I'll preface this by saying that on average i like Frankie. I think he says some stupid stuff, but he may have his own reasons for doing that because he certainly isn't stupid... anyway:

What a crappy joke to lose your job over. He's a lot funnier than that, and i think he's said far worse things both in general and about the queen. I don't personally know Dara or anyone, but part of me thinks that they would have lent their artistic support to him had it been solely about that joke. Many of them are still doing it now and they seem like a tight knit bunch, and they all loved Frankie and he kept their popularity up.

I wonder if a part of him wanted to go for some reason - perhaps he felt his better material (less PG) stuff wasn't getting aired and should be.

*nsfw

This video has been flagged as being Not Suitable For Work - declared nsfw by ant.

From everything I've read he didn't get fired - he just left. I think he was always too extreme for a prime time BBC quiz as was highlighted by the reactions of his fellow comedians to his jokes.

I'm damn sure he has far more material cut than left in and that must get frustrating for anybody.

It's a pity though because judging on what his produced post-MTW he seems to be far better at fighting what's expected of a panellist than being a star in his own right.