Shameless: Shameless Christmas Special
11:55 pm - 01:25 am, Wednesday, December 24 on That's TV (56)
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About this Broadcast
Shameless Christmas Special
Season 2, Episode 11
Kev spreads more than a little festive cheer by selling knocked-off meat at the Jockey, stretching goodwill to the limit as an outbreak of food poisoning strikes the Chatsworth estate, and it's not long before all thoughts of peace on Earth have gone down the pan. As the Army moves in, Veronica's arsonist brother turns up unexpectedly homeless at Fiona's door and a strung-out Sheila goes into labour, prompting Frank to rally the troops the best way he knows how - by inciting a riot. Christmas special of the dysfunctional family drama, featuring theme music written and performed by ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, and starring David Threlfall, Maggie O'Neill, Anne-Marie Duff and James McAvoy
General
Movie/Drama
Cast & Crew
Jody Latham
(Actor)
.. Lip Gallagher
Rebecca Atkinson
(Actor)
.. Karen Jackson
Gerard Kearns
(Actor)
.. Ian Gallagher
Anne-Marie Duff
(Actor)
.. Fiona Gallagher
James McAvoy
(Actor)
.. Steve McBride
David Threlfall
(Actor)
.. Frank Gallagher
Dean Lennox Kelly
(Actor)
.. Kev
Maxine Peake
(Actor)
.. Veronica Fisher
Marjorie Yates
(Actor)
.. Carol Fisher
Jack Deam
(Actor)
.. Marty Fisher
Maggie O'Neill
(Actor)
.. Sheila Jackson
Rebecca Ryan
(Actor)
.. Debbie Gallagher
Elliott Tittensor
(Actor)
.. Carl Gallagher
Paul Abbott
(Writer)
Matt Jones
(Producer)
Jonny Campbell
(Director)
George Faber
(Executive producer)
Charlie Pattinson
(Executive producer)
More Information
Did You Know..
Jody Latham
(Actor)
.. Lip Gallagher
Rebecca Atkinson
(Actor)
.. Karen Jackson
Gerard Kearns
(Actor)
.. Ian Gallagher
Anne-Marie Duff
(Actor)
.. Fiona Gallagher
James McAvoy
(Actor)
.. Steve McBride
Born:
April 21, 1979
in
Port Glasgow
Best Known For:
Shameless, X-Men: First Class and Wanted.
Early-life:
Born in Port Glasgow on April 21, 1979, he is the son of a psychiatric nurse and a builder. His parents divorced when he was seven and he was brought up by his maternal grandparents in the Drumchapel area of Glasgow due to his mother's ill health. He has a sister and a younger half-brother. A visit to his school by actor David Hayman sparked an interest in acting, and Hayman offered him a part in his film The Near Room. James had already been accepted by the Royal Navy when he was also offered a place at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD). He selected the acting route and moved to London after graduating in 2000.
Career:
McAvoy made guest appearances in a steady stream of TV shows (including The Bill, Band of Brothers, Foyle's War, State of Play and Early Doors) and movies until he caught the British public's imagination in 2004 playing Steve McBride in Shameless. A year later he became known to worldwide audiences for his role in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Since then he has been much in demand and starred in The Last King of Scotland, Penelope, Becoming Jane, Atonement, Wanted, the X-Men franchise, Filth, Muppets Most Wanted and Trance. He has also voiced characters in Gnomeo & Juliet and Arthur Christmas. McAvoy is a big fan of Celtic FC.
Quote:
"I always believed that I never wanted to be an actor. I only did it because I was allowed to do it and I had to do something."
Trivia:
Wed Shameless co-star Anne-Marie Duff in 2006. They have a son, Brendan. McAvoy describes their quiet way of life as: "mundane, and I love it that way".
David Threlfall
(Actor)
.. Frank Gallagher
Born:
October 12, 1953
in
Manchester
Best Known For:
Playing foul-mouthed Frank Gallagher in Shameless.
Early-life:
Born in Manchester on October 12, 1953. He has a brother; their father was a plumber. David never wanted to be an actor, his first love was football, but thanks to a little encouragement from teachers, he trod the boards in a school production of The Crucible. After a short stint at art college in Sheffield, and a few months labouring, he became a student at Manchester Polytechnic School of Drama. His breakthrough role came in the gritty 1977 drama Scum.
Career:
Aside from a lean period at the back end of the 1990s, Threlfall has rarely been out of work. His small-screen work includes roles in Mike Leigh's Kiss of Death, a 1984 staging of King Lear (opposite Laurence Olivier), Conspiracy and The Queen's Sister. His most famous on-screen character is that of chain-smoking patriarch Frank Gallagher, a role he held in Channel 4 drama Shameless between 2004 and 2013. Other projects include The Russia House, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Housewife 49, Hot Fuzz, Nowhere Boy and The Ark. He was also made a surprisingly good Tommy Cooper in the ITV biopic Not Like That, Like This.
Quote:
On acting: "I just like getting up and pretending. It's the game of pretending you're other people, that's the liberating thing."
Trivia:
He supports Manchester City. He received an honorary doctorate from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2013.
Dean Lennox Kelly
(Actor)
.. Kev
Maxine Peake
(Actor)
.. Veronica Fisher
Born:
July 14, 1974
in
Bolton
Best Known For:
Playing Twinkle in dinnerladies and Martha Costello in Silk.
Early-life:
Born on July 14, 1974, in Bolton, Greater Manchester, to Brian, a lorry driver father and Glynis, a careworker mother. Maxine studied at Westhoughton High School and Canon Slade School before joining Bolton's Octagon Youth Theatre at the age of 13. She also honed her craft at the Royal Exchange Manchester and the University of Salford before moving to London at 21 where she trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada). She claims comedienne Marti Caine was an inspiration to her.
Career:
Early TV appearances included The Ward, Hetty Wainthropp Investigates and Picking Up The Pieces. Roