Shane Maguire

The following is a list of fictional characters from the English comedy-drama '' Shameless'', created by Paul Abbott, which was on Channel 4 between 2004 and 2013. The programme is set on the fictional Chatsworth Estate in suburban Manchester and surrounding area, primarily following the lives of the Gallagher family, the neighbouring Maguire family, and their friends and neighbours in the town's shops and local pub, The Jockey.

The first series focuses on layabout Frank Gallagher and the lives of his six children, Fiona and her boyfriend Steve, Lip, Ian, Carl, Debbie and Liam, and next-door neighbours, Kev and Veronica.

When the second series begins, the Maguire family are introduced, with certain episodes focusing only on their family. Both the Maguire family and Gallagher come into contact and face various conflicts with marriage, teenage pregnancies, and neighbourhood rivalry.

Other characters also take major focus throughout the years after starting as minor characters, such as the Karib family. Since the series started, the Gallagher family has split hugely, with many of the Gallagher children departing the show due to the actors' moving onto other projects.

Credited cast

The Gallagher family

Frank Gallagher

*Played by: David Threlfall (Series 1–11)

Vernon Francis "Frank" Gallagher (born 12 March 1960) is the main protagonist of ''Shameless''. He appeared in 136 episodes in total.

Frank's hallmarks are drunken rants on a wide variety of literary, historical and philosophical subjects, usually returning to how decent, hard-working people, among whom he erroneously seems to count himself, are discriminated against. Frank frequently quotes Shakespeare, the Bible, references international current events and uses poetry and soliloquy to express his feelings or view, as he does at the start of each episode. Thus, in spite of his drunken ramblings, sometimes he does come across as being well-educated owing to the issues he raises during his interactions with others.

Frank is an unemployed alcoholic, and the son of Neville (John Woodvine) and Sarah Elizabeth Gallagher (1935–1972). He was married to Monica (Annabelle Apsion), with whom he has six children with: Fiona (Anne-Marie Duff), Lip (Jody Latham), Carl (Elliott Tittensor), Debbie ( Rebecca Ryan), Liam (Johnny Bennett) and Stella (Nikita Brownlee), and one, Ian (Gerard Kearns), to whom he is de jure father. He also has two children with Sheila Jackson (Maggie O'Neill), Nigel and Delia, and is the father of Monica's half-sister, whom he fathered with Monica's mother at Monica's birthday party. He has two grandchildren, Lip's daughter, Katie Maguire, and an unnamed child of Fiona's. During one of Frank's drunken rants, it is implied that he got many girls pregnant in school. Although this is never elaborated upon, it is unclear precisely how many children Frank has actually fathered.

Frank was apparently convicted and sentenced to imprisonment several times in his youth. He claimed to have been incarcerated in Strangeways Prison. It has not been mentioned what exactly were the reasons for his string of past convictions.

Frank's alcoholism intensified after his first wife Monica left him for Norma Starkey ( Dystin Johnson). He then left the younger children in the care of Fiona, and moved in with agoraphobic Sheila. Often known to make a fool out of himself and shirk all responsibility, Frank nonetheless shows signs of loving his children. He can offer good advice, for example saving Liam from being taken into care when a parent was needed. When he is rendered completely sober by a new drug, Frank appears reflective and even quite intelligent, wondering why Sheila would add to her problems by marrying a mess like him. We also understand his character a bit better when Frank's father pays a visit and treats his son in a condescending and abrasive manner. Frank's father shows extreme sympathy towards Sheila and even takes care of the twins. It is also stated that his father did not always treat Frank kindly when Frank was growing up.

