Shameless

Shameless is an offbeat British comedy / 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 chiefly written by Paul Abbott, who was 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. The family consist of father, Frank Gallagher, and his six children: Fiona, Lip (Phillip), Carl, Ian, 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; and the agoraphobic Sheila and her daughter Karen.

A Christmas special was broadcast on Thursday 23rd December 2004 and the second series, consisting of ten episodes, began on Tuesday January 4th 2005. From the second episode onwards, the premiere of each episode was actually on Channel 4's sister subscription service E4, at 11pm each Tuesday evening following the Channel 4 episode.

Such was the popularity of the first series that a 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.

The programme has been sold overseas, where it airs on minority cable / satellite channels such as SBS (Australia) and BBC America (United States).

Cast

• Frank Gallagher, an uneployed drunk whose wife 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 .
• Steve McBride, a middle-class car thief and Fiona's boyfriend. Played by James McAvoy .
• Phillip "Lip" Gallagher, played by Jody Latham .
• Ian Gallagher, closeted gay son of Frank. Played by Gerard Kearns .
• Debbie Gallagher, played by Rebecca Ryan .
• 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 .
• Karen Jackson, Shiela's daughter and originally Lip's girlfriend (although she was also sleeping with his father). Played by Rebecca Atkinson .
• Kash Karib, owner of the local shop and Ian's boyfriend. Played by Chris Bisson .
• Yvonne Karib, played by Kelly Hollis .
• Carol Fisher, Veronica's mother with a taste for younger men. Played by Marjorie Yates .
• Marty Fisher, Veronica's brother and a Tourette syndrome sufferer. Played by Jack Deam .

External Links

• Channel 4 website
• IMDb entry
• Series 1 DVD Review