List of past Shameless characters

This is a list of characters who no longer appear in the British comedy drama series Shameless.

Contents

Kev Ball

Kev Ball
Shameless character
Portrayed by Dean Lennox Kelly
Created by Paul Abbott
Introduced by George Faber (2004, 2011)
Duration 2004–07, 2011
First appearance 13 January 2004
Last appearance 27 September 2011 (Channel 4)
Profile
Date of birth 31 January 1974 (1974-01-31) (age 38)
Home Chasworth Estate (?–2007)
Prison (2007–?)
Nottingham (?—)
Occupation Barman (2000–07)
Construction site worker (?—)

Kevin Alan "Kev" Ball (born 31 January 1974) worked in the local public house, The Jockey, and was the next door neighbour of the Gallagher family.

He is also the brother of Kelly Maguire (née Ball).

Kev's marriage to Veronica is legally invalid because he never got a divorce from his first wife, Roxy, who Kevin left because of spousal abuse. He told Veronica the situation prior to their wedding, but Veronica decided to go ahead with the wedding anyway because she had just inherited five grand from her deceased father and wanted to buy a house. They got married, but they had to pay for the damage wrought by the fire caused in the Jockey toilets by Veronica's brother Marty, so they couldn't buy their own home.

Kev is illiterate. And despite having lessons on and off over the years, has had limited success, until Veronica agreed to help him out once she learned that the instructor from his adult literacy class was sexually harassing him.

Kev has also taken boxing lessons from his late father during childhood.

Kev and Veronica appeared briefly in the first episode of the fourth series. They were shown being brought into a Romanian courthouse. They had been arrested after attempting to buy an orphan.

He briefly returned in the 100th episode. He and Veronica are still together and seem to have been released by the Romanian authorities at some unspecified date. Both Kev and Veronica now reside in Nottingham, where Kev works in construction. In the 100th episode he returned to help Frank, Carl, Kelly, Patty and Aidan because of Cynthia's beatings.


Veronica Ball

Veronica Ball
Shameless character
Portrayed by Maxine Peake
Created by Paul Abbott
Introduced by George Faber
Duration 2004–07
First appearance 13 January 2004
Last appearance 9 January 2007
Profile
Date of birth 19 June 1974 (1974-06-19) (age 37)
Home Chastworth Estate (?—2007)
Prison (2007–?)
Nottingham (?—)

Veronica Carol "Vee" Ball (née Fisher; born 19 June 1974) is Carol Fisher's daughter and Marty Fisher's older sister. She has four other brothers called Mitch, Phil, Leo and Barry. She is also Fiona's best friend. Veronica lived next door to the Gallaghers with husband Kev, although their marriage is not legal due to Kev still being married to his first wife, Roxy.

She stated that she and Kev thought they were rough, until the Gallaghers moved in next door, which made the two feel like Charles and Camilla. Veronica was on very friendly terms with Debbie, and often defended her in certain situations.

Veronica has a rather bitter relationship with most of her family, especially her mother Carol, who often behaves with a dismissive and ungrateful attitude toward her daughter.

Days before Frank and Sheila's wedding in series 3, Veronica learned that Sheila's first husband, Sheldon, was buried in the back garden with his gold jewellery. After learning that her and Kev's IVF had failed, she conspired with Frank to dig up the body to recover the valuables, only to discover that Sheldon had been stabbed. After the gold medallions were taken, Veronica was sorely disappointed to find out they were cheap fakes. Veronica discovers from Sheila that Sheldon used to beat and torment her by burning her with his medallions, until she snapped and stabbed him. Veronica and Kev then convinced Frank not to allow Sheila to turn herself in to the police.

Veronica and Kev both now live in Nottingham having been released from a Romanian prison by the authorities.

Libby Croker

Libby Croker
Shameless character
Portrayed by Pauline McLynn
Created by Paul Abbott
Introduced by George Faber
Duration 2010–11
First appearance 26 January 2010
Last appearance 8 March 2011
Profile
Date of birth 1967 (1967) (age 45)
Occupation Librarian (2010–11)
Postwoman (2011)

Libby Croker[1] is Frank's current love interest. She is a librarian who lives with her disabled mother, for whom she is sole carer, giving up her own independent existence. Libby is narcoleptic. In the most recent episode, she has moved in with Frank, after being released from prison for inciting a riot. Her mother has also moved in with the Gallaghers, living in their front room, and has been set up as a counter-point to Frank, both of whom consider the other as "fakers" regarding their illnesses. Libby's moving into the Gallagher home has not been welcomed by Frank's sons. Liam in particular has demonstrated a rather cold attitude toward Libby, perhaps because he fears that the relationship is doomed to failure anyway, and doesn't want to get too friendly with Libby. However, Libby has gradually been accepted by most of the family. In episode 13 of Series 8 Libby was found to be exchanging love letters with a colleague. The colleague was later found out to be a figment of her imagination borne out of a desperate need for affection.

After her and Franks split, Libby left Chatsworth whilst her mother and godson Aiden chose to stay with the Gallaghers. however, they later join Libby.

Bruce Donnelly

Bruce Donnelly
Shameless character
Portrayed by Philip Hill-Pearson
Created by Paul Abbott
Introduced by George Faber
Duration 2010
First appearance 23 February 2010
Last appearance 11 May 2010
Profile
Date of birth 1988
Occupation Barman (2010)

Bruce Donnelly is Maxine Donnelly's younger brother, first introduced in episode 5 of series 7, and appeared again from episodes 11-16 after accepting a job as a barman at The Jockey by Mimi Maguire. Bruce is a charming but manipulative young man. He is also openly gay, but has quickly gained the confidence of Mimi, after at first being thrown out after his father, Cameron, caught him smoking cannabis, and then only to arrive at Ian's house and lie to his sister that he was thrown out for being gay. Bruce also moves into The Jockey while working there. In the seventh series he manages a gay football team for a gay football tournament consisting of Carl Gallagher, Ian Gallagher, Chesney Karib, Mickey Maguire and others.

Maxine Donnelly

Maxine Donnelly
Shameless character
Portrayed by Joanna Higson
Created by Paul Abbott
Introduced by George Faber
Duration 2009–10
First appearance 27 January 2009
Last appearance 11 May 2010
Profile
Date of birth 1990
Occupation Auxiliary nurse

Maxine Donnelly (born 1989) is a carefree, spirited, and clever young woman who was introduced in the second episode of series 6 when Carl Gallagher, after having his broken arm treated there, briefly did volunteer work at the local hospital. Maxine has also become a good friend of Debbie's, while simultaneously having a minor fling with Carl. She works as an auxiliary nurse, and frequently accompanies Debbie Gallagher on nights out and shopping trips, or more accurately, they steal clothes, and often come up with creative tactics of eluding the centre's security staff. Later in the series, she becomes ever more infatuated with Carl. Maxine and Carl become a couple.

In series 7, Maxine, increasingly disillusioned by Carl's immaturity, secretly aborts her and Carl's unborn baby, but she would later tell Carl, which infuriates him enough to make him end their relationship. She moves in with Ian after her breakup with Carl. She later takes Ian to a party at her parents house under the pretence that Ian is her doctor boyfriend. She tells Ian that her family sees her as a "fuck-up." After witnessing the disparaging remarks from Maxine's father about his daughter, Ian defends her. This leads to an unexpected romance between Ian and Maxine, which in turn leads to a fight and a strained relationship between Ian and Carl as well as Maxine and Carl and Maxine and Micky.

