Shameless - Episode Guide

When Fiona Gallagher's (Anne-Marie Duff) bag is stolen on a night out in Manchester, a handsome stranger called Steve McBride (James McAvoy) comes to her rescue. He accompanies her to her home in Chatsworth, a deprived inner city council estate, to meet her large family, and the pair begin to grow close, until she receives a visit from the police concerning her alcoholic father, Frank (David Threlfall). Meanwhile, Lip Gallagher (Jody Latham) makes a shocking discovery about his brother Ian (Gerard Kearns) that turns the brothers close relationship upside down, and he also uncovers a shocking secret about the local shopkeeper, Kash Karib (Chris Bisson). Elsewhere, Karen Jackson's (Rebecca Atkinson) father, Eddie (Steve Pemberton), leaves home after catching her in a compromising position.

After Karen's father Eddie attacks Frank in The Jockey, Frank returns home and attacks his son, Ian, and Fiona's boyfriend, Steve. Certain he's got a family he doesn't deserve, a vengeful Steve kidnaps a drunken Frank and dumps him in France without telling anyone. While Frank lands himself in trouble with the French authorities, a body is found in the canal at home, and everyone assumes it is Frank. Will the feckless patriarch ever make it home? And how will Fiona react when she discovers what Steve has done? Meanwhile, Karen's agoraphobic mother, Sheila Jackson (Maggie O'Neill), finds a new man, Kev (Dean Lennox Kelly) and Veronica Ball (Maxine Peake) fall out over money, and a local copper PC Tony (Anthony Flanagan) has fallen in love with Fiona.

It's Friday night in The Jockey, and barman Kev says he is getting married to his longtime girlfriend, Veronica, in order to deter the advances of a group of ladies. However, Frank overhears and announces it to the entire pub... including Veronica's mother, Carol Fisher (Marjorie Yates). In a corner, Kev proposes to Veronica, and the pair plan a wedding on the cheap with the help of the Gallaghers, but Kev has failed to tell Veronica that he is already married and turns to Steve and Fiona for help. To make matters worse, Veronica's arsonist brother, Marty Fisher (Jack Deam), has escaped from prison. Meanwhile, Ian is forced into hiding after turning down the advances of Mandy Maguire (Samantha Siddall) - most popular girl in school and only daughter of the toughest family on the estate - feeling humiliated, she spreads lies and sends her brothers after him. When Lip and Kash are caught in the crossfire, Ian has to decide whether to flee Chatsworth for good or admit the truth about his sexuality.

Debbie Gallagher (Rebecca Ryan) takes a young child, Jody, from his birthday party and dresses him up as a girl. With Frank's assistance, the Chatsworth residents join forces en masse in order to find Jody. The Gallaghers are horrified by Debbie's actions and now face the impossible task of returning the child home without incriminating themselves. Meanwhile, Karen is on a mission to seduce her mother's boyfriend - who is also her boyfriend's father, whilst Veronica has got a new hairstyle.

Frank continues his passionate affair with Karen, even though she is dating his son, Lip, and he is dating her mother, Sheila. Things begin spiralling out of control when Steve discovers the affair, and the penny finally drops for Lip when she dumps him, leading to a violent showdown between him and Frank. Meanwhile, Yvonne Karib (Kelli Hollis) discovers Kash is having an affair with Ian after watching the shop's CCTV footage, but they are both shocked by her reaction. The Gallagher boys parents' evening throws Fiona into a panic, while Veronica goes to saucy lengths to pay off her catalogue debt.

Bailiffs reclaim old debts from Frank, and, as usual, his children are forced to pay the price. If that isn't enough, Mr. Wilson (Clive Russell), a housing officer with a personal vendetta against Frank, is threatening to take the family home. Frank, however, is busy trying to get money out of his ex-wife, Monica Gallagher (Annabelle Apsion). With Kev's assistance, Frank manages to fool Monica, but he makes the mistake of letting her know he is after her. The pair are chased back to Chatsworth by Monica and her lesbian lover, Norma Starkey (Dystin Johnson), leading to a rollercoster of emotions within the fractured family. Meanwhile, Tony's love for Fiona reaches new depths when he asks her to marry him.

