Shameless - Characters (the Gallaghers)

The Gallager family (during series 1) consist of:

Frank Gallagher (series 1 - Present) - Father of 8 children from 3 different women. He is an unemployed alcoholic, who at first seems like a bully towards his children; even headbutting his son in the first episode. But we soon learn he is not as bad, as we first thought.

Fiona Gallagher - The eldest of Frank's children. She was the acting mother to her five siblings after her mother left due to Frank's lack of responsibility. After her boyfriend Steve McBride got caught up in a botched drug-bust, he had to leave the Chatsworth Estate. Fiona was reluctant to leave with him, as she did not want to abandon her siblings and friends. But With the support of her family and friends, Fiona left with Steve at the end of series 2 and now resides in Amsterdam.

Philip 'Lip' Gallagher - The oldest son og Frank Gallagher. According to his father he was given the nickname 'lip' as he is a "bit of a gobshite". Lip was in a long-term, open relationship with Mandy Maguire and they have a baby daughter, Katie, conceived while they were both still in school. He is highly intelligent, has completed his A-Levels and was accepted into Nottingham University (in the last episode of series 4)

Carl Gallagher - The fourth oldest. Carl discovers he is gay and finds it hard to tell anybody, untill his brother 'lip' finds out. As the brothers are so close 'lip' agrees to keep the truth a sercet from everyone else.

Liam Gallagher - The second youngest of the Gallagher children. He is a minor character until series 5, when he takes a more central role in the main storylines

Ian Gallagher - is the third oldest Gallagher sibling and is aged 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'In the early series, Ian is depicted as closest to his brother Phillip, with whom he shares a room, and is initially the only member of his family to know that he was gay. The brothers often have to look out for each other more than any of the other characters, due to being party to each others' secrets. In later series, all the family, except Frank, are aware of his sexuality