A local tough named Jimmy kills a boy who took advantage of his sister, and he frames Carl and Chesney for the crime, forcing them to flee Chatsworth. Maxine is one of the few people who is concerned about Carl's disappearance. Ian tries to convince her not to get involved, but she persists, and when she confronts Jimmy, his sister hits her in the back of the head with a pool cue. Ian feels ashamed that he did nothing to help her, and he confronts Jimmy in an attempt to tape a confession. Jimmy savagely beats him. Ian's sense of worthlessness leads him to withdraw from everyone and makes him unable to perform with Maxine. As she continues to help clear Carl's name, Ian bitterly accuses her of caring more about Carl than she does him. Maxine helps convince Jimmy's sister to go to the police, but there is little time for celebration as Ian continues to give her as well as Carl the cold shoulder. Maxine tells him that she's leaving him, but not because of Carl. Carl finds Maxine at hospital and admits to her that she was right to abort their child. When she tries to tell him she's steering clear of the Gallagher brothers because of the damage she's done to their relationship, Carl tries to get her to reconsider, telling her he's her mate, but Ian is her soulmate. Ian arrives and he and Maxine share sheepish grins, resuming their relationship.

Maxine's brother Bruce shows up in Chatsworth, sporting a black eye and saying their mother has left and that their father, Cameron, hit him and threw him out of the house for being gay. Maxine agrees to let him move in, and goes to confront their father. He tells her that he threw Bruce out for spending all his time smoking dope, and he's stunned to learn Bruce is gay. When Cameron visits Maxine soon afterwards he rubs makeup off Bruce's eye to prove he never hit him. Bruce admits he lied but says Maxine did the same, revealing that Ian was never a doctor, as Maxine had told everyone in the family. Maxine throws Bruce out. In an attempt to try to get closer to her father, she cooks him some dinner and cleans up his home. She tells him that she's always felt like he undermined her and that she'd always been told she had no confidence—even today she had lost a job as head cleaner at the hospital because of lack of confidence. When he shows her little sympathy, she leaves.

Maxine's insecurities about Ian's feelings for men bubble up when he begins going to gay clubs with Bruce and playing against gay football leagues. Maxine begins posing nude for an art class, and recognises the professor as a teacher she had a crush on when she was a teenager. He confesses he also had feelings for her. At first, she appears to be uncomfortable with the realisation that this man found her attractive when she was sixteen years old. She eventually invites him to her home and they get drunk and take cocaine. As they are undressing, Maxine backs out. Unfortunately, the professor has a heart attack and she has to call an ambulance. Maxine desperately tries to explain to Ian. The relationship begins to fall apart, accelerated when Ian holds hostage a man who tried to rob and rape Maxine. When Ian attempts to kill this man with the gun he used to threaten Maxine, she tries to stop him from taking matters further. Maxine notices Ian's attraction to his hostage when the hostage states: You would rather fuck me than kill me.' Maxine catches Ian admitting to the man that he finds him attractive, and she tells Ian that she will never be able to get over his being attracted to other men. Ian leaves Chatsworth.

Maxine did not return for series 8, although there is so far no mention of her having left the series.

Carol Fisher

Carol Fisher
Shameless character
Portrayed by Marjorie Yates
Created by Paul Abbott
Introduced by George Faber
Duration 2004–07
First appearance 27 January 2004
Last appearance 27 February 2007
Profile
Date of birth 1945
Date of death 2011 (aged 66)
Occupation Barmaid (2004–07)

Carol Fisher (1945–2011) is the mother of Marty and Veronica. She was a guest character in the first series of Shameless, but became a main character (along with her son) in series two. She is a pathological kleptomaniac and a bossy and demanding woman, fond of having affairs with much younger men. Carol is also best friends with nosy neighbour Lillian. In series 3 she found out that Lillian had an affair with her husband Malcolm in the 1970s.

Carol is very promiscuous for her age. In series 3, she embarked on a relationship with a man named Norman. She later found out that he was a nudist. Their relationship ended when he urinated on her during sex. Carol is also quite religious, although she somehow is able to balance it with her promiscuous nature.

Carol moved in with Kev and her daughter Veronica after Marty burned her house down when he left prison and found her with another man. She then moved in with the Gallaghers after Veronica kicked her and Marty out in order to foster a child. Carol then moved in to The Jockey. Absent from series 5, Karen revealed in Episode 1 that Carol had "fucked off to Magaluf with 2 months takings," from The Jockey, before flashing to a picture on the wall of Carol which read 'Employee of the month.' Its revealed in Series 8, Episode 17 by Marty Fisher that Carol had died.

Liam Gallagher

Liam Gallagher
Shameless character
Portrayed by Joseph Furnace (Series 1–2)
Johnny Bennett (Series 3–8)
Created by Paul Abbott
Introduced by George Faber
Duration 2004–11
First appearance 13 January 2004
Last appearance 12 January 2011
Profile
Date of birth 26 January 1999 (1999-01-26) (age 13)
Occupation Student

Liam Gallagher (born 26 January 1998) is the second youngest of the Gallagher children and is a minor character until series 5, when he takes a more central role in the main storylines. He apparently suffered from epileptic fits when he was smaller, although this has never been seen. It was also implied that he used to wet the bed, though he claims that it was only to help put out the fires, which he had a fondness for starting, as seen during his pyromania phase in series 4-5 (match-boxes and lighter-fluid were routinely found under his mattress by Carl and Ian). Throughout the series, Liam is practically raised by his older sisters, Fiona and Debbie, as Frank is lazy and Monica inept- when she is around. In later episodes, Liam shows considerable intelligence and resourcefulness like sister Debbie and is also an outspoken atheist. In series 5, signs of genius in Liam became obvious when he was shown to be an adept car thief,much like steve and was seen later to use a defibrillator on a comotose Frank when it was thought that his heart had stopped. In series 6, it is revealed that Liam is a talented musician, and also fluent in Sign Language. Given his academic performance, the school determines Liam to be an exceptionally gifted pupil, which leads to him being awarded a special scholarship. During an interview at a local university, he initially fails to make a good impression due to nervousness. But that changed when his father Frank attempts to steal the "Joy of Sex" manual from the university library; Liam plucks up the courage to tell the panel of education directors why he deserves the scholarship in an impassioned speech.

Liam was also persuaded by his brother Carl to create false identities on the internet for him, Chesney Karib, Maxine Donnelly, and Micky Maguire, so they would be admitted into an exclusive nightclub.

In series 3, the then five year old Liam was almost expelled from his RC primary school when he openly denounced religion during a Christmas nativity play that was held by the school. Debbie learned of this development on New Year's Day 2006 when meeting with Liam's headteacher and a local parish priest. Debbie tried to warn Frank of the situation and the expected visit from the school, but to no avail. On the day of the school visit, and when it was apparent that Frank was not going to help, Debbie had to take matters into her own hands. She shaved Liam's head, and told the school administrators that her little brother had Cancer. Unfortunately, the rumour got out of hand, and spread out across the Chatsworth community, until a fundraiser for "Liam Day" was set up by Jez Dawson, the landlady of "The Jockey".

While apparently an atheist, it was hinted in series 6 that Liam may have had change of perception on the matter, even when he expertly refuted the arguments of two Jehovah's Witnesses, whom Monica tricked into baby-sitting Liam and Stella, he stated that "they may not know it, but they're right and I'm wrong". He also tried to get rid of the clothes Debbie and Maxine stole, thinking that they brought "bad Karma". In series 7, Liam quoted from passages in the Old and New Testements that condoned prostitution when Kelly thought that her occupation would disqualify her as godmother of Karen and Jamie's son. And was seen later with a copy of the Torah when counselling a Jewish convert with a penchant for pork-scratchings. Although knowledgeable about religion, Liam does not appear to endorse nor practice any of them.

