List of characters from Shameless

The following is a list of characters for the British sitcom, "Shameless", created by Paul Abbott and broadcast by Channel 4. It is set on the fictional Chatsworth Estate in suburban Manchester, and follows the lives of the Gallagher family and their friends and neighbours.

Main characters (current)

Frank Gallagher

*Played by: David Threlfall (1.1 - present)

Vernon Francis "Frank" Gallagher (born 12 March 1959), the head of the Gallagher family, is an unemployed alcoholic, and the son of Neville and Sarah Elizabeth Gallagher (1935-1972). He is married to Monica, with whom he has six children (Fiona, Phillip, Carl, Debbie, Liam, Stella), and one, Ian, to whom he is "de jure" father. He also has two children with Sheila Jackson, 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, Katie and an unnamed child of Fiona's when she left in Series 2.

Frank became an alcoholic shortly after his first wife Monica left him for Norma Starkey. He then left the younger children in the care of Fiona, and moved in with agoraphobic Sheila Jackson. Often known to make a fool out of himself and shirk all responsibility, Frank nonetheless shows signs of loving his children. He can occasionally offer some good advice, and saved Liam from being taken into care when a parent was needed. When he was rendered completely sober by a new drug, Frank appeared reflective and even quite intelligent, wondering why Sheila would add to her problems by marrying a mess like him.

In early series Frank came across as a drunken bully, even headbutting his son Ian on one occasion, for asking if he was wearing one of his t-shirts. Most of his children initially hated 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, although their relationship has cooled somewhat as she has matured. Most of the family now tolerate him on the grounds he isn't bothering them on a daily basis.

Frank's hallmark is 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. These rants, while spoken clumsily, are often of significant value and judgement. 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.

Monica Gallagher

*Played by: Annabelle Apsion (series 1.6 - 1.7, 3.0, 4.1 - present)

Monica Gallagher is Frank's 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 returned home at the beginning of series 4 and has resumed co-habiting with Frank. Monica announced in series 5 that she was pregnant again, giving birth to Stella at the end of the series. She has two grandchildren, Katie and an unnamed child from Fiona when she left in Series 2.

Ian Gallagher

*Played by: Gerard Kearns (series 1.1 - present)

Ian Gallagher is the third oldest Gallagher sibling. He was 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 and Sean Bennett, and his half-sisters are Fiona Gallagher, Debbie Gallagher, and Stella Gallagher. He has one niece, Katie Maguire. He works as a barman at The Jockey.

Ian is gay, having various relationships with usually older men throughout the run of the programme. Kash Karib is to date his only long-term boyfriend, though he had a brief relationship with Sean Bennett, and has an ongoing friendship with Mickey Maguire. He also had sex with one girl (though the experience did not affect his sexuality), and a relationship of convenience with Mandy Maguire, to protect his secret.

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

Carl Gallagher

*Played by: Elliott Tittensor (1.1 - present), Luke Tittensor (1.1 - 1.7)

Carl Gallagher is the fourth oldest Gallagher sibling. The son of Frank and Monica, his brothers are Phillip and Liam, his sisters are Fiona, Debbie and Stella his half-brothers are Ian 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. He has slept with Meena Karib, along with various others, and has a minor crush on Norma, his mother's former lesbian lover.

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

Debbie Gallagher

*Played by: Rebecca Ryan (1.1 - present)

Debbie Gallagher is the fifth Gallagher sibling. The daughter of Frank and Monica, her brothers are Phillip, Carl and Liam, her sisters are Fiona and Stella, her half-brothers are Ian and Nigel, and her half-sister is Delia. Although Debbie is only 15, she is old beyond her years and since Fiona left and went to Amsterdam, Debbie is often tasked with saving the family from ruin. Debbie is Frank's second daughter and is a young teenager throughout the series. Originally Debbie was a slightly unusual and awkward child, albeit highly intelligent and resourceful, but since the departure of her elder sister, Fiona, Debbie quickly became head of the household and took care of duties such as cooking and taking Liam to school. As a consequence, Debbie missed out on socialising and has become mature beyond her years.