In early series Frank comes across as a drunken bully, even headbutting his son Ian on one occasion. Most of his children initially hate Frank for his drunken bullying ways. Lip and Ian are never scared to show their feelings towards him, and even physically attack him on a few occasions. However, his middle daughter Debbie shows sympathy throughout the series when her father is either in serious trouble or presumed dead, something which has happened three times to date. The family generally warms up towards him more as the series has progressed, mostly because he isn't bothering them hugely on a daily basis. However, Debbie finally grew sick of taking care of the family, and cleaning up after Frank in particular, and left to join the army after series 6. Frank and Liam came into serious conflict in series 7, when Liam was forced by circumstances to take over Debbie's former burden as the de facto head of the family. At one point, Frank headbutted Liam, and a furious Carl had to be restrained from beating Frank to a pulp. Frank finally softened towards Liam when Liam threatened to commit suicide.

In series 7, Frank falls for a librarian named Libby Croker (Pauline McLynn). Libby believes Frank is a man of the arts and he encourages her to rise up against her library closing, which leads to a violent protest and her imprisonment. When Libby is released from prison, she tries to find him, but her upscale appearance causes various characters to warn Frank that the DSS is after him. Finally, they meet again, and although Libby is initially put off by his poor character and the frosty reception from Liam, she and her mother move into the Gallagher home. Frank and her mother soon set up a mutual loathing society, with Frank painting her bedroom a bright yellow just to keep her awake. However, he must also endure the endless put-downs from Libby's disabled mother, Patty ( Valerie Lilley). In Series 8 Frank is kept hostage in a psychiatric hospital by former wife Monica's girlfriend, part of Monica's plan to snatch her family back from Libby and prevent the pair from getting married. On Frank's escape, the pair stay unmarried and he eventually loses Libby in Episode 13 after cheating on her with Letitia Powell's (Kira Martin) headmistress (Annie Wallace).

In series 8, Frank is ready to marry Libby and he goes missing on his stag night. Libby starts putting up posters because of his disappearance. Carl and Chesney Karib (Qasim Akhtar) find a video on the internet; it is Frank having sex in public. Libby walks in and sees the video. In the feature-length 100th episode Frank is accused of beating an old lady who is well known on the estate for her scratch-card winnings. Frank suffers a blackout and throughout the episode has flashbacks of that evening. Not knowing if he actually carried out the attack he hands himself into the police. Carl is convinced Frank is innocent. He digs into the events of that night and finds that a local gangster's brother had actually carried out the attack. Frank, along with Kev devise a plan to work with the police and cut a deal with the gangster that sees Frank set free.

From Series 9, Frank is the only original member of the Gallagher family left after Carl leaves to join the police. He now wears a darker version of his fond parka and occasionally slips on a pair of glasses when reading.

By Series 11, he and his daughter Stella who is now six years old, live at the Gallagher House along with Aidan who both are left to contend with Frank's outrageous behaviour. He is still neglectful to his sole child who shows great maturity for her age, and is shown to be thoughtful and caring to him still calling him "Dad". While out Frank finds his son Lip (Jody Latham), and invites him along with his granddaughter, Katie (Bethany Thompson). He reaches an understanding with his son who treats him much better. Frank has begun a three-way relationship with prostitutes Sherilee (Sarah Totty) and Derilee (Sue Vincent), Derilee's husband Baxter arrives at the Gallagher household and holds Frank, Stella and Derilee hostage at gunpoint. While negotiating with Baxter their freedom, Monica returns to Chatsworth to take Stella's place in the hostage situation. However, Stella ends up running back inside, with Monica also being held captive. While Derilee and Baxter solve their differences, Frank and Monica have sex, resulting in Monica falling pregnant with twins. Frank was arrested and visited by her and tells her to have an abortion, however one of the twins survives, and she gives birth to Ben Gallagher in The Jockey. Frank shows a lack of interest in the child and leaves care to Stella. Meanwhile, Monica feigns bereavement over the baby she "miscarried". Frank's oldest daughter, Fiona McBride (Anne-Marie Duff), returns to Chatsworth with Carl and Lip. Frank learns he has a grandson from Fiona who attempts to make Frank and Monica see that their disastrous parenting is only going to damage Stella and Ben. When Fiona decides to take Stella and Ben back to Amsterdam with her, leaving her in the care of her old friend, Kev Ball (Dean Lennox Kelly), however he loses them. Frank has an argument with Monica and decides to leave Chatsworth since he believes he is better off without his family. However, Stella follows Frank to the bus stop with Ben in her arms, as Frank rages at an upset Stella that she was a mistake and that she ruined his life, leading to her sadly walk away alone. A guilty Frank later finds Stella and Ben at a local park, he apologizes for his harsh behavior and confirms that he does love her, much to her joy. He lets Stella play while he finally takes an active role in caring for Ben. Frank soon takes them back to the Gallagher household, walking into Fiona and Monica fighting over the upbringing of the two children. He refuses to let Fiona to take his youngest children. Even though Lip and Carl try to convince Fiona otherwise, Fiona refuses to believe they will change and offer Frank money to leave as he intended. However, he refused to take it as she sees that he couldn't live without his family and is pleased to see this side. In the end, Fiona sees Stella and Ben will be fine in Frank and Monica's care, and they remain in Chatsworth. Frank also makes amends with his oldest children who have new respect for him.

The final scene is a reference to the start of every episode, a monologue by Frank ending with him yelling 'scatter' to the backdrop of a burning car.

Monica Gallagher

*Played by: Annabelle Apsion (Series 1, 3–6, 8, 11)

Monica Gallagher (born 24 April 1963) is Frank Gallagher's (David Threlfall) estranged wife, and the mother of Fiona (Anne-Marie Duff), Lip (Jody Latham), Ian (Gerard Kearns), Carl (Elliott Tittensor), Debbie ( Rebecca Ryan), Liam (Johnny Bennett) and Stella (Nikita Brownlee). She is bisexual and left Frank for a lorry driver named Norma Starkey ( Dystin Johnson). 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 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 Maguire. Monica appeared in 40 episodes overall.

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 and selfishness prevented her from being any real help.

In series 6, feeling unloved by her children and Frank, Monica left once again. However, Monica returned in series 8, after the family receives news that her daughter, Debbie, has been killed. She acted the same way with Frank's new partner, Libby Croker (Pauline McLynn), as she earlier did with Sheila. It soon became apparent that the death was a hoax set up by Monica and her civil partner, a psychiatric nurse called Mildred, 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 (who started warming up to her before leaving in series 6) had decided to live with Monica permanently so he could help her to see love inside herself. She returns in the show's penultimate episode when she sees on the news Frank and Stella are held hostage and tries to negotiate a deal where she would take Stella's place, but ends up locked with her daughter and ex-husband. Soon, Monica and Frank admit to still having feelings and they have sex. In the final episode, she gives birth to her eighth child, Ben, but feels guilty about aborting his twin brother and drowns in her own guilt and neglects Ben, and the returning Fiona is disgusted to know that Monica is still the same person that abandoned her, though this time she’s remorseful for letting her children down constantly. Monica eventually shows concern and stands up to Frank when she realizes Fiona is taking Stella and Ben with her.

Sheila Jackson

*Played by: Maggie O'Neill (Series 1–4)

Sheila Jackson (also Gallagher; born 1962) is the third married second wife of Frank Gallagher (David Threlfall). She is the mother of Karen Maguire ( Rebecca Atkinson), who she had with second husband, Eddie Jackson (Steve Pemberton) and twins Nigel and Delia Gallagher, who she had with Frank in 2005. Sheila appeared in 28 episodes in total.

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 (Gerard Kearns) and Lip Gallagher (Jody Latham) 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 (Annabelle Apsion), 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.

Fiona McBride

Fiona McBride (née Gallagher; born 20 February 1983) is the eldest child of Frank (David Threlfall) and Monica Gallagher (Annabelle Apsion). 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 (Maxine Peake). During the early episodes, Fiona had a part-time job as a teaching assistant at a local nursery. Fiona appeared in 19 episodes in total.

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 secondary school not to fall pregnant before taking her GCSEs.

After her boyfriend Steve McBride (James McAvoy) 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 (Chris Coghill) 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 (Pauline McLynn) mentioned that Fiona was married.

In the final episode of the show, Fiona is called back to Chatsworth by her mother Monica after hearing she has lost a baby. However, she is enraged to discover her mother attempted to abort twins, leaving one–Ben–alive. She is disgusted to find Monica and Frank are neglecting Ben and choosing to let Fiona's six-year-old sister Stella to take care of him. Reminded of her own past as sole parental guidance for her other siblings, as well as overhearing Lip Gallagher (Jody Latham) talk about the mistreatment her younger siblings will receive once Monica gets over the aborted child, Fiona plots to snatch Stella and Ben to free them of the lifestyle she and her younger siblings went through. She leaves the kids with Kev Ball (Dean Lennox Kelly) so that she can contact Steve. However, Stella runs away and takes her brother. When they are found by Frank, he stops Fiona's plans and she still isn't convinced to leave the kids with her parents after Lip and Carl (Elliott Tittensor) plead with her not go through with it. Fiona learns from Stella that Frank tried to leave though he didn't because he had no money and offers her father money but he doesn't take it and she is convinced of his change. This gives Fiona a newfound respect for her father, since she realizes Frank can't abandon his children. After the family reconcile, they party with the other Chatsworth residents in The Jockey. Said to have been conceived at an all-nighter at Wigan Casino, sadly that wouldn't have been possible as it burnt down before she was conceived.

Steve McBride

*Played by: James McAvoy (Series 1–2)

Steven "Steve" McBride (born 1979) is Fiona Gallagher's (Anne-Marie Duff) boyfriend. He was first seen in a club, watching Fiona dance with her friend Veronica Fisher (Maxine Peake). 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 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 appeared in 16 episodes overall.

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 Gallagher (David Threlfall) treats his children. When Fiona's father Frank struck his son Ian, Steve got him drunk and took him to Calais in the boot of his car.

Lip Gallagher

*Played by: Jody Latham (Series 1–5, 11)

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 is in a long-term, open relationship with Mandy Maguire (Samantha Siddall). He appeared in 38 episodes overall.

During series 1 he was in a relationship with schoolmate Karen Jackson ( Rebecca Atkinson), who dumps him for his own father Frank Gallagher (David Threlfall), causing him to batter Frank 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 sexual affair with Lena Marshall (Brana Bajic), a woman considerably older than he was.

Lip is close to younger brother Ian Gallagher (Gerard Kearns) 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. In series 3, Mandy gives birth to Katie but does want to involve Lip with the baby as she believes he will walk out on them. That same night Lip takes his blame on Frank and accidentally insults Debbie in the process.

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 after getting into a bar fight as well as realizing Lip is embarrassed of his daughter and ends up kicking him out of the Gallagher home.
In the tenth episode of Series 7, Mimi Maguire (Tina Malone) 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 would have been engaged to be married to Mandy. Mimi decides that it is best to leave Katie in the care of her father.

Jody Latham confirmed on Twitter that he would return to the show in the season 11 finale. It was also said that he lived in the area but never visited because he did not want daughter Katie living near or knowing Frank and the Chatsworth Estate. In his meeting with his father, he is still hostile to him but begrudgingly lets his daughter come with him to his old home. He meets his youngest sister Stella for the first time. Eventually, he falls back into his days of his youth and starts to see he can't lie to his daughter after Frank reveals the truth.

He returns in the series finale, along with Fiona and Carl where they arrive for the birth of their new brother Ben. He tries to plead with Fiona to stop her choice, since they turned out fine with or without their parents. He watches Fiona hand Frank money to leave however, the latter refused to take it as Lip sees that he couldn't live without his family and is pleased to see this side. In the end, he makes amends with his family and partakes in their activities.