Liam is now one of the few people in Chatsworth who is aware of Micky Maguire's homosexuality. He sarcastically tells Micky that he figured it out through his "amazing powers of deduction", despite Micky's stereotypically gay mannerisms and aesthetic preferences.

In series 7, Debbie has left Chatsworth to join the army, and perhaps due to this, Liam seems to have taken on more responsibility within the household, even getting a job delivering newspapers to support the family. His relationship with Frank has soured to the point that Liam has grown openly contemptuous of his father. Liam now attends a prestigious senior school.

He soon falls for a girl called Holly, whom he meets during his music lessons. Holly takes Liam home to meet her parents, when he tells them his father is a deceased heart specialist. But an accident at school exposes the lie. Despite this, Holly wanted to continue the relationship, but her comments against Frank hurt Liam's feelings, and cause him to leave with Frank.

After the Gallagher household falls behind on their HP payments, Liam gambles at Joe's shop to raise cash. Despite showing great aptitude early on, Liam ends up losing to Joe's bluff during a game of poker, owing him £100. Unable to come up with the money, Liam desperately asks his drunk father for help. Frank accidentally headbutts him, causing Liam to run out of The Jockey. Later on in the episode, Liam contacts Joe, asking "if I die, would it clear my debt?" Joe hurriedly seeks out Frank, Carl and Ian, who find Liam on top of a building threatening to jump. When a scuffle ensures between his brothers and father, he moves to a different ledge, and throws his phone down. After a heartfelt pledge by Frank to be more supportive, and from Joe to write-off his debt to him, Liam seemingly jumps, but he simply lands onto the balcony 7 feet down, recovers his mobile phone, and holds both Joe and Frank to their promises.

When Carl is framed for the death of a local boy, Liam is instrumental in helping to clear his name and convincing him to come home.

Liam struggles to adjust to Frank's new girlfriend Libby Croker taking over the mother role in the household. Liam begins to act more hostile towards her than ever. Liam feels that Frank is taking advantage of Libby, as he did with Sheila. The family realise why when Carl finds a letter Liam has kept from Debbie which tells them she has been sent to Afghanistan. Liam does a school report on a World War II veteran, Reggie. Slowly they become friends and Liam tries to help Reggie as he has no one to take care of him since being widowed. Carl, Kelly, and Libby all feel suspicious of their friendship, especially when Libby sees Liam wearing a dress (Liam wore one of Debbie's dresses as it reminded him of her smell). Liam defends Reggie, but when Reggie, knowing that he was close to death, desperately hugs him and doesn't want to let go. Liam completely mis-interprets Reggie's reasons, and flees the house. However, Liam begins to realise he was wrong about Reggie and returns to apologise and sit with Reggie as he dies.

Liam skillfully plays an acoustic guitar during The Jockey's talent night in episode 12. By then, he seems to have eventually warmed to Libby Croker after she promised him that she would never leave no matter how much Frank might put her off. In various episodes, Liam is seen to adopt Debbie's mannerisms and views in respect of his feelings about religion, figures of authority and the ways in which his family cope with one another. Debbie was Liam's main care-giver and role model since Fiona's departure from Chatsworth in series 2, being the main nurturing influence in his life from the ages of four to ten. Debbie and Liam had such a strong bond with each other, that she would frequently use his help in various activities. It was to Liam whom she addressed the letter to when she was assigned to Afghanistan.

Liam is now the remaining Gallagher on the Chatsworth estate that possesses any sense of responsibility and maturity. In series 8, when the family received the news of Debbie's death in Afghanistan, Liam was willing to travel abroad to personally break the news to Fiona. But there was no need, as the news turned out to be a cruel hoax by the returning Monica. When Monica came back, Liam finally confronted his mother on her attitude toward her family. Monica replied that her relationship with his father was "above right or wrong". When Monica left after her deception was revealed, Liam followed her to the bus stop, where her latest Lesbian lover greeted her. Liam realized this was the same person whom earlier dressed as an army NCO to falsely inform them of Debbie's death. Liam attends Frank's stagnight to keep him out of trouble, but the other drunken revellers playfully tie Frank up and leave him in a cemetery, while taking Liam to a brothel and leaving him with a prostitute. Libby is furious when she finds out, but Liam assures her that he didn't have sex. He only paid the girl for her time with him, and won the money back in a game of Three Card Brag. When Frank goes missing after his stag night, Monica demands custody of Liam and Stella. When she came to collect them, Liam forced Monica to take him rather than Stella, otherwise he would make her life difficult. Liam left with Monica after saying he would come back as soon as Monica gets her new house from the council, which was the true reason she wanted Liam and Stella in the first place. In the fifth episode, just before Frank and Libby's wedding, Carl reads a best man's speech written by Liam, which turns out to be a personal message from him. Liam says that he's decided to stay with Monica, saying that she's had a hard life and that he wants to help her love herself, much to the sadness of everyone in attendance. Liam has now left the programme as he is currently living with Monica.

Monica Gallagher

Monica Gallagher
Shameless character
Portrayed by Annabelle Apsion
Created by Paul Abbott
Introduced by George Faber
Duration 2004, 2006, 2007–09, 2011
First appearance 17 February 2004
Last appearance 14 January 2011
Profile
Date of birth 24 April 1963 (1963-04-24) (age 48)
Stretford, Manchester
Occupation Housewife

Monica Gallagher (born 24 April 1963) is Frank's estranged wife, and the mother of Fiona, Phillip, Ian, Carl, Debbie, Liam and Stella. She is bisexual and left Frank for a lorry driver named Norma. She came home at the end of series 1 but had left by the start of series 2, she then returned for good at the beginning of series 4 and resumed co-habiting with Frank. Although her intentions for this were unknown at first, a visit from her mother in series 5 explained her backstory and a possible reason of why she returned to be with her children. Monica announced at the beginning of series 5 that she was pregnant again, giving birth to Stella at the end of the series. She has two known grandchildren, an unnamed child from Fiona when she left in Series 2, and Lip's daughter, Katie.

When she returned home in series 1 and series 3, her children, apart from Carl, treated her with nothing but suspicion and hostility for leaving them with Frank. Fiona (in series 1) and Debbie (in series 4-6) were especially hostile since they were the ones who were forced to take on the household duties. Even when Monica returned for an extended stay, Debbie was still the one to look after Liam and to an extent, her older brothers. Although Monica wanted to be a good mother, and was shown doing some household chores, laziness prevented her from being any real help.

In series 6, feeling unloved by her children and Frank, Monica left once again.

Monica returned in series 8[2], upon the news that her daughter, Debbie, has been killed. She acted the same way with Frank's new partner, Libby, as she earlier did with Sheila. It soon became apparent that the death was a hoax set up by Monica and her civil parter, a psychiatric nurse called Milly, who dresses up as an army officer and tells Libby that Debbie was killed in Afghanistan. Monica looked set to claim back her family, even going as far as to demand custody of her youngest children and, when Frank and Libby were reunited, Monica admitted that the reason she returned was truly for Frank as he was the one and she would "always come back". However, Frank knew that she would leave again, the same as she did before to him and to Norma and wouldn't let her ruin another of his relationships, so chose to stay with Libby. It was then revealed that Liam had decided to live with Monica permanently so he could help her to see love inside herself.


