The Story of Skip to the End


One afternoon in July 2014 we (Adam, Ben & Mark) were sitting in our local pub having a spirited debate over a film we’d just been to see. It was suggested, half-jokingly, that we should record our conversations, and from that moment the podcast was born.

Mark, Ben & Adam in 2014
The initial plan was for the podcast to cover film, TV, music, football, wrestling, and all the other subjects that interested us. We quickly scrapped that for the much more manageable focus on film only. 

We decided we wanted the show to be a place to find honest reviews of new movies, as well as lively conversations on film related topics. Taking our name from a line in one of our favourite shows, Spaced, we became Skip to the End. 

In early August 2014 we got together in Ben’s flat, armed with nothing more than an iPhone, and recorded the first episode. Initially planned as a non-broadcast pilot, we were so happy with the results we decided to put it out into the world to see the response.

The original Skip to the End logo
Hoping for 100 downloads within a year, we were delighted when the first episode was downloaded over 1000 times. Encouraged by the success of the first episode we continued to put out new episodes every fortnight.

In October 2014, after just five episodes, we were given press passes to the MCM Comic Con. Over the course of the next year we attended several MCM events, eventually being named the official podcast of the Con. In that time we interviewed a wide range of stars from shows such as Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead.

Ben, Adam & Mark with our first press passes
In February 2015 we decided to invest in some professional equipment, purchasing a mixing desk and microphones, which dramatically improved our production values, starting with episode 15.

Moving up in the world with professional recording equipment
Our original hope of 100 downloads in a year was blown away when we crossed the 1 million downloads mark in June 2015, just 10 months after launching the podcast. Two months later we celebrated our one year anniversary on the 27th episode of the show.

Around this time we also started to record a few special episodes where we interviewed cult names in the film industry, including Tommy Wiseau, the star and director of The Room, the best bad movie of all-time. The Wiseau interview garnered us our first mainstream press, being featured in the AV Club’s Podmass feature in September 2015.

The podcast began to open doors for us, and in June 2016 we were given press passes to the Download festival, where we got to talk to some of our favourite bands and see some incredible performances. Our relationship with Download continues to this day, having attended every festival since.

Mark and Ben meet one of their idols, Deftones frontman Chino Moreno
In July 2016 we celebrated 50 episodes of Skip to the End, but the celebration was bittersweet as that was our final episode with Adam, who went on to pastures new. On the following episode we introduced our friend and frequent guest Gemma (aka Poochie) as our new permanent co-host.

Gemma signs her legally binding STTE contract
We reached new heights in August 2016 when we were given press passes to WWE Summerslam in New York. Not only did Mark and Ben get to witness a superb show live, but they also got to meet some of their heroes from the wrestling world. We made such a good impression on WWE that we were invited back the following year.

Mark & Ben meet WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley
In February 2017 we attended our first movie premiere in London, getting to walk the red carpet for Kong: Skull Island, and mingle with stars like Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson.

Ben hovers near the stars of Kong: Skull Island
In March 2017 we received our second piece of mainstream exposure, when the official Film4 Twitter feed named us as one of the UK’s most popular film podcasts, alongside such heavy hitters as Kermode & Mayo’s Wittertainment, How Did This Get Made, and the Empire Film Podcast.

Film4 names us one of the most popular film podcasts in the UK
Later that month we released our first official t-shirt. The limited edition shirt was a rousing success, selling out within days. This encouraged us to release our second t-shirt a year later, which was even more successful than the first.

The first official STTE t-shirt
In August 2017 we reached a triple milestone as we celebrated Gemma’s one year anniversary with the podcast, our three year anniversary overall, and our 5 millionth download. The milestones continued the following year as we celebrated our 100th episode in July 2018.

Mark, Gemma and Ben in a celebratory mood
We received our most major mainstream exposure in February 2019 when we were invited to appear as guests on the BBC Podcast Radio Hour, where we discussed the origins and impact of the podcast. Two months later we celebrated our 10 millionth download.

To celebrate our five year anniversary in August 2019 we decided to give something back to our loyal listeners, the SkipFam, by putting on our first ever live show, SkipFest. The show sold out within hours and was a fantastic event, full of games, prize giveaways, the usual STTE nonsense, and lots and lots of booze.

Gemma, Mark & Ben entertain a sold out crowd at SkipFest
During SkipFest we were joined onstage by our good friend and regular guest Benny, and also welcomed back founding member Adam, rejoining the gang for one night only, the first time he'd been part of the show in three years.

All four members of Skip to the End celebrate with the SkipFam
After the success of SkipFest we began to think about the end of the show. We were happy with all we’d achieved, and agreed that it was best to go out on top, so in December 2019 we recorded the final episode of the podcast.

By the time we said our final goodbyes we’d put out 143 episodes (including specials), reviewed 263 films, discussed 134 movie related topics, and received over 12 million downloads. 

In January 2021, after more than a year away, we decided to get back together for a Lockdown Special, our first remotely recorded episode. The old magic was still there, and we had so much fun that we've reunited for a handful of special episodes since. Who knows what the future holds for Skip to the End, stay tuned...

The STTE gang records their 2023 special
All our episodes are still available online and can be found on PodomaticiTunes and Spotify. Hope you enjoy.

Goodbye and goodnight from Ben, Mark & Gemma