Monica and Norma are ruling the roost at the Gallagher household after Fiona moves in with Steve, but none of the Gallagher kids are happy by their mother's return. Frank is desperate to make contact with his estranged wife, but first, he must deal with his growing debts, two debt collectors watching his every move, the threat of homelessness for his entire family, and Monica's aggressive girlfriend, Norma. However, it's his new rival Norma who comes up with the perfect solution: fake his own death so his debts die with him, but Monica and Norma may have an ulterior motive for offering to help. Meanwhile, Sheila tries to overcome her agoraphobia with Debbie's help, whilst harbouring a life-changing secret, and it seems Steve's days as a free man are numbered when a jealous Tony discovers the source of his fortune.

Neville Gallagher (John Woodvine), Frank's estranged father, arrives in Chatsworth to meet his new grandchildren. While the rest of the family welcome him with open arms, Frank finds his world turned upside down, as he is forced to relive painful memories from his childhood. Meanwhile, Karen returns to Chatsworth and gets herself a job at The Jockey and soon instigates a feud with Veronica by getting too close to Kev. Elsewhere, the Gallagher house has been split in two, with Fiona and Steve having bought the house next door.

Frank takes a call at Kev and Veronica's house during their anniversary party, but only much later does he pass on the message: Social Services are coming tomorrow to discuss fostering. Kev and Veronica are shocked when they receive a child, Eric, for a trial week of foster care. Kev discovers Eric is being bullied by girls and, with Frank's assistance, he accidentally makes the situation a lot worse. Desperate to be a "good dad", Kev toughens Eric up with a series of boxing lessons - an act he may live to regret. Meanwhile, Steve makes the mistake of stealing the car of a police inspector, and it falls on Tony to get him out of trouble. Carol's latest romance with a Spanish toyboy leaves Marty on the warpath, leaving Fiona fearful that he will return to his old ways and endanger all their lives.

A garden competition sparks off a feud between Veronica and Carol, and Veronica's bitterness towards her mother alienates her friends and family, even Kev and Fiona. She is pushed further over the edge when she is uninvited to Carol's birthday party, where she overhears a shocking revelation that tears her and Kev apart. Meanwhile, Frank and his friend Tommy turn Sheila's house into a drinking den after The Jockey is closed down while she is away visiting her mother. But Frank accidentally loses one of the twins to an alcoholic transvestite called "Psycho Sally". Elsewhere, Fiona is convinced Steve is having an affair with a woman named Kerry-Anne, but the truth is worse than she could have imagined.

Preparations for Fiona and Steve's wedding are underway in the Gallagher household. In the days leading up to the wedding, Steve falls in with a group of ruthless criminals, convinced that this job will set him and the rest of the Gallaghers up for life. Things turn nasty when a vengeful Tony begins operating against Steve, and a deadly showdown at a warehouse sparks off a chain of events that changes life for the Gallaghers forever. Meanwhile, Ian recruits Mandy to be his "fake girlfriend" after Frank nearly rumbles his big secret. Carol goes on a cruise, leaving Marty in charge of her beloved dog.

When Sheila asks Lip to water her friend's plants while she is away, he begins using the house to get some peace and quiet, away from his chaotic family, to do homework. But when he returns one night, he discovers the house has been burgled, and he is arrested by a bent copper with a grudge to bear. To make matters worse, Frank is called into the police station to represent him and ends up making matters a lot worse for his son. With Lip facing a prison stretch, Fiona, Tony and Frank attempt to deal with the bent copper, while Ian, Marty, and Carl Gallagher (Elliott Tittensor) find themselves taking part in a burglary. Meanwhile, Debbie begins a VHS business, and Carl discovers a video of the local lollypop woman having an affair with another man. The video starts spreading around Chatsworth, leaving the residents wondering who the mystery man is, with the culprit eventually being revealed as local policeman, Stan Waterman (Warren Donnelly). Elsewhere, Fiona is still missing Steve, and Tony's attempts to help only make things worse for her.

Lip is sleeping with Mandy while she is pretending to be Ian's girlfriend to hide the fact that he is gay. However, after Mandy falls pregnant with Lip's baby, everyone begins to think the child is Ian's, so the Maguire family welcome him into the family with the threat of castration if he and Mandy do not marry. When Ian announces their engagement, the Gallaghers and Maguires throw a party at The Jockey, but a revelation from Lip turns the happy occasion into an evening of chaos and bloodshed. Meanwhile, Frank is left debt-ridden by Cassie Weston (Moya Brady), The Jockey's new landlady. He must come up with a way to pay back his years of free booze. Unfortunately for him, she might have just the solution. But their plan is foiled by a devious Karen. Elsewhere, Sheila cold-turkeys her tablets, leaving her convinced that the twins are monsters, while a late-night encounter with a tearaway teenager brings a new man into Fiona's life.