Debbie Gallagher

Debbie Gallagher
Shameless character
Portrayed by Rebecca Ryan
Created by Paul Abbott
Introduced by George Faber
Duration 2004–09
First appearance 13 January 2004
Last appearance 12 May 2009
Profile
Date of birth 27 January 1993 (1993-01-27) (age 19)
Home Afghanistan

Deborah "Debbie" Gallagher (born 27 January 1993) is the fifth Gallagher sibling. She is Frank and Monica's second eldest daughter. Phillip, Carl and Liam are her brothers. Her sisters are Fiona and Stella; her half-brothers are Ian and Nigel; and her half-sister is Delia. Although Debbie is only 16, she is old beyond her years because she grew up without a mother and undertook the majority of the domestic tasks. Since Fiona went to Amsterdam, Debbie is often tasked with saving the family from ruin. For example, she steps in when Liam denounces God and the school he attends makes a move to expel him. Although the results are disastrous, she shows herself to be a diligent individual upon whom her family can depend. Originally Debbie was presented as a slightly unusual and awkward child, she retains her high intelligence and resourcefulness throughout the show. This allows Debbie to be successful when she becomes head of the household and takes care of the domestic duties such as cooking, ironing, cleaning and taking Liam to school. She also provides her family members with a high level of emotional support. As a consequence, Debbie missed out on socialising and has become mature beyond her years. When Fiona left Chatsworth at the end of series 2, Debbie seemed, at first, to relish the responsibility of running Gallagher household.

In series one, Debbie abducts a three year old boy because she "wanted a girl, but none of the girls on the estate would take the chocolate". So she dressed him up in girls clothes. The child's disappearance caused the majority of the estate to go up in arms in search for young "Jody". When Debbie finally admits her actions to her family, a furious and bewildered Fiona, Steve, Lip, and Ian, formulate a plan to return the youngster back to his family without incriminating Debbie. After circulating false rumours of sightings around the Chatsworth Estate for much of the day, Debbie emerges as the hero of the hour when she returns the boy to his distressed family.

Debbie's closest familial relationship is with her father, Frank. Unlike Fiona, Lip, Ian and Carl, Debbie admires him and often shows her love for him, often seen to be the most affected when he is in danger or trouble. For example, she screams in terror when she believes that Frank's body has been found in a nearby canal. Throughout the series, Frank often lets Debbie down and seems to be unappreciative of her efforts to keep the family together. For example, during some of his drunken rants, he presents himself as being lumbered with children whom he has the sole responsibility of caring for them and seems to forget occasionally what an asset Debbie is to the family. Debbie's feelings of closeness to Frank often leave her the most vulnerable to being let down by him. Debbie's loyalty to her father is occasionally rewarded, and it is strongly suggested that Frank appreciates 'Little Debbie' more than anyone else in the world. Debbie also detests her mother more than the rest of the family, refusing to forgive her for abandoning them years ago or for her continued laziness and self-absorption. She did respond sympathetically when more details became clear regarding Monica's abusive childhood at her mother's hands. In contrast, Debbie was close to Frank's ex-wife Sheila.

Debbie's relationship with the rest of her family is generally good. She views her siblings as her dependants and generally supports them through their various misadventures. The rest of her family generally recognises all she does for them. She's particularly protective of and very close to her younger brother Liam. Her relationship with him seems to border between surrogate-parent and partner-in-crime, as she has frequently enlisted Liam's help with some of her past schemes. These include faking Liam's kidnapping when Frank wouldn't admit that he hadn't won the lottery, and she once entered him in a modelling competition, which she wanted to keep a secret from Monica. She can also be seen to forge strong relationships with other characters, notably Marty Fisher and Mandy Maguire.

It is revealed in Series 5 that Debbie has been in a secret relationship with police officer Tom O'Leary, despite the fact that she is only 15 years old. Debbie and Tom break up at the beginning of series 6 during her 16th birthday party when she realises that Tom is too old for her and that he wants much more from the relationship. Tom begins to stalk her, although he tells workmate Carrie that Debbie has been stalking him.

Debbie is now seemingly in a relationship with a man called Mark, who she met on a night out with Maxine and when she got drunk, he took her back to his student residence to sleep, but nothing more. Debbie left the students room the next morning, thinking that she'd never see him again. However, at a funeral the family had been invited to, they met again, and she discovered it was his Grandmothers funeral.

At first, Debbie was a little objective to a relationship with him after he made comments about Frank (who had decided to go to the toilet behind a tree at the funeral and then punched Mark) however she told Maxine of her feelings for him. He later appeared outside Debbie's home and when she refused to see him, he sat on a chair in the middle of the road until she did. He later used the chair when a hired gunman was going to kill both Paddy and Mimi, but Mark knocked the hit-man out with the chair.

After this, Debbie and Mark have sex in on the kitchen floor, reminiscent to the scene in the first episode where Steve and Fiona also have sex in the kitchen, in the same place as Debbie does. Debbie does not return in 2010 for series 7. We find out from Frank's grandmother, who comes to visit, that Debbie has joined the army. At seventeen, Debbie perhaps had no wish to allow her role as the driving force of the Gallagher household hold her back from her potential. Liam, who had been virtually brought up by Debbie since the age of four, has taken on her former role in the Gallagher household.

In episode 11 of series 7, Debbie sends the family a letter telling them she's being sent to Afghanistan. In Episode 1 of Series 8 an army SNCO visits the Gallagher household and reveals that Debbie has been killed in action. This subsequently turned out to be a malicious joke by Frank's ex wife Monica.

Ian Gallagher

Ian Gallagher
Shameless character
Portrayed by Gerard Kearns
Created by Paul Abbott
Introduced by George Faber
Duration 2004–10
First appearance 13 January 2004
Last appearance 11 May 2010
Profile
Date of birth 11 August 1989 (1989-08-11) (age 22)

Ian Gallagher (born 11 August 1989) is the third oldest Gallagher sibling and is aged 15 at the beginning of the first series in 2004. He is the son of Monica and Gary Bennett, revealed when his blood group was found to be incompatible with the rest of his siblings'. His half-brothers are Phillip Gallagher, Carl Gallagher, Liam Gallagher, Sean Bennett and 3 unnamed sons of Gary Bennett, and his half-sisters are Fiona Gallagher, Debbie Gallagher, and Stella Gallagher. He has one niece, Katie Maguire. He used to work at The Jockey as a barman but in more recent series his employment, if he has any, has not been shown.

In the early series, Ian is depicted as closest to his brother Phillip, with whom he shares a room, and is initially the only member of his family to know that he was gay. The brothers often have to look out for each other more than any of the other characters, due to being party to each others' secrets. In later series, all the family, except Frank, are aware of his sexuality.

Ian often identifies as gay, having various relationships with older men throughout the first four or five series. Kash Karib is to date his only long-term boyfriend, though he has a brief relationship with Sean Bennett, and an ongoing friendship, sometimes sexual, with Micky Maguire. Because he is unaware of his parentage at the time, Ian also unknowingly sleeps with his half-brother. Ian sees Sean at their biological father's funeral and later tells the truth to Sean, who wants to keep seeing Ian, but eventually agrees that they can not ignore their familial relationship. Beginning in the 4th series, Ian has a number of relationships with women. He repeatedly has sex with a girl he is briefly hiding in his home for her protection, but when she asks him to leave with her, he declines, knowing a relationship would not work. He has a relationship of convenience with Mandy Maguire, to protect his secret, which nearly turns sexual when they're both at a low point, but they fumble about until Ian decides it's a bad idea. In the seventh series, Ian begins a serious relationship with Maxine Donnelly. When Maxine's brother Bruce asks if their being in a relationship means Ian is now "bisexual", Ian pauses, before saying he just believes he has found the right person.

Due to Gerard Kearns break to work on a film,[3] Ian leaves in the first episode of the 6th series after suffering amnesia. He is seen in episode two in a clip of him partying abroad and appears on webcam in later episodes. He returns in the seventh episode; this features the debut of Danny, a deaf teenager whom Ian unwittingly transports back to the UK in the boot of his car. Ian now lives in the house of Danny's deceased grandfather, which was leased to him by Danny's Aunt Pegg, in gratitude for looking after him. Danny and Pegg later move to Spain.