Ian Gallagher

*Played by: Gerard Kearns (Series 1–7)

Ian Gallagher (born 11 February 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 Gallagher (Annabelle Apsion) and Gary Bennett, revealed when his blood group was found to be incompatible with the rest of his siblings'. His half-brothers are Lip Gallagher (Jody Latham), Carl Gallagher (Elliott Tittensor), Liam Gallagher (Johnny Bennett), Sean Bennett and 3 unnamed sons of Gary Bennett, while his half-sisters are Fiona Gallagher (Anne-Marie Duff), Debbie Gallagher ( Rebecca Ryan) and Stella Gallagher (Nikita Brownlee). He has one niece, Katie Maguire and through Fiona a nephew. 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. Ian appeared in 80 episodes overall.

In the early series, Ian is depicted as closest to his brother Lip, 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 other's secrets. In later series, all the family, except Frank Gallagher (David Threlfall), are aware of his sexuality. However, it was often implied Frank knew all along but didn't care and accepted Ian for who he was.

Ian often identifies as gay, having various relationships with older men throughout the first four or five series. Kash Karib (Chris Bisson) was his only long-term boyfriend, though he has a brief relationship with Sean Bennett, and an ongoing friendship, sometimes sexual, with Micky Maguire (Ciarán Griffiths). Because he is unaware of his parentage at the time, Ian also unknowingly sleeps with his half-brother. Ian sees Sean Bennett 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 fourth 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 (Samantha Siddall), 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 (Joanna Higson). When Maxine's brother, Bruce ( Philip Hill-Pearson) 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, 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 he later lets Mickey move in with him.

In Series 7, it appears Ian has remained at Danny's old address and has accepted Micky 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 before Frank breaks it up. 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 Karib (Qasim Akhtar), 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 Maguire ( Rebecca Atkinson), as she and Joe Pritchard (Ben Batt) 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. In the final episode of the show, Lip mentions that Ian is engaged to a transsexual.

He is proficient in flying a jetpack.

Debbie Gallagher

*Played by: Rebecca Ryan (Series 1–6)

Deborah "Debbie" Gallagher (born 27 January 1993) is the fifth Gallagher sibling. She is Frank (David Threlfall) and Monica Gallagher's (Annabelle Apsion) second eldest daughter. Lip (Jody Latham), Carl (Elliott Tittensor) and Liam (Johnny Bennett) are her brothers. Her sisters are Fiona (Anne-Marie Duff) and Stella (Nikita Brownlee); her half-brothers are Ian (Gerard Kearns) and Nigel; and her half-sister is Delia. Although Debbie is only 16 (at the time of her last appearance on the show in 2009), she is old beyond her years because she grew up without a mother and undertook the majority of the domestic tasks, At the start of the series Debbie tended to use her childlike innocence to get out of any mess she or family get themselves into. 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. Debbie appeared in 65 episodes in total.

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 of young "Jody". When Debbie finally admits her actions to her family, a furious and bewildered Fiona, Steve McBride (James McAvoy), 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, though that changes when he tells her crush Luke that she sleeps around the estate in hopes she doesn't sacrifice money for charity, and even when Frank tries to do good and give her money for a trip she still refuses to forgive him. 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 (Maggie O'Neill).

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 ( Jack Deam) and Mandy Maguire (Samantha Siddall), she also tends to come up with numerous money-making schemes to provide income.

It is revealed in Series 5 that Debbie has been in a secret relationship with police officer Tom O'Leary ( Michael Legge), 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, whom she met on a night out with Maxine Donnelly (Joanna Higson) 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 Grandmother's 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 (Sean Gilder) and Mimi Maguire (Tina Malone), but Mark knocked the hitman 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 or maybe after Child Services incident she realized she was unfit to being a parent figure to her dysfunctional family and joined the Army to find her place.

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.

Carl Gallagher

*Played by: Elliott Tittensor (Series 1–9, 11) / Luke Tittensor (Series 1)

Carl Gallagher (born 18 January 1990) is a fictional character from the Channel 4 drama ''Shameless''; he is the fourth oldest Gallagher sibling. The son of Frank (David Threlfall) and Monica Gallagher (Annabelle Apsion), his brothers are Lip (Jody Latham) and Liam (Johnny Bennett); his sisters are Fiona (Anne-Marie Duff), Debbie ( Rebecca Ryan) and Stella (Nikita Brownlee); his half-brothers are Ian (Gerard Kearns) and Nigel; and his half-sister is Delia. Initially he played only a minor role in the show, but since series two has been featured just as much as the other Gallagher children. Carl appeared in 117 episodes in total.

