity.
Boyle wrote in a national newspaper that their effort was “the most autistic response to a global sporting event”.
And the comedian added: “For the kids of Gosport, learning how to stand bewildered in a blue jumper is all they need to qualify them for a life of working in 99p stores.”
The Glasgow-based comedian was universally condemned last year after he made a joke at the expense of Miss Price’s then eight-year-old son Harvey.
On Tramadol Nights, which was watched by an audience of one million, Boyle told viewers: “Jordan and Peter Andre are still fighting each other over custody of Harvey – eventually one of them will lose and have to keep him.”
Boyle, 39, was slammed for his vicious comment, with Ms Price calling him a “disgrace.”