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. This often leaves her the most vulnerable to being let down by him, but Debbie's loyalty to her father is occasionally rewarded, and it is strongly suggested Frank appreciates 'Little Debbie' more than anyone else in the world. Debbie also detests her mother more than the rest of the family, and doesn't forgive her for her earlier abandonment, or her continued laziness and self-absorption, though she responded 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, with her seeing her siblings as her dependents, and generally being supportive throughout their various misadventures, and them generally recognising all that she does for them. She can also be seen to forge strong relationships with other characters, notably Marty 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.

Liam Gallagher

*Played by: Joseph Furnace (1.1 - 2.10), Johnny Bennett (3.0 - present)

Liam Gallagher is the second youngest of the Gallagher children and was a minor character until series 5, when he took a more central role in the main storylines. He apparently suffered from fits when he was smaller. He also wets the bed, though he claims that it was only to help put out fires, which he has a fondness for starting. In recent episodes, Liam has begun to show considerable intelligence and resourcefulness, similar to Debbie in earlier series.

tella Gallagher

Stella was born at the end of series 5. Frank stated that he did not name her after the beer Stella Artois, but because she is "a little star". Her middle name is Iana, as a thank you to her half brother, Ian, who helped deliver her, and also as Frank's way of apologising to Ian for yet another row over his parentage.

Norma Starkey

*Played by: Dystin Johnson (1.6 - 1.7, 3.0, 4.1 - present)

Norma Starkey is a lorry driver, and was previously Monica's lesbian lover, after her split from Frank. She followed Monica back to the Gallagher home in series 4, and now lives in the Dormobile in the garden. Having initially been characterised as a strong-willed and capable woman, Norma is now increasingly portrayed as weak and helpless.

Karen Maguire

*Played by: Rebecca Atkinson (1.1 - present)

Karen Maguire aka. (nee Jackson) is the daughter of Sheila Gallagher and her second husband, Eddie Jackson. Nigel and Delia are her half-brother and sister. She was Phillip's girlfriend in series 1, and also seduced his father, Frank, along with many other people. She then left to stay with her gran but returned in Christmas 2004 to work at The Jockey, the local pub.Karen became considerably more mature in series 4, at the end of which she married the recently freed Jamie Maguire, with whom she now co-runs the pub. Season 5 sees her becoming increasingly, albeit grudgingly more integrated with the Maguire family and their somewhat violent way of life.

Yvonne Karib

*Played by: Kelli Hollis (1.1 - present)

Yvonne Karib 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. 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 former 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, despite the fact that she is technically still married to Kash, who it is revealed faked his own death to escape creditors.

Mandy Maguire

*Played by: Samantha Siddall (Series 1-)

Mandy Maguire is 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 Maguire 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 Donny, Mickey, Shane, Joey and Jamie, as well as the late Fergal.

Paddy Maguire

*Played by: Sean Gilder (Series 2-)

Patrick Donal "Paddy" Maguire (born August 31, 1962), 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.

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.

Mimi Maguire

*Played by: Tina Malone (Series 2-)

Katherine "Mimi" Maguire (nee Murphy) is the foul-mouthed, loud, brash and violent matriarch of the Maguire family. She is also a drug dealer on the Chatsworth Estate and is frequently seen selling drugs on the show. She is also extremely violent and easily angered. She has "headbutted" several characters on the show including Lip Gallagher, Sue Garland and Cassie Western.

She is the wife of Paddy Maguire, and the mother of Mandy Maguire and the Maguire boys and the daughter of "Nana" Murphy. Her ex-boyfriend is also called Paddy. In series 5 a more sensitive side to Mimi is introduced, after she gets insulted about her weight. She describes herself as a "bulimic who can't stand vomit". In the same series, she is shown attending anger management classes.

hane Maguire

*Played by: Nicky Evans (Series 3-)

Shane Maguire is part of the Chatsworth estate Maguire gangster family, known for his short and unpredictable temper and limited intelligence. He is the brother of Mandy, Micky, Donny, Joey, and Jamie, as well as the late Fergal, and son of Paddy and Mimi.