In the first series, Carl was jointly played by Tittensor's twin brother Luke Tittensor, but since the second series he has played the role alone.

In series 3, Carl briefly worked for the Maguires by growing marijuana for them in his loft, until the police found out about the production. Carl was briefly taken into custody, and gave a statement that the marijuana was grown for the household's own personal use. But after a tip was given to the police about Mandy Maguire (Samantha Siddall) selling weed, her mother Mimi Maguire (Tina Malone) suspected that Carl betrayed them and sent her sons, Donny (Clyve Bonelle) and Shane Maguire (Nicky Evans), after him. Later, Carl's siblings Lip, Ian and Debbie, figured out that the only person with the motive for informing the police about Mandy's dealings was in fact her brother Shane, who was angry that his mother chose his sister over him to oversee that area of the family business. After Lip confronted Shane over the matter, Shane agreed to call off the family hunt for Carl.

Carl develops a long tally of sexual conquests in the later series, one notable example being the mother of one girl whom he was dating during his last year of secondary school.

In series 6, Carl realizes Micky Maguire (Ciarán Griffiths) is gay; he is one of the few people on the estate, along with Maxine Donnelly (Joanna Higson), his brother Liam and his half-brother Ian, who is aware of this. Mickey makes several unsuccessful passes at Carl.

Through series 6 and early series 7, Carl pursues and begins a relationship with auxiliary nurse Maxine. Carl breaks up with Maxine after she admits to having aborted his child and feeling he is too immature to be a father. Carl soon decides he wants another chance with Maxine, and is encouraged when she has sex with him in the Jockey toilets. However, he does not know that Maxine only had sex with him to get her mind off Ian, whom she is beginning to have feelings for. Carl proposes to Maxine, but she turns him down. Carl continues to hope until Micky, out of hurt and jealousy, tells Carl about Maxine and Ian. A heartbroken and enraged Carl meets Ian in The Jockey toilets before savagely beating him. He smashes the engagement ring to pieces and cuts all ties to Maxine and Ian.

Carl begins working for Michelle, the head of a male escort agency that Jamie Maguire (Aaron McCusker) briefly worked for; when Jamie no longer wants to have sex with her, an eager Carl is more than capable of taking over the job. Unfortunately, this proves to be the one bright spot for Carl around this time. He and Chesney Karib (Qasim Akhtar) go to a party and afterwards are in the street with a boy named Bonehead, who shows them a video he took of a girl he'd taken advantage of. Her brother, Jimmy, a local tough, viciously attacks Bonehead in front of them, and threatens them into staying silent. When Bonehead dies, Jimmy makes sure they are seen as the prime suspects, and threatens them into fleeing town. Carl and Chesney end up on a farm in Wales, but when Carl is able to get reception for his mobile phone, the messages of support from Maxine and his family move him and he and Chesney decide to return home. They hide in Chesney's shop but when Jimmy again threatens Carl's family, Carl attacks him. Carl even gets a gun to use on Jimmy, but Joe Pritchard (Ben Batt) convinces him this would be a mistake. Ultimately, Joe makes Jimmy disappear, Jimmy's sister clears Carl and Chesney, and the Maguires convince Jimmy's gang to leave the Gallaghers and Chesney alone.

Carl and Ian still have bad blood, with blood literally spilled for Ian as his attempt to tape a confession from Jimmy had ended in a beating. Ian did not accept Carl's apologies for what had happened over Maxine and he drives Maxine away by accusing her of still wanting to be with Carl. Carl visits Maxine at hospital and tells her he knows she was right to have the abortion. He convinces her to give Ian another chance, as he says that he can be her mate, but Ian is her soulmate. Ian and Maxine reconcile, and so do Carl and Ian.