In Series 7 in 2010, it appears Ian has remained at Danny's old address and has accepted Micky Maguire as a tenant. Ian supports Carl's girlfriend Maxine when she decides to have an abortion and break up with Carl. Maxine moves in with Micky and Ian. The situation becomes complicated when Maxine asks Ian to pose as her boyfriend to impress her parents. Ian and Maxine begin to develop feelings for each other and have sex. Micky sees them and tries to convince Ian he shouldn't be with a woman, but Ian says the labels don't matter, he wants to be with Maxine. This leads to a major falling out with Micky, who feels betrayed. Micky tells Carl, who then beats up Ian in the toilets at The Jockey. In spite of the remaining tensions, Ian and Maxine become a couple.

Even with the lingering animosity from Carl and Micky, Ian and Maxine are happy but they are thrown into turmoil when Carl (along with Chesney) runs away after being accused of murder. Ian is initially not bothered with Carl's absence, and is more concerned at just how concerned Maxine is over Carl. When Ian and Maxine are in The Jockey, Maxine confronts Jimmy, whom everyone knows is the killer. As Ian looks on, Jimmy's sister hits Maxine in the head with a pool cue. Ian feels ashamed that he let Maxine fight the battle on her own and in spite of her reassurances, he begins to believe that she would have been better off with Carl. To try to prove his worth, Ian attempts to tape a confession from Jimmy, but Jimmy sees through his plan and savagely beats him. Ian begins to further withdraw and is unable to have sex with Maxine; during the time they do spend together, he becomes more paranoid about her feelings every time she mentions Carl. Carl's name is soon cleared and he attempts to make amends with Ian, but Ian isn't interested. He again accuses Maxine of wanting to be with Carl, to which she tells Ian she just doesn't want to be with him. In spite of this conflict, Ian and Maxine still have strong feelings for each other, and Carl convinces Maxine that she and Ian belong together. Ian shows up at hospital soon after Carl and Maxine talk, and he and Maxine smile at each other, and they reconcile.

In the finale of series 7, Ian and Maxine were returning home after a night out, when they are accosted by a ruffian who attempts to mug them. But they fight back and overpower the thug, and drag him back unconscious to their house. The thug turns out to be a hireling of Roscoe, a Moss Side-based crime lord. After hours of deciding what to do with him, Maxine overhears a conversation where Ian admits that he would "rather fuck him than kill him". This seems to be the end of the relationship, as Ian's sexuality may might turn out to be the source of future infidelities. When Ian prepares himself to kill the thug, Maxine and he find that he escaped from his bonds while they were conversing. Ian is seen later with a backpack, apparently leaving Chatsworth. It is not stated whether it is because he is leaving Maxine or if it is to avoid retribution by Roscoe's gang. He happens upon Karen, as she and Joe are about to leave Chatsworth themselves. After witnessing Joe's abusive treatment of Karen, Ian stows away in the boot of Joe's car. After Joe tries to beat and abuse Karen, Ian kills him and makes his exit from the show to dispose of the body.

In a later episode in series 8, Carl is shown to get a 'Happy Birthday' text from Ian.

Lip Gallagher

Lip Gallagher
Shameless character
Portrayed by Jody Latham
Created by Paul Abbott
Introduced by George Faber
Duration 2004–08
First appearance 13 January 2004
Last appearance 1 January 2008
Profile
Date of birth 9 January 1988 (1988-01-09) (age 24)
Home London
Occupation Architect

Phillip "Lip" Gallagher (born 9 January 1988) is the oldest son and second child of Frank and Monica Gallagher. His parents delayed his birth registration for over a year. This is revealed to Lip on his 18th (actually 19th) birthday in series 4. According to his father, his nickname was bestowed upon him owing to him being "a bit of a gobshite." Lip was in a long-term, open relationship with Mandy Maguire and they have a baby daughter, Katie, conceived while they were both still in school.

When still in high school, Lip would charge money from other students so he would do their homework assignments for them.

During series 1 he was in a relationship with schoolmate Karen Jackson, who dumps him for his own father Frank, causing him to beat Frank to a pulp in the middle of the street in a rage. He is ballsy, charismatic and never afraid to stand up to anyone, including the feared Maguire family. Lip dates a string of girls throughout the show, even partaking in a romantic affair with Lena, a woman considerably older than he was.

Lip is close to younger brother Ian and was the first person to find out about his brother's homosexuality. Lip keeps it a secret and eventually becomes completely accepting of it.

He is highly intelligent, takes 10 GCSEs, and eventually accepts an offer from Nottingham University in the last episode of Series 4. In the first episode of series five he returns to the estate during his university break to see Mandy and Katie. His secret girlfriend from university, Alex, decides to make a trip to the Chatsworth Estate. This costs Lip his relationship with Mandy. It is confirmed in the next episode that he returned to university.

In the tenth episode of series 7, Mimi Maguire takes Katie to Brighton to visit Lip. It is revealed that he has finished university, acquired a new job in London where he is now working as an architect, and is engaged to be married. Mimi decides that it is best to leave Katie in the care of her father.


Sheila Jackson

Sheila Jackson
Shameless character
Portrayed by Maggie O'Neill
Created by Paul Abbott
Introduced by George Faber
Duration 2004–07
First appearance 13 January 2004
Last appearance 16 January 2007
Profile
Date of birth 1962
Occupation Housewife

Sheila Jackson (previously Sheila Gallagher; born 1962) is the thrice married second wife of Frank Gallagher. She is the mother of Karen Maguire, who she had with second husband, Eddie Jackson and twins Nigel and Delia Gallagher, who she had with Frank in 2005.

Sheila was first married to Sheldon. Sheila murdered Sheldon and buried him in her back garden after years of domestic abuse. Her second husband and father of Karen, Eddie, left her in series 1 after he caught his daughter performing oral sex on Ian and Lip Gallagher under the dining room table.

Sheila suffers from agoraphobia and is a fan of daytime television, especially Countdown, finding it unbelievable that someone doesn't know who Carol Vorderman or Richard Whiteley are. She has a fixation with performing anal sexual acts upon Frank. She named her twins after two famous chefs, Delia Smith and Nigel Slater (although it is possible that the latter was named after Nigella Lawson). Sheila left with the twins to go on a cruise after discovering Frank had not divorced his former wife Monica, who had suddenly reappeared with her lesbian girlfriend.

In the last episode of series 5, Frank goes into a coma and dreams of his unusual family, where Monica still has her physical body, but the mental state of Sheila, In which Frank refers to her as Sheila-Monica. This is shown in the way that she dressed and the sound of her voice while holding up a sign of Sheila's face. This may indicate that Frank still has feelings for Sheila, despite their previous marriage being illegal as Frank never got a divorce from Monica before they were to wed.


Kash Karib

Kash Karib
Shameless character
Portrayed by Chris Bisson
Created by Paul Abbott
Introduced by George Faber
Duration 2004–07, 2009
First appearance 13 January 2004
Last appearance 21 April 2009
Profile
Date of birth 12 October 1966(1966-10-12)
Date of death 21 April 2009(2009-04-21) (aged 42)
Occupation Shopkeeper (?–2007)

Kash Karib (1966–2009) was the husband of Yvonne Karib, with whom he has two children, Chesney and Meena. Early in the series, it is revealed that Kash is homosexual. This is disclosed when he has an affair with his under age employee Ian Gallagher. He also states at one point that he cannot stand the feel of a woman's touch. Yvonne eventually discovers the relationship between her husband and Ian.