Mickey Maguire

*Played by: Ciaran Griffiths (Series 4-)

Mickey Maguire is the paranoid, aggressive, violent, homosexual yet homophobic member of the Maguire family. He had a brief and casual relationship with Ian just after his first appearance on the show, and continues to chase Ian, albeit irregularly. Unlike Ian, none of Mickey's family are aware of his homosexuality, despite several occasions when Mickey has come close to coming out to them.

Jamie Maguire

*Played by: Aaron McCusker (Series 4-)

Jamie Maguire is the oldest son of the notorious Maguire family, the son of Paddy and Mimi Maguire, and recently returned after serving a ten-year prison sentence for murder. Much to his parents' disgust, he appeared to be reformed, rejected his family, got a job as a barman at "The Jockey", began training as a probation officer, and became engaged to his colleague, Karen Jackson.

In the last episode of series 4, Jamie revealed that he had admitted his guilt in order to get parole so that he could hunt down his father's three former cellmates, who were planning to muscle in on Paddy's territory and dispose of him. His new reformed life was a sham to cover his murders of these three men. Karen assumed that his courtship of her was part of this pretense, but Jamie claimed that he really loved her and they were married at the end of the episode.

Kelly-Marie Ball

*Played by: Sally Carman (Series 2-)

Kelly-Marie Ball is Kev Ball's sister. A former junkie, she became a prostitute working in Lillian Tyler's brothel, and struck up a relationship with Shane Maguire, which ended under intimidation from Paddy Maguire. She returned a couple of episodes later, telling Shane she "decided not to take his father's offer". This resulted in Shane confronting Paddy, who beat him up in The Jockey. At the end of series 5 Kelly-Marie announces she is pregnant with Shane's child, and is welcomed into the family with open arms by Paddy and Mimi.

Main characters (former)

Lip Gallagher

*Played by: Jody Latham (Series 1-5)

Phillip "Lip" Gallagher (born 1988) is the oldest son and second child of Frank and Monica Gallagher. His parents delayed his birth registration for over a year, and he discovered this on his 18th (actually 19th) birthday in Series 4. His nickname, according to his father, is due to him being "a bit of a gobshite". Lip was in a long-term relationship with Mandy Maguire and they have a baby daughter, Katie.

He is highly intelligent, has A-levels, and was offered a place at Nottingham University in the last episode of Series 4. In the first episode of series five he returns to the estate during a break and goes to work at The Jockey whilst Mandy finds out about Lip's secret university girlfriend. It is confirmed in the next episode that he left again for university.

Fiona Gallagher

*Played by: Anne-Marie Duff (Series 1-2)

Fiona Gallagher 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.

She left at the end of series 2 with boyfriend Steve McBride, and now resides in Amsterdam.

teve McBride

*Played by: James McAvoy (Series 1-2)

Steve McBride is Fiona's boyfriend. He was first seen in a club, watching Fiona Gallagher dance with her friend Veronica Fisher. When a mugger stole Fiona's bag, Steve gave chase and attempted to catch him. Fiona took him back to her house where they had sex. Steve later bought Fiona a washing machine to woo her, and they got together, after Steve revealed he stole cars for a living.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. 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 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, sending him to France drunk and drugged up after he hit his son Ian.

heila Jackson

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

Sheila Jackson (previously Sheila Gallagher) 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 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 named her twins after famous chefs, Delia Smith and Nigel Slater. 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.

Kev Ball

*Played by: Dean Lennox Kelly (Series 1-4)

Kevin Alan "Kev" Ball worked in the local public house, The Jockey, and was the next door neighbour of the Gallagher family.

He is married to Veronica Fisher in every way apart from legally as he never actually got a divorce from his first wife, Roxy Ball. He is also the brother of Kelly-Marie Ball.

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. This marked their final appearance in the series to date.

In keeping with the shows setting, Kev is a fan of Manchester City F.C.. However in real life, Dean Lennox Kelly is an avid supporter of Liverpool F.C..

Veronica Fisher

*Played by: Maxine Peake (Series 1-4)

Veronica Carol "V" Fisher 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 is currently in jail in Romania along with Kev for attempting to buy a baby abroad.