As of series 8, Carl is the only original Gallagher child left, after Liam decided to stay with his mum, and Carl seems to have feelings for best mate Chesney's cousin, Sita Desai (Aysha Kala). He also had sexual relations with her. He proposes to Sita, but she turns him down. He isn't good enough for her. Carl also seems to fancy soon-to-be stepmother Libby Croker (Pauline McLynn), when he starts to get visibly aroused when he looks at her backside and legs.

In series 9, Carl becomes a police officer and leaves Chatsworth to move in with his girlfriend, Clem, thus leaving none of the original Gallagher children (besides Stella) on the estate.

He returns in the series finale, along with Fiona and Lip where they arrive for the birth of their new brother Ben. He tries to plead with Lip on not letting Fiona go with her choice of taking the kids Stella and Ben, since he was closest to Frank. At the end, Carl gets through to his brother and watched Lip plead to Fiona because turned out fine with or without their parents. He watches Fiona hand Frank money to leave however, the latter refuses to take it as Carl sees that he couldn't live without his family and is pleased to see this side. In the end, he makes amends with his family and partakes in their activities.

Carl once bought a guitar that turned out to be cursed with the soul of Blind Willie Johnson.

Liam Gallagher

*Played by: Joseph Furnace (Series 1–2) / Johnny Bennett (Series 3–8)

Liam Gallagher (born 12 March 1999) 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 is named after the singer of the same name. 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 – matchboxes and lighter-fluid were routinely found under his mattress by his brothers Carl (Elliott Tittensor) and Ian (Gerard Kearns). Throughout the series, Liam is practically raised by his older sisters, Fiona (Anne-Marie Duff) and Debbie ( Rebecca Ryan), as his father Frank (David Threlfall) is lazy and mother Monica (Annabelle Apsion) 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 McBride (James McAvoy), and was seen later to use a defibrillator on a comatose 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 appeared in 78 episodes in total.

Liam was also persuaded by his brother Carl to create false identities on the internet for him, Chesney Karib (Qasim Akhtar), Maxine Donnelly (Joanna Higson), and Micky Maguire (Ciarán Griffiths), 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 (Lindsey Dawson), the landlady of "The Jockey", ultimately ending it with Liam outing himself at not having cancer.

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 babysitting Liam and Stella (Nikita Brownlee), 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 Testaments that condoned prostitution when Kelly Maguire (Sally Carman) thought that her occupation would disqualify her as godmother of Karen ( Rebecca Atkinson) and Jamie Maguire's (Aaron McCusker) son, Connor. 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 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 as he starts to develop more of Debbie's traits, (such as shouting at and attacking Frank and Carl for their antics). 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 Pritchard's (Ben Batt) 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 (Pauline McLynn) 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 Jackson (Maggie O'Neill). 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 misinterprets 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 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 caregiver 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.

Between Series 7–8, Liam was 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 on his own 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 had left the Chatsworth Estate to live with Monica. Although, by Series 11, Monica came to live with Frank, without Liam, indicating that Liam left his mother sometime after the events in Series 8. In the final episode of ''Shameless'', Liam was stated by Lip to be a practicing Buddhist.

Stella Gallagher

*Played by: Alana & Anabelle Crampton (Series 6–10) / Nikita Brownlee (Series 11)

Stella Iana Gallagher is the youngest daughter of Frank (David Threlfall) and Monica Gallagher (Annabelle Apsion). She has appeared in a recurring role since May 2008, and appeared on a regular basis in the eleventh and final series. Stella appeared in 15 episodes overall.

Stella is born to Frank and Monica in April 2008, with Monica giving birth next to Frank, who is in a coma during the birth. Like before, Stella's siblings, primarily Debbie ( Rebecca Ryan), Liam (Johnny Bennett) and Carl (Elliott Tittensor), look after her, while Frank and Monica continue with their previous disastrous parenting. During Series 6, Monica walks out on the family again, leading to Social Services temporarily taking Liam and Stella into care, however neighbours Yvonne Karib (Kelli Hollis) and Stan Waterman