Shameless - Best characters ever
To mark the end of the sixth series of Channel 4's Shameless, we asked you to vote for who you think are the show's best characters ever.
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With a landslide 45% of the votes, LastBroadcast's users voted Mickey Maguire as the most popular male Chatsworth Estate resident of all time. The results were a bit closer in the female category, where agoraphobic nymphomaniac Sheila Jackson topped the list with 22% of votes.
Top 10 Male Characters
#10: Stan
(Warren Donnelly)
Having first appeared in Series 1, PC Stanley Dennis Waterman began a relationship with Yvonne Karib in Series 5. When her husband Kash returns in Series 6, Stan and Yvonne plot to murder him to get him out of their lives once and for all. Stan regularly reluctantly bends the rules to help the Gallaghers.
#9: Carl
(Elliott Tittensor)
"We daren't let him grow his hair for two reasons; 1, it stands on end and makes him look like Toya and 2, nits love him." Not the brightest of the Gallagher siblings, Carl is oblivous to Debbie's friend Maxine's love for him. After sleeping with Meena in Series 4, Carl feared he had got her pregnant, until it was revealed that she was lying to extort abortion money from him.
#8: Ian
(Gerard Kearns)
The third oldest Gallagher sibling, gay Ian is "a lot like his mam which is handy for the others 'cause she's disappeared into thin air". He works as a barman at The Jockey and previously worked at the local shop, where he had an affair with Yvonne's husband, Kash. His other relationships include Mickey Maguire, his half-brother Sean Bennett and a pretend relationship with Mandy Maguire.
#7: Marty
(Jack Deam)
"You know what they say about Marty - never misses a party!" Brother of Veronica and son of Carol, Martin Fisher has Tourette's syndrome and is a pyromaniac. Marty's girlfriend Sue, a shopping addict, attempted to scam him to pay her huge bills, but the scam failed and at the start of Series 4 the pair left together.
#6: Paddy
(Sean Gilder)
The head of the Maguire family, Patrick Donal "Paddy" Maguire is the most feared and therefore most respected of the local criminal families. In Series 6, Paddy was repeatedly injected with heroin, having been abducted by the mother of a teenager who died after using his drugs. Frank Gallagher once saved Paddy's life after Paddy choked on a peanut in The Jockey.
#5: Steve
(James McAvoy)
Fiona Gallagher's boyfriend, Steve McBride was first seen attempting to catch a mugger who stole Fiona's bag. Although he made his living as a car thief, Steve proudly claimed to have never committed a single violent crime. After wooing Fiona by buying her a new washing machine, Steve eventually fled Chatsworth after he was involved in a murder at a drugs deal he was involved in, returning for Fiona at the end of Series 2.
#4: Lip
(Jody Latham)
"A bit of a gobshite, which is why nobody calls him 'Philip' anymore", Lip is the eldest son of Frank and Monica. Lip has a baby daughter, Katie, from his relationship with Mandy Maguire. Lip left Chatsworth at the start of Series 5 to live in Nottingham after Mandy discovered his secret university girlfriend.
#3: Kev
(Dean Lennox Kelly)
"Fantastic neighbours, Kev and Veronica! Lend you anythin' - well, not anything." Kevin Ball worked in The Jockey and lived next door to the Gallaghers with girlfriend Veronica. He is also the brother of Shane's girlfriend, Kelly. Kev and Veronica were last seen at the start of Series 4, having been arrested in Romania after attempting to buy an orphan.
#2: Frank
(David Threlfall)
The head of the Gallagher family, Vernon Francis Gallagher is an unemployed alcoholic and father of eight children. Frank spends his days in The Jockey and wandering around Manchester on his trademark drunken rants: "Now, nobody's sayin the Chatsworth Estate is the Garden of Eden, but it's been a good home to us, to me - Frank Gallagher - and me kids, who I'm proud of!"
#1: Mickey
(Ciaran Griffiths)
"I read a lot about cocks... and fannies! Cocks and fannies!" The youngest Maguire son, homophobic Mickey struggles to hide his homosexuality from his family. As well as his occasional pursuing of Ian Gallagher, following a brief relationship a few years ago, Mickey also has a crush on the very heterosexual Carl. When not cruising in his pink Limo, Mickey also has a talent for writing erotic stories.
Top 10 Female Characters
#10: Norma
(Dystin Johnson)
Lorry driver Norma Starkey first appeared in Series 1 as Monica Gallagher's lesbian lover. When Monica returned in Series 4, Norma followed. Despite Monica's departure, Norma still lives in the Dormobile in the Gallaghers' garden, having frown attached to the family, even posing as Liam's mother for a school parents' meeting.
#9: Yvonne
(Kelli Hollis)
Yvonne Karib runs the local shop, where she previously worked with her husband Kash before she helped him to fake his own death when she discovered his gay affair with Ian. After being made homeless at the end of Series 4, Yvonne and her two children, Chesney and Meena, moved in next door to the Gallaghers. She is currently in a relationship with police officer Stan Waterman.
#8: Kelly
(Sally Carman)
Kev's sister, Kelly-Marie Ball, works as a prostitute at Lillian Tyler's brothel, where she began a relationship with Shane Maguire, much to the disapproval of Paddy, who bribed her to leave. When she returned having decided not to accept Paddy's offer, Shane beat up his father in The Jockey. A former junkie, in Series 6 Kelly helped Paddy through his heroin addiction.
#7: Lilian
(Alice Barry)
Local busy-body Lillian "Bo Selecta" Tyler runs a brothel at her home, where Kelly and Meena also work. Her husband was accidentally shot dead by Carl Gallagher and she has a son called Rodney.
#6: Mimi
(Tina Malone)
"I'm a fat fuck. I'm a fucking fat fucker." Drug dealer Catherine Mary Joy "Mimi" Maguire is the matriarch of the Maguire family and has a fondness for headbutting people. Describing herself as "a bulimic who can't stand vomit", Mimi has occasionally shown a sensitive side when it comes to her weight. Series 6 saw Mimi in jail after taking the blame for an assault on her daughter Mandy's violent boyfriend Joe.
#5: Karen
(Rebecca Atkinson)
Daughter of Sheila Jackson, Karen Maguire was originally Lip's girlfriend in Series 1, later seducing Frank Gallagher, amongst others. Series 4 saw Karen running the pub with Jamie Maguire, whom she later married. Following a miscarriage in Series 6, Karen embarks on an affair with her Mandy's violent boyfriend, Joe.
#4: Debbie
(Rebecca Ryan)
"Debbie! Sent by God, total angel. You've to check your change, but she'll go miles out of her way to do you a favour." The fifth Gallagher sibling, Debbie has become the head of the household since the departure of Fiona. In Series 5, Debbie began a secret relationship with police officer Tom O'Leary, although she later realised he was too old for her.
#3: Veronica
(Maxine Peake)
Fiona Gallagher's best friend, "Vee" Fisher is Carol's daughter and pyromaniac Marty's older sister. Veronica lived next door to the Gallaghers with her husband Kev, although he was technically still married to his first wife, Roxy: "We'll still be married - it just won't be legal!"
#2: Fiona
(Anne-Marie Duff)
The eldest Gallagher child and best friend of Veronica, Fiona was left as the acting mother to her five siblings after her mother left. At the end of Series 2, Fiona left for Amsterdam with boyfriend Steve McBride after he persuaded her that she deserved a life outside of Chatsworth.
#1: Sheila
(Maggie O'Neill)
The mother of Karen Maguire, agoraphobic nymphomaniac Sheila Jackson became the second wife of Frank Gallagher and in 2005 gave birth to Frank's twins Nigel and Delia. Sheila murdered her first husband Sheldon and buried him in the garden after years of domestic abuse. After discovering Frank had got back with former wife Monica, Sheila left in Series 4 with the twins to go on a cruise.
> Read our interview with Maggie O'Neill, who played Sheila.
> Take a look at our Series 6 episode guide.
> Check out our Series 7 preview.
