The following is a list of fictional characters from the English comedy-drama Shameless, created by Paul Abbott, and aired on Channel 4 between 2004 and 2013.
Set on the fictional Chatsworth Estate in Manchester, the programme follows the lives of the Gallagher family, their neighbours the Maguire family, friends, and those who run the local shops and pub, The Jockey.
The first series focuses on Frank Gallagher, a dysfunctional patriarch, and his six children: Fiona (with her boyfriend Steve), Lip, Ian, Carl, Debbie and Liam. The series also introduces next-door neighbours Kev and Veronica.
Introduced in the second series, the Maguire family becomes increasingly interwoven with the Gallagher family's lives. Both families face complex challenges, including marriage difficulties, teenage pregnancies, and neighbourhood rivalries.
Other characters, such as the Karib family, also take on more prominent roles after starting as minor characters, Throughout the series' run, the Gallagher family went through significant changes, with many of the Gallagher children departing the show due to the actors moving onto other projects.
Credited cast Actor Character Appearances 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11David ThrelfallFrank Gallagher colspan="11" Anne-Marie DuffFiona Gallagher colspan="2" colspan="8" Jody Latham Lip Gallagher colspan="4" colspan="5" Gerard Kearns Ian Gallagher colspan="7" colspan="4" Rebecca Ryan Debbie Gallagher colspan="6" colspan="5" Elliott TittensorCarl Gallagher colspan="9" Luke Tittensor colspan="10" Annabelle Apsion Monica Gallagher colspan="3" colspan="2" Joseph Furnace Liam Gallagher colspan="2" colspan="9" Johnny Bennett colspan="2" colspan="5" colspan="3" Sean Gilder Paddy Maguire colspan="2" colspan="4" colspan="4" Tina Malone Mimi Tutton colspan="2" colspan="8" Aaron McCusker Jamie Maguire colspan="3" colspan="8" Rebecca Atkinson Karen Maguire colspan="11" Chris Bisson Kash Karib colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="5" Kelli Hollis Yvonne Karib colspan="6" colspan="3" Anthony Flanagan Tony colspan="3" colspan="8" Lindsey Dawson Jez colspan="4" colspan="7" Marjorie Yates Carol Fisher colspan="3" colspan="7" Jack Deam Marty Fisher colspan="2" colspan="3" colspan="3" Samantha Siddall Mandy Maguire colspan="5" colspan="3" Dystin Johnson Norma Starkey colspan="3" colspan="5" Warren Donnelly Stan Waterman colspan="5" colspan="4" Alice Barry Lillian Tyler colspan="10" Chris Coghill Craig Garland colspan="8" Gillian Kearney Sue Garland colspan="2" colspan="7" Nicky Evans Shane Maguire colspan="2" colspan="8" Sally Carman Kelly Maguire colspan="3" colspan="6" Ciarán Griffiths Mickey Maguire colspan="3" colspan="6" colspan="2" Michael Legge Tom O'Leary colspan="3" colspan="3" colspan="5" Amanda Ryan Carrie Rogers colspan="3" colspan="3" colspan="5" Qasim Akhtar Chesney Karib colspan="3" colspan="7" Sarah Patel Meena Karib colspan="3" colspan="2" colspan="5" Ben Batt Joe Pritchard colspan="5" colspan="2" colspan="4" Joanna Higson Maxine Donnelly colspan="5" colspan="2" colspan="4" Philip Hill-Pearson Bruce Donnelly colspan="6" colspan="4" Pauline McLynn Libby Croker colspan="6" colspan="2" colspan="3" Valerie Lilley Patty Croker colspan="6" colspan="4" Michael Taylor Billy Tutton colspan="6" colspan="4" Karen Bryson Avril Powell colspan="7" colspan="4" Emmanuel Ighodaro Jackson Powell colspan="7" colspan="3" Kira Martin Letitia Powell colspan="7" colspan="4" Robbie Conway Aidan Croker colspan="7" colspan="4" Aysha Kala Sita Desai colspan="7" colspan="3" Angeline Ball Gloria Meak colspan="8" colspan="2" Kari Corbett Ruby Hepburn colspan="8" colspan="2" Stephen Lord Dominic Meak colspan="8" colspan="2" Nikita Brownlee Stella Gallagher colspan="10" Jacqueline Boatswain Patreesha St. Rose colspan="10" Adelle Leonce Mary-Mae St. Rose colspan="10" Sarah Totty Sherilee colspan="10" Sue Vincent Derilee colspan="10" Jalaal Hartley Kassi Blanco colspan="10" Isy Suttie Esther Blanco colspan="10" Rhys Cadman Tam Blanco colspan="10" Lewis Hardaker Saul Blanco colspan="10" Jade Kilduff Thalia Blanco colspan="10" Thaila Zucchi Randall colspan="10" Moya Brady Remona colspan="10"
The Gallagher family
Frank Gallagher Played by: David Threlfall (Series 1–11)
Vernon Francis "Frank" Gallagher (born 16 January 1960) is the main protagonist of Shameless. He appeared in 137 episodes.
Frank is characterised by inebriated monologues covering diverse literary, historical, and philosophical topics. These often circle back to his perception of decent, hard-working individuals, including himself, facing unwarranted discrimination. Frank frequently quotes Shakespeare, the Bible, references international current events, and uses poetry and soliloquy to express his feelings or views, 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. He also shows countless signs of schizophrenia throughout the series, and it is directly stated that he has schizophrenia in series 2.
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 biological children: Fiona (Anne-Marie Duff), Lip (Jody Latham), Carl (Elliott Tittensor), Debbie (Rebecca Ryan), Liam (Johnny Bennett) and Stella (Nikita Brownlee), and is the de jure father of Ian (Gerard Kearns). 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. This is never elaborated upon and 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 his string of past convictions was for.
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 offers 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 better understand his disposition 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 the early series, Frank is portrayed as a drunken bully who even head-butts 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 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 happens three times. As the series progresses, the family generally warms up to him, mostly because he isn’t bothering them hugely on a daily basis. However, Debbie finally grows sick of taking care of the family, cleaning up after Frank in particular, and leaves to join the army after series 6. In series 7, Frank and Liam come into serious conflict when Liam is forced by circumstances to take over Debbie’s former burden as the de facto head of the family. At one point, Frank head-butts Liam, and a furious Carl has to be restrained from beating Frank to a pulp. Frank finally softens towards Liam when Liam threatens 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 a frosty reception from Liam, she and her disabled mother, Patty (Valerie Lilley), move into the Gallagher home. Frank and Patty 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 her endless put-downs. 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 will eventually lose 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 of 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, devises a plan to work with the police and cuts 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 takes care of a terrapin called Terry, that he stole from a petting zoo.