Kash became a city councillor in Series 3. After falling into financial difficulties, he fakes his own suicide and leaves town during Series 4. Yvonne has knowledge of the pretend suicide. Kash's actions leave Yvonne homeless and in huge debt. Kash returns in series 6, but nobody is pleased to see him. Much to Yvonne's frustration and dismay, Kash demands that Yvonne give him money. Yvonne problems are soon resolved when she and Stan plot to kill Kash. Chesney knocks his father unconscious with a baseball bat and leaves him to die when a fire erupts at the shop.[4]

Yvonne Karib

Yvonne Karib
Shameless character
Portrayed by Kelli Hollis
Created by Paul Abbott
Introduced by George Faber
Duration 2004–10
First appearance 13 January 2004
Last appearance 2 February 2010
Profile
Date of birth 1 April 1965 (1965-04-01) (age 46)
Occupation Businesswoman (2004–10)

Yvonne Karib (born 1 April 1965) was married to Kash Karib, with whom she has two children, Chesney and Meena. She owns and runs the local shop featured in the series, and previously employed Ian Gallagher, her husband's gay lover. At first she was angry to discover Kash was gay, but later accepted it to keep her marriage together for her children's sake. She is a hard-nosed businesswoman who is not averse to breaking the law to make a bit of extra profit.

Yvonne converted to Islam to marry Kash, and is far more devout than her now estranged husband. Although white, she always wears Asian dress and was originally never seen without a hijab, although she no longer wears one.

It is implied that Yvonne came from a racist family, due to her refusal to go home to them after being made homeless in the last episode of series 4. During this episode, Yvonne moved into the house between the Gallaghers and the Maguires after arranging to rent it from Fiona and Steve. Season 5 sees her begin a relationship with police officer Stan Waterman.

In series 7, Yvonne has borrowed money off Paddy Maguire due to massive debt and that the "banks wouldn't touch her". After Stan is assaulted, she accepts Joe Pritchard's offer to buy her out. She and Stan Waterman have now left Windsor Gardens.

Mandy Maguire

Mandy Maguire
Shameless character
Portrayed by Samantha Siddall
Created by Paul Abbott
Introduced by George Faber
Duration 2004–09, 2011
First appearance 27 January 2004
Last appearance 8 February 2011
Profile
Date of birth 26 August 1988(1988-08-26)
Date of death 5 May 2009(2009-05-05) (aged 20)
Occupation Barmaid (2007–09)

Amanda "Mandy" Maguire (26 August 1988–5 May 2009) was the only daughter of the Maguires, the Gallagher family's neighbours. She is the mother of Lip's daughter, Katie. Mandy is the daughter of Paddy and Mimi Maguire, the most feared of the local criminals. She is generally more law-abiding than the rest of her family, but is fiercely loyal to them and can often have a violent and abusive streak. Her brothers are Micky, Shane and Jamie, as well as the late Fergal and the little-seen Donny and Joey.

She develops a crush on Ian in series 1 because he stuck up for her against their teacher Mrs Novacovic , but sends her brothers after him when he spurns her advances. She is the second person to find out about his homosexuality. She becomes a close friend to Ian and pretends to date him to keep leering boys away from her, leading to her relationship with Ian's brother Lip.

Mandy conceives Lip's baby, Katie and after a year or so under the care of the Maguires, takes her away and moves in with the Gallaghers. However her father Paddy continues to supply her with financial support. She begins an open, long-term relationship with Lip while he is away at university, but finishes with him in series 5 after Lip's secret university girlfriend shows her face.

In Series 6, Mandy has recently fallen for Joe Pritchard, an accountant and the captain of a local football team. Mandy's brother, Jamie, even struck up a friendship with Joe, until he discovered that Mandy had been physically abused by him, which led to Jamie savagely assaulting Joe, and sending him into a temporary coma. Despite suffering at Joe's hands, Mandy still retains feelings for him, and resented Jamie's intervention. Since Joe's recovery, Mandy has decided to give him another chance, much to the chagrin of the rest of the Maguires.

In the final episode of series 6, Mandy was kidnapped by Maureen, an emotionally unstable woman who lost her daughter to heroin and blames Paddy Maguire for her death. Mandy realised that Maureen was the person who kidnapped Paddy. As Maureen disappeared to put the kettle on, Mandy followed to see what she was doing, and to her horror, found a broken gas pipe which Maureen had sabotaged. Maureen then returned to the kitchen with matches. Mandy desperately began fighting to get the matches from Maureen just as Paddy and Micky turned up outside to save her, however they could not gain access into the house. Inside the house, Mandy had fought her way into the hallway and ran towards the door. Just as Micky pressed the doorbell, creating a spark, Maureen lit a match. The gas then ignited, causing the house to explode, killing both Maureen and Mandy and throwing Micky across the street. The episode then cut to Kelly, reading a book to little Katie whilst trying to hold back the tears. Meanwhile at the Jockey, Mandy's funeral reception was taking place. Micky, who survived the blast, admitted that he felt responsible for Mandy's death. It was mentioned that Paddy was going to return to Ireland with Mandy's ashes to scatter them, however Frank ended up spilling them across the Jockey.

In Series 8, Mandy briefly appears as an apparition or hallucination to comfort her mother.

Paddy Maguire

Paddy Maguire
Shameless character
Portrayed by Sean Gilder
Created by Paul Abbott
Introduced by George Faber
Duration 2005–10
First appearance 8 February 2005
Last appearance 20 April 2010
Profile
Date of birth 20 April 1964 (1964-04-20) (age 47)
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Home Thailand
Occupation Drug dealer/Gangster

Patrick Donal "Paddy" Maguire (born 20 April 1964) is the patriarch and the head of the Maguire family, the most feared and therefore most respected of the local criminal families. His cherished wife is Mimi, and he has an identical twin brother called Noel, who is gay. It was shown in Series 6 that he is a supporter of Celtic F.C. and in the background at the Maguire residence there is a statue of a Celtic player, who looks similar to the old Celtic captain, Bobby Lennox.

Patrick is extremely forceful and violent and his presence puts fear into most people on the Chatsworth Estate. For example, when he and his family enter the local pub, The Jockey, the customers sitting at the table beside the entrance clear the seat for them. He and his family are also drug dealers on the Chatsworth estate. He has a particular dislike for the Gallagher family, particularly Frank and Lip, which he has demonstrated on several occasions, both physically and verbally. However in more recent series, Paddy has begun to show a more compassionate side, and since series four, he has also become much more accepting of Lip Gallagher, as well as Karen Jackson, the wife of his oldest son Jamie. Paddy's identical twin brother Noel was credited as being played by Neil Grades, an anagram of actor Sean Gilder. Paddy also has a strong sense of family and is loyal toward them. For example, when his daughter-in-law Karen becomes severely depressed he becomes the rock upon which she can lean.

Despite his initial dislike of Frank Gallagher, this mind-set was then turned after Paddy choked on a cashew nut in The Jockey and Frank acting out of morality (whilst very drunk, as per usual) performed the Heimlich manoeuvre, thus saving Paddy's life. Frank also saved Paddy's life again, stopping him from injecting himself with what would have been a lethal dose of heroin. Paddy now has some grudging respect for the Gallaghers.

Despite showing open contempt for higher education, Paddy has occasionally shown knowledge of certain literary subjects.

In Series 6, Paddy was briefly abducted by the mother of a teenager who died after using his drugs, who in revenge repeatedly injected Paddy with heroin, causing him to become addicted to the substance. His attempts to conceal his new habit and deal with its effect on his life were a recurring theme of Series 6, with him finally going cold turkey later in the series, during which he had visions of his father Padraig. In addition to the visions of his father, Paddy fantasizes about sleeping with Karen and Kelly, who are both his daughters-in-law.