After Ladies Night at The Jockey, Fiona wakes up in bed with soon-to-be married Joey Dawson, and she is forced to pay the price when Liam Gallagher (Johnny Bennett) is rushed to hospital after swallowing some pills. Social Services are alerted and a full assessment of the Gallagher family gets underway. Fiona is panicked to discover the woman in charge of the family's review is none other than her old school enemy, Katrina Webb, who also turns out to be the future Mrs Dawson, and just when it seems all is lost for the Gallaghers, an unlikely figure saves the day: Frank. Meanwhile, a visit to the hospital has devastating consequences for Ian when he discovers that Frank is not his biological father, sending him on a desperate search to find his real father. But what will he find?

After being hit in the mouth by Kash's shop door, Frank falls foul of two shifty accident claims salesmen, who persuade him to sue the Karibs. Kash and Yvonne cannot afford to pay out Frank's claims and are forced to close the shop, which enrages the Chatsworth community, who turn against Frank and Sheila. But Frank soon discovers saving the shop and the community will lead him into further trouble. Meanwhile, Fiona discovers she is pregnant, and with money at an all-time low at the Gallaghers, Fiona wonders whether she should keep it. Faced with a huge decision, Fiona tracks down Craig Garland (Chris Coghill), the father, only to discover that he is married.

Kev's sister, Kelly (Sally Carman), arrives in Chatsworth on the run from her ex-boyfriend, an aggressive junkie. She is desperate to retrieve her things from his flat, so Kev and Frank decide to step in and help her. However, Veronica soon discovers everything is not what it seems - and Kelly may be hiding a dark addiction herself. Meanwhile, Fiona is suffering from morning sickness, so Craig is planning a surprise trip to Wales to relax. Craig's wife, Sue (Gillian Kearney), is jealous of his new relationship and seeks solace in Marty. But when Sue breaks up with Marty, it leads him on a downward spiral which threatens to land him back in prison, forcing Debbie to take drastic actions. Elsewhere, tragedy strikes for Craig when he discovers his father has died.

Fiona's life is turned upside down when Steve returns to Chatsworth, on the run, to persuade her to flee to Amsterdam with him, but she is torn whether to leave her family and Chatsworth forever, not to mention the father of her baby, Craig. Meanwhile, when Lillian Tyler's (Alice Barry) husband, Brendan, is killed, Frank sees a way to make some money and also manages to win him and Sheila the trip of a lifetime. However, he is forced to look after Lillian's irritating dog, Sadie, who proves to be quite indestructible. Elsewhere, Carl makes a shocking confession during a Gallagher family bust-up: he killed Lillian's husband Brendan. Can the Gallaghers cover up Carl's shocking crime?

After Liam denounces religion in school, Debbie has to act quick when the teachers request a home visit. She tells them that Liam has cancer and the news spreads around Chatsworth. Realising how serious Debbie's actions are, the Gallagher kids, along with Karen, Kev and Veronica, must go along with the charade, as preparations for a fund raising day organised by Jez get underway. However, the situation also forces Frank to confront his failings as a father, so he endures on a drink and drugs binge, with devastating results. Back at the Gallaghers', Monica and Norma return, and events finally come to a head at Liamday, the fund raising event. Meanwhile, Kev attends evening classes, but when his teacher tries to seduce him, Kev finds himself unable to resist her. Unable to fight temptation, Kev turns to Karen for help. However, she quickly uses his situation to have a little fun herself. Elsewhere, Marty is determined to raise a depressed Sue's spirits.

Lip begins a hotel scam with his new friend, Jack, to make some easy money. He also uses his new friendship to get closer to Jack's sister. He may live to regret introducing him to the Gallaghers, however, when Ian begins an affair with Jack. However, Ian soon learns that Jack is not as straightforward as he seems when a violent robbery leaves Kash hospitalised. Determined to deal with Jack, Ian's attempt to convince Lip of his friend's dark side tears the Gallagher boys apart, with all roads leading to a violent showdown between the three boys at The Jockey's karaoke night. Meanwhile, Frank spots an opportunity to make money when Kelly, Kev's ex-junkie sister, arrives in Chatsworth looking for a place to stay. Kelly's numerous lovers reignites the spark in Frank and Sheila's sex life. However, Frank soon discovers that Kelly is a prostitute. Elsewhere, Debbie is annoyed that Sue is living at the Gallaghers without paying her way, so Marty becomes a handyman, soon finding himself in a compromising position with Lillian.