Marty Fisher

*Played by: Jack Deam (Series 1-4)

Martin "Marty" Fisher is the son of Carol Fisher, and brother of Veronica. Marty has Tourette's syndrome. He was a guest character in the first series of Shameless, became a main character (along with his mother) in series two, and left along with Veronica and Kev in the first episode of season four. At the time of his departure from the series he was dating Sue Garland.

Kash Karib

*Played by: Chris Bisson (Series 1-4)

Kash Karib is the husband of Yvonne Karib, with whom he has two children, Chesney and Meena. However, Kash is actually gay and had an affair with his under age employee Ian Gallagher. Kash became a city councillor, but after falling into financial difficulties and sex scandal he faked his own suicide and left town, leaving Yvonne homeless and in huge debt.

Carol Fisher

*Played by: Marjorie Yates (Series 1-4)

Carol Fisher 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 1960s.

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.

She initially lived with Kev and her daughter Veronica, and then with the Gallaghers after her daughter, Veronica, and her husband, Kev, were arrested for trying to buy a baby abroad. Absent from series 5, Karen revealed in Episode 1 that Carol had "fucked off with 2 months takings," from The Jockey, before flashing to a picture on the wall of Carol which read 'Employee of the month.'

Minor recurring Characters

* Jez (Lindsey Dawson), the licensee of the local pub, "The Jockey", and an open lesbian. In series 4, she had a baby as a surrogate mother for a couple, to earn extra money. She has been absent from The Jockey and the show since series 4; Karen is currently running the pub for her.
* Lillian Tyler (Alice Barry), local busy-body. She had an affair with her friend Carol Fisher's husband in the 1970s. Her husband was accidentally shot dead by Carl Gallagher. As of series 5, Lillian has appeared much more in the show, even becoming narrator for episode 7. Lillian also runs a brothel at her home, a means to making easy money. Frank often makes reference to her resemblance to Mel B's caricature from the TV series Bo Selecta!. She is revealed in Series 5 as having male genitals, though it is unclear whether this is real or an illusion of Frank's.
* Donny Maguire (Steve Bell) is the least seen of the Maguire sons (apart from the late Fergal).
* PC Stanley Dennis "Stan" Waterman (Warren Donnelly) is one of the estate's police 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. In series 5 he begins a relationship with Yvonne. When he asks her to marry him, she reveals that she can't because her husband, Kash, is not actually dead.
* PC Tom O'Leary (Michael Legge) is a young Irish policeman working under Stan. While willing and eager to be a good policeman, he is not a jobsworth, and generally sides (along with Stan) on the side on common sense rather than the law. After previously having romantic feelings (along with Stan) to Sgt. Carrie Rogers, he is revealed in season five as being romantically involved with Debbie Gallagher.
* Sgt. Carrie Rogers (Amanda Ryan) is the third of Chatsworth's police officers. She is young, brash and over-keen, but generally Stan and Tom can guide her away from acting over-zealously. She is also addicted to gambling, over which she has debts to Paddy. Carrie was promoted to sergeant in season five. Her real name is Wendy, and she used her deceased sister Carrie's identity to re-take the police entrance exam, having failed once due to her bad attitude.
* Meena Karib (Sarah Byrne) is Yvonne and Kash's daughter. She often falsely tells boys she has slept with that she is pregnant, to extort abortion money out of them, as she attempted with Carl Gallagher.
* Chesney Karib (Qasim Akhtar) is Yvonne and Kash's son. He was briefly the Young Mayor of Chatsworth, and love interest of Debbie Gallagher, until she decided he was self-interested and using her.
* Sue Garland (Gillian Kearney) is Marty Fisher's girlfriend. Addicted to shopping, Sue had left many previous boyfriends with huge bills. She attempted the same scam with Marty, but the scam failed, and she and Marty left at the start of series 4, apparently having paid off all her debts.
* Joey Maguire (Nathaniel Robinson) One of the Maguire brothers that is seen with DonnyMaguire in Series 1 and 2. Who threatens to batter Ian Gallagher.

Other characters