In series 7, Paddy's marriage to Mimi is near-enough over, due to the fact that his affair with Maureen results in the tragic circumstances of the series 6 finale, in which daughter Mandy dies in an explosion. Separated, living in separate houses and each given the freedom to see other people, Paddy takes a night out with sons Shane, Micky and Jamie as an opportunity to restart his love life with a meaningless one-night-stand with a female clubber. When he can't "pull", he returns home, alone and defeated, and is greeted by Kelly. After a short conversation, Paddy hands Kelly a wad of money, in exchange for sex. Kelly accepts this money, and they have sex in the living room, while Kelly's boyfriend and Paddy's son Shane look all over the nightclub for him. Later on in the episode, an awkward Paddy and Kelly exchange moments, in which Paddy offers Shane and Kelly the master bedroom of the Maguire house, out of guilt. Some time later, Kelly rejected Shane's marriage proposal, as she could not marry him after lying to him. Shane insisted he would forgive her anything, no matter whom she had slept with, but the guilty looks between Paddy and Kelly made him realise what had happened between them. Paddy was so ashamed of his actions that he was willing to inject himself with heroin at Shane's request, but Shane stopped him at the last minute. Paddy then attended Shane's and Kelly's wedding.

Paddy starts a relationship with a dance enthusiast named D'reen, and makes plan to emigrate to Cuba with her. When he realised that he couldn't leave his family and business, Paddy put a spotter on his plans, and shared one last dance with D'reen before she left.

Paddy begins applying heavy pressure on Jock, the owner of the boxing club, who had borrowed heavily from the Maguires. Meanwhile, he relentlessly belittles Micky when Micky wants to join the fire brigade. Micky's self-confidence falls through the floor and he berates Paddy for always putting him down. Paddy's belligerence towards Jock leads Jock to set himself and the club on fire. Micky risks his life to save Jock. When Jock is in hospital, Paddy reveals that he had been a young boxer at the club; he had real potential to use his skills to get a better life, but Jock essentially sold him to a crime family. Micky reveals to Paddy that he lied about passing his fire test. Paddy tells Micky it doesn't matter, Micky is still more of a man than he will ever be.

On 6 March 2010, it was announced that Sean Gilder had quit Shameless after five years with the show because of his apparent dislike of the actress who portrays Mimi. He departed Shameless at the end of Series 7, Episode 14.

After Paddy's departure, Mimi gives birth to her eighth child. It is unclear whether or not Paddy has died. Frank utters the words, at one point in the show: "I never thought I would say this, but bring back Paddy Maguire!." Although, in the same episode, Joe implied to Karen that Paddy was killed after returning to Ireland. In episode 14 of series 8 a coffin is carried through the estate, supposedly with Paddy inside, but it turns out this was Paddy's way of smuggling guns to the rest of the Maguires. Jamie tells Kelly that Paddy's plan was to make the police think he was dead, so he could start again, and that he is now living in Thailand.


Fiona McBride

Fiona McBride
Shameless character
Portrayed by Anne-Marie Duff
Created by Paul Abbott
Introduced by George Faber
Duration 2004–05
First appearance 13 January 2004
Last appearance 8 March 2005
Profile
Date of birth 24 February 1983 (1983-02-24) (age 29)
Home Amsterdam
Occupation Nursery teaching assisstant
(2004–05)

Fiona McBride (née Gallagher; born 24 February 1983) is the eldest child of Frank and Monica Gallagher. She was the acting mother to her five siblings after her mother left due to Frank's lack of responsibility. She is also the best friend of Veronica Fisher. During the early episodes, Fiona had a part-time job as a teaching assistant at a local nursery.

During her childhood, she used to be referred to by the other kids at school as "Pov Gallagher" due to her family's low income and her parents' perpetual unemployment. Fiona also once claimed to be proud that she was the only girl in her year-group during high school not to fall pregnant before taking her GCSEs.

After her boyfriend Steve McBride got caught up in a botched drug bust, he had to leave the Chatsworth Estate. Fiona was reluctant to leave with him, as she did not want to abandon her siblings and friends. During his absence, she briefly hooked up with Craig Garland, and became pregnant with his child. But she still retained feelings for Steve, and when he returned briefly, he told Fiona that her siblings were more than capable of looking after themselves without her, and that she deserved a better life outside of Chatsworth. With the support of her family and friends, Fiona left with Steve at the end of series 2 and now resides in Amsterdam. In series 8, Libby Croker mentioned that Fiona was married.

Steve McBride

Steve McBride
Shameless character
Portrayed by James McAvoy
Created by Paul Abbott
Introduced by George Faber
Duration 2004–05
First appearance 13 January 2004
Last appearance 8 March 2005
Profile
Date of birth 1979
Home Amsterdam
Occupation Car thief

Steven "Steve" McBride (born 1979) is Fiona Gallagher's boyfriend. He was first seen in a club, watching Fiona dance with her friend Veronica Fisher. When a mugger stole Fiona's bag, Steve gave chase and attempted to catch him. Although he failed, Fiona still took him home. Once back at their house, he admitted (while undoing his trousers) that he had noticed her a month before, and that if she wanted him to stop, he would. She did not, and they went on to have sex. Steve later bought Fiona a washing machine to woo her, and they got together, after Steve revealed he stole cars for a living. In the middle of the second series he was forced to flee the Chatsworth Estate after he was involved in a murder at a drugs deal he was involved in. However, he later returned for Fiona in the emotional finale of series two. He now resides in Amsterdam with Fiona. He has a daughter named Kerry-Anne from a relationship in his youth.

Steve is from a family of doctors, referring to them as "the medical equivalent of a battery farm". Steve himself had also previously studied to become a doctor before leaving med school after two years.

Steve is often presented as the moral hero of the show. Although a car thief, he proudly claims to have not committed a single violent crime in his life. Similarly, he dislikes the way Frank treats his kids. When Fiona's father, Frank, hit his son Ian, Steve got him drunk and took him to Calais in France in the boot of his car.

Joe Pritchard

Joe Pritchard
Shameless character
Portrayed by Ben Batt
Created by Paul Abbott
Introduced by George Faber
Duration 2009–10
First appearance 3 February 2009
Last appearance 11 May 2010
Profile
Date of birth 11 May 1981(1981-05-11)
Date of death 11 May 2010(2010-05-11) (aged 29)
Occupation Accountant/Businessman

Joseph Pritchard (11 May 1981 – 11 May 2010) was first introduced as the boyfriend of Mandy. Joe works as an accountant, and captains a local amateur football team in Chatsworth. Joe briefly became friends with Mandy's older brother Jamie, and took advantage of his turbulent relationship with Jamie's wife, Karen, and had sex with her twice. Joe would use this incident to blackmail Karen, whom was the first to suspect that Mandy was being repeatedly assaulted by him. Eventually, Jamie found out about the bruises on Mandy's body, and confronted Joe at the Jockey, and beat him within an inch of his life. Sending Joe into a temporary coma. Mandy and Jamie's mother, Mimi, claimed to be responsible for attacking Joe, and was sentenced to two months imprisonment. Joe recovered, and after Mandy decided to give their relationship another chance, Joe was separately visited in hospital by Karen, Jamie, Paddy, Shane, Mickey, and Kelly. All of them threatened to kill Joe if he ever laid another hand on Mandy again. Joe was intimidated by their show of force.