A heavily pregnant Mandy is knocked over during a robbery at Kash's shop and gives birth to Lip's daughter, Katie, but the Maguires forbid contact. Eager to ally himself with Mandy's parents, Paddy (Sean Gilder) and Mimi Maguire (Tina Malone), Lip enlists Ian's help to find the robber responsible for the theft of a Maguire family heirloom. Will an encounter with an elderly person in a glory hole, a tortured deaf boy and a stand-off on a multi-storey car park clear the path for Lip and his new daughter? Meanwhile, Kev is given a racing tip not to be shared with anybody. Unlucky for him, Veronica tells Carol and she spreads the word around Chatsworth. Elsewhere, Sheila goes on strike as a skivvy when Frank forgets her birthday, sending him on a quest to find money to pay for a birthday present, while Sue attempts to fool Debbie into thinking she is not living at the Gallaghers so that she doesn't have to pay her way.

When Carol discovers that Lillian slept with her husband, Brendan, years previously, she reports her for benefit fraud, and benefit officers swarm the estate. This causes a public outcry as half of Chatsworth are claiming. Frank impersonates Lillian's husband in order to protect his benefits, which upsets Sheila. Can Frank win her back by making the big commitment: marriage? Meanwhile, Carl falls for Lip's latest girlfriend, Emily, and poses as her brother in order to fool Social Services. However, his paranoia goes into overdrive when he becomes convinced Lip and Mandy are having an affair, leading to a confrontation between them and an angry stepfather with a baseball bat. Elsewhere, Tony is having trouble with women, so Sheila steps in to help him.

It's Kev's birthday, but he is in no mood to celebrate when he discovers his mother has committed suicide. Worse still, he is reunited with his violent, alcoholic ex-wife, Roxy (Jill Halfpenny), at the funeral, and she and Veronica end up fighting in The Jockey. When Veronica finds Kev in bed with Roxy the next morning, she refuses to believe his plea of innocence and makes plans to leave Chatsworth. However, Veronica's departure may be the least of Kev's worries when he discovers he may have fathered a child with Roxy. Meanwhile, Lip gets his first taste of fatherhood when baby Katie is left in his care for the weekend. Meanwhile, Carol begins dating a nudist.

The Gallaghers are pleased when Carl starts bringing money into the household, but Lip is horrified to discover his brother's mini-enterprise is dealing drugs for the Maguires, and when someone informs the police and Mandy finds herself behind bars, Mimi and her son Shane Maguire (Nicky Evans) launch a manhunt for Carl. It falls on Lip and Ian to uncover the real traitor, save their brother from a savage beating, and save Mandy from a prison stretch. Will Lip and Mandy finally confront their feelings for each other before it's too late? Meanwhile, Sheila becomes convinced Karen is a lesbian and invites her and Jez (Lindsey Dawson) to dinner, so Frank decides to play Karen at her own games.

Marty discovers Sue is deep in debt and takes a great bargain to help his girlfriend, enduring the wrath of Carol. When an old face delivers a shocking secret, Sue runs from her troubles, and Marty reverts to his old ways. Meanwhile, Frank becomes a medical guinea pig and is left devastated when he discovers the drugs he has been taking leave him unable to get drunk, unearthing a new, realistic side of himself, which threatens his relationship with Sheila. Elsewhere, Debbie falls in with a crowd of people her own age, and, realising what she has been missing out on, quits her job of running the Gallagher household, leaving Lip, Ian and hapless Carl in charge, while Kev is forced to confront his fear of flying when Veronica plans a holiday abroad.

The day of Frank's wedding to Sheila draws near, but he begins to get cold feet when she confesses to murdering an abusive previous husband, Sheldon. Kev and Veronica are forced to intervene when it looks like the wedding could be called off. Frank must decide whether he loves Sheila enough to deal with her dark secrets, and it's a race against time for him when Sheila decides to confess to the police. Meanwhile, Lip is determined not to end up like his father when he forgets to meet Mandy and Katie after a night out, forcing him to make a huge commitment to them both. Elsewhere, Debbie uses a schoolboy crush to her advantage.

