Shameless

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Shameless is an offbeat British comedic drama television series set in Manchester, UK. Produced by Company Pictures for the Channel 4 network, the first seven-episode series aired weekly on Tuesday nights at 10pm from January 13 2004. The series was met with critical acclaim in sections of British media as diverse as tabloid newspaper The Sun and serious arts criticism show Newsnight Review on BBC Two.

It was created and initially chiefly written by Paul Abbott, who is also the show's Executive Producer. Much of the series is based on Abbott's own experiences growing up in a similar situation to the Gallagher children.

It is believed to be the first series on UK television to be repeated the week following the end of its run.

The programme charts the lives of the Gallagher family living on the fictional Chatsworth Estate in Manchester, UK, but is actually filmed on location in Gorton, East Manchester. The scenes in the local pub, "The Jockey" are filmed in a real pub named "The Wellington" which is located in West Gorton, on Gorton Lane, and also in close proximity are other landmarks that would be familiar to regular viewers, such as Kash's shop and the Tower Blocks. The family consist of father, Frank Gallagher, and his six children: Fiona, Lip (Phillip), Ian, Carl, Debbie and Liam. Other characters featured in the series include Fiona's boyfriend Steve, a middle-class car thief; Kev and Veronica, the Gallagher's neighbours; Kash, the owner of the local shop, and his wife Yvonne; agoraphobic Sheila and her daughter Karen; and the policemen Tony and Stan.

A Christmas special was broadcast on Thursday 23 December 2004. The second series, consisting of ten episodes, began on Tuesday January 4, 2005. From the second episode onwards, each episode premiered on Channel 4's sister service E4, at 11pm each Tuesday evening following the Channel 4 episode. Following the yearly pattern, the third series started at 10pm on Channel 4, on Tuesday 3 January 2006.

Channel 4 have commissioned a fourth series of Shameless, which will air from January 2007.[1]

Such was the popularity of the first series that the third was commissioned at the same time as the second. The cast was expanded for the second series with Carol and Marty, Veronica's mother and brother, becoming regular characters after guest roles in the first series.

In April 2005, the programme's first season won the Best Drama Series category at the British Academy Television Awards, the most prestigious awards given in the British television industry.

The programme has been sold overseas, where it airs on channels such as SBS (Australia), BBC America (United States), Nederland 3 (The Netherlands) and SIC Radical (Portugal).

Contents

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Episodes

There have been 25 regular episodes of Shameless, along with a Christmas special which preceded the second series. Below are the dates the episodes were originally broadcast on Channel 4.

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Series 1

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Series 2

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Series 3

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Cast

  • Vernon Francis "Frank" Gallagher, an unemployed drunk whose wife Monica left him and their six children after she discovered she was a lesbian. Played by David Threlfall.
  • Fiona Gallagher, Frank's oldest child and acting mother to her siblings. Played by Anne-Marie Duff. Left in 2005.
  • Steve McBride, a middle-class car thief and Fiona's boyfriend. Played by James McAvoy. Left in 2005.
  • Phillip "Lip" Gallagher, Frank's eldest son. Played by Jody Latham.
  • Ian Gallagher, closeted gay son of Frank. Played by Gerard Kearns.
  • Debbie Gallagher, Frank's daughter, a teenage girl, old beyond her years, often tasked with saving the family from ruin. Played by Rebecca Ryan.
  • Carl Gallagher, Frank's son. Played by the twins Elliott Tittensor and Luke Tittensor (played solely by Elliott from series two onwards).
  • Liam Gallagher, originally played by Joseph Furnace; in the third series, Johnny Bennett took over the role.
  • Nigel and Delia Gallagher, Frank and Sheila's baby son and daughter (twins).
  • Kev Ball, the Gallaghers' next-door neighbour. Played by Dean Lennox Kelly.
  • Veronica Fisher, Kev's girlfriend and Fiona's best friend. Played by Maxine Peake.
  • Sheila Jackson, Frank's agoraphobic girlfriend. Played by Maggie O'Neill. Sheila married Frank polygamously at the end of the third series.
  • Karen Jackson, Sheila's daughter and originally Lip's girlfriend (although she was also sleeping with his father). Played by Rebecca Atkinson.
  • Jez, lesbian landlady of the local pub, The Jockey. Played by Lindsey Dawson.
  • Kash Karib, clerk at the local shop and Ian's ex-boyfriend. Played by Chris Bisson. Left in 2006.
  • Yvonne Karib, owner of the local shop and Kash's wife. Played by Kelly Hollis.
  • Carol Fisher, Veronica's mother, with a taste for younger men. Played by Marjorie Yates.
  • Marty Fisher, Veronica's pyromaniac brother and a tourette's sufferer. Played by Jack Deam. Regular since 2005.
  • Sue Garland, Marty's girlfriend. Played by Gillian Kearney. Regular since 2006.
  • Tony, played by Anthony Flanagan, and Stan, played by Warren Donnelly, are the local police officers.
  • Mandy Maguire, Lip's current girlfriend after they got together in the 3rd series, and the mother of his child. Played by Samantha Siddall.
  • Patrick (Paddy) Maguire, Mandy's Irish father, he usually sorts out disputes in an aggressive manner, which is why he has spent time in prison. He is not fond of Lip. Played by Sean Gilder.
  • Mimi Maguire, Mandy's mother, she hates Lip even more than Paddy does. Played by Tina Malone.
  • Katie Maguire, Mandy and Lip's daughter.
  • Lillian Tyler, a busy-body neighbour, best friend of Carol. Played by Alice Barry.
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External links

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