It is shown in series 7 that Joe continues his secret relationship with Karen, and delivered her newborn son Connor Joseph Maguire whilst the rest of the family was absent. Joe distanced himself from Karen during and after her mental breakdown, but they continued to have feelings for each other. Joe also bought Yvonne's Kash and Carry store after learning that she borrowed money off Paddy, as she was already in enough debt. One of the reasons for Yvonne's quick departure with Stan was that Stan was beaten up by a masked assailant. They assume Paddy Maguire is involved, not knowing Joe himself had beaten Stan in his plans to help convince them to leave. Joe also took over looking after Chesney, not doing a great job, as Chesney was soon embroiled in a murder investigation. However, the drug-dealer who framed Carl Gallagher and Chesney, called Jimmy.D, in his desperation to prevent them from informing the police of the murder he committed, roams around Chatsworth with his associates, terrorising the neighbourhood, and stepping on the toes of the Maguire family in the process. Shane Maguire declares Jimmy a marked man. The next morning, Chesney is still hiding in the shop when Joe assures him that things are going to turn out okay. Then a flashback is shown that during Shane's interrogation of rival gang-members for Jimmy's whereabouts, Joe had attacked and presumably murdered Jimmy.

Joe's temper flares up as he drives Lillian, from his shop. He gets into an argument with Karen over their sex lives since their breakup, but when Karen tries to taunt him into another tryst, he refuses. He decides to go to anger management to rebuild his life. Karen continues to try to make him boil over, but finally she attends one of his meetings and is impressed by the effort he's making to move on.

When Joe is having a birthday party in The Jockey, he learns his father has died. In spite of Joe seeing his father as a selfish failure, his death is a system shock, and Joe begins trying to reclaim Karen and Connor, whom he continues to see as their son. Joe and Karen resume their affair, but Karen is afraid to tell Jamie the truth. After his father's funeral, Joe finally tells Jamie the entire truth. Joe and Karen hide out at his shop. Joe sees Jamie waiting outside, and expects a fight, only to be devastated when Jamie shows him his father's corpse, dug up and dumped outside Joe's shop. Joe buries his father again, and becomes more determined to take Connor from the Maguires. Joe later implies that he had Paddy Maguire killed after Karen expressed concerns over Paddy taking revenge on them. After running away with Karen with baby Connor, and Ian hiding in the boot unknowingly to Joe, Karen tells Joe that she doesn't love him. He goes into a rage, and strangles Karen while demanding her to tell him that she loves him. She is struggling for breath, and Ian can hear the action outside. He jumps out of the boot and seemingly kills Joe by hitting him twice in the back of the head with a pipe wrench.

In series 8, Mandy Maguire's ghost appears to her mother Mimi Maguire in a church. Mandy's apparition, pregnant with "Joe Jr.", reveals that she and Joe are together again, implying he did die at some point after the series 7 finale.

Norma Starkey

Norma Starkey
Shameless character
Portrayed by Dystin Johnson
Created by Paul Abbott
Introduced by George Faber
Duration 2004, 2006, 2007–09
First appearance 17 February 2004
Last appearance 12 May 2009
Profile
Date of birth 18 July 1969 (1969-07-18) (age 42)
Occupation Lorry driver

Norma Starkey (born 18 July 1969) is a lorry driver. It is likely that she is from Newcastle upon Tyne. Although it is never explicitly stated onscreen, she does possess a strong North East accent. Norma was previously Monica's lesbian lover after her split from Frank. She is introduced in the series when Frank convinces Sheila to ring Monica to tell her that she has won a teddy bear in a contest. Frank does this in order to discover Monica's whereabouts so that he can obtain child support payments from her. Throughout the series, he occasionally calls her Shrek.

Norma accompanies Monica back to the Gallagher home in series 4, and lives in the Dormobile in the garden. She is infatuated with Monica and continues to express her strong feelings for her lover even when Monica ignores her and endeavours to capture Frank's attention. Having initially been characterised as a strong-willed and capable woman, Norma increasingly portrayed as vulnerable and helpless. In series 4, Norma reveals that before her relationship with Monica, she spent time in prison. When Norma expresses dissatisfaction with her living conditions, it is Debbie who tells her emphatically to stop feeling sorry for herself and to do something about it. This prompts Norma to erect a white picket fence around the Dormobile. She also is a person upon whom other members of the family can depend. For example, when Liam is granted the opportunity to attend school abroad, she willingly pretends to be Frank's wife. She also proves herself to be a good listener when she gives Carl advice, even though Carl makes it blatantly obvious that he does not like Norma and wants his mother.

In series 6, Monica, feeling underappreciated, flees the Gallagher household once more. Once again, she states that she is going out to purchase a loaf of bread and disappears. Despite feeling abandoned by the only woman she loves, Norma chooses to remain at the Gallagher house, having grown attached to most of the family. Norma has not appeared in series 7 or series 8 and she has been put into past characters on the official shameless website. Presumably, she has either returned to Moston at her old address, or has moved in with Ruth, an old girlfriend of Norma's who was seen in series 6. A phonecall reveals that she is still alive.

Stan Waterman

Stan Waterman
Shameless character
Portrayed by Warren Donnelly
Created by Paul Abbott
Introduced by George Faber
Duration 2004–10 2012-
First appearance 17 February 2004
Profile
Date of birth 1 June 1965 (1965-06-01) (age 46)
Occupation Police officer

Stanley Dennis "Stan" Waterman (born 1 June 1965) was one of the estate's community policing officers. He is generally friendly, and treated as one of the estate, and is usually willing to bend the rules to help out when the Gallaghers get in trouble. He worked alongside fellow police officer Tony in early series. His mother was mentioned in a Christmas special when he phoned her to tell her not to eat contaminated meat, she later died in the same episode. Stan is later usually seen working with new police recruits Carrie and Tom. In series 5 he begins a relationship with shop owner Yvonne Karib. When he asks her to marry him, she reveals that she can't because her husband, Kash, is not actually dead.

In Series 7, Paddy Maguire demands repayment of a loan he gave to Yvonne. Stan is then severely beaten by an unknown assailant. Yvonne and Stan assume Paddy was behind the attack and move away, selling the shop to Joe Pritchard (who was actually the one who attacked Stan).

Stan will return with Yvonne for Series 9 in 2012.

References

  1. ^ Abbott, Paul (28 November 2009). "Libby Croker Character Profile". Channel 4. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/shameless/articles/libby-croker. 
  2. ^ http://www.lastbroadcast.co.uk/tv/previews/v/10241-shameless-recommissioned-for-series-8-in-2011.html
  3. ^ Paul English. Sex scenes on Shameless make me squirm, says star Gerard Kearns. Daily Record. 27 January 2009.
  4. ^ http://www.channel4.com/programmes/shameless/articles/shameless-where-are-they-now
Shameless characters
present and past
Frank Gallagher · Carl Gallagher · Chesney Karib · Libby Croker · Patty Croker · Jamie Maguire · Karen Maguire · Kelly Maguire · Mickey Maguire · Shane Maguire · Mimi Maguire · Lillian Tyler · Sita Desai · Avril Powell · Letitia Powell · Jackson Powell · Monica Gallagher · Bruce Donnelly · Maxine Donnelly · Sheila Jackson · Liam Gallagher · Lip Gallagher · Ian Gallagher · Debbie Gallagher · Norma Starkey · Fiona McBride · Steve McBride · Donny Maguire · Joey Maguire · Fergal Maguire · Kev Ball · Veronica Ball · Sue Garland · Craig Garland · Stan Waterman · Marty Fisher · Carol Fisher · Yvonne Karib · Kash Karib · Meena Karib · Aidan Croker · Mandy Maguire · Paddy Maguire · Joe Pritchard · Carrie Rogers · Tom O'Leary