It's Lip's 18th birthday and there are a few surprises in store for him and the rest of the Gallagher family. First, the Maguires move in next door in an attempt to drive a wedge between Mandy and Lip. And, second, mum Monica returns, claiming she is back for good and only Carl welcomes her back with open arms. Annoyed by her estranged mother's sudden return, Debbie calls upon Norma, Monica's lover, for help. Meanwhile, Sue, Kev, Veronica, and Marty plot to buy a Romanian baby. However, Kev and Veronica end up behind bars, while Marty becomes a fugitive. Elsewhere, Sheila is away on a cookery course, and Frank drunkenly burns down her kitchen and ends up in hospital. Once released, he is shocked by the changes that have occurred back on the estate and finds himself in a tricky situation when Monica makes it clear why she has returned. And Stan has a new sidekick - Irish youngster PC Tom O'Leary (Michael Legge).

Frank is desperate to keep the fact that he's still married to estranged wife Monica from Sheila, and Monica isn't making it easy for him as she continues to sexually pursue him. But Sheila can see that she has competition for Frank and conspires with Debbie to reunite Monica and Norma. But is Monica still a lesbian, and will she give up her fight for Frank and her kids? Meanwhile, Jamie Maguire (Aaron McCusker) is released from prison after serving ten years for murder. Rejecting his family's offer of a "big job," Jamie is determined to stay on the straight and narrow, getting himself a job and a room at The Jockey. But he soon comes into conflict with Karen. And Stan Waterman (Warren Donnelly) and Tom investigate the theft of a racehorse, while Carol and Lillian launch a "Free Kev and Veronica" petition, with little success.

Monica has finally managed to seduce Frank, but he dare not tell Sheila that he and Monica have been sleeping together despite his promises to his wife. Sheila proves to be a frightening adversary when scorned, and Frank could be in danger. Neither Sheila nor Monica is willing to share him, so Frank must decide which wife he wants; the future of his family depends upon his decision. Meanwhile, tragedy strikes the Maguires when Jamie's past crimes lead to the brutal murder of one of his brothers, sending Paddy and Shane on the path of revenge against the family's rival. Can Jamie prevent a turf war? Elsewhere, there's a tough new PC on the beat in Chatsworth, Carrie Rogers (Amanda Ryan), and she takes an instant dislike to most of the residents.

Ian gets more than he bargained for when he gets involved with Anna, a girl on the run from Paddy. Offering to help Anna escape Chatsworth, Ian begins to develop feelings for her, and they end up in bed together. Lip, Mandy, and even Frank get caught in the crossfire when Paddy discovers his enemies lie close to home. As his plan proceeds, Ian is faced with a big decision: will he leave Chatsworth with his new love? Meanwhile, Kash looks set to throw away everything Yvonne has worked for, and when even she turns against him, he is forced to take drastic measures to bury his debts. Elsewhere, Mimi is convinced that she is cursed after another member of the Maguire family is murdered, while Jamie and Karen try to outdo each other in the fun run.

After being kicked out of Sheila's by an estate agent, Frank is forced to move back in with his kids, and Debbie couldn't be happier to have her dad back home. Monica, however, isn't happy with the attention Frank is giving his daughter and tells Debbie it's time she found a boyfriend, so Debbie starts dating a Catholic boy called Luke, only for Frank to ruin her new romance and, eventually, his close relationship with his daughter. Meanwhile, Jamie proposes to Karen, who immediately accepts. This causes tension within the Maguire family, especially with Mimi, who sets out to prove that Karen is nothing more than a tart. Bringing Karen along on a robbery job, Mimi lures her into a trap with a security man. But Karen finds an ally in another Maguire child. Elsewhere, Ian begins an affair with the most unlikely of people – the homophobic Mickey Maguire (Ciarán Griffiths). But the affair gets out of control when Mickey falls in love with Ian and risks revealing his sexuality to Paddy.

It's Christmas in Chatsworth, and Kev and Lip rob a van load of meat to make a big profit on the estate. However, the meat is for experimental purposes and the army descend on Manchester and quarantine the estate on Christmas Eve to prevent an epidemic, causing chaos to converge on the streets and riots to begin. But many residents have already fallen victim - including Ian. Meanwhile, Sheila is eagerly awaiting the arrival of another Gallagher baby. But when she goes into labour at the Gallagher household with only Steve and Kash's mother by her side, there is a shock in store for all. But Frank is nowhere to be seen. Elsewhere, arsonist Marty is released from prison. But after finding his mother Carol in bed with his best friend, he torches her house, forcing Veronica to let them move in with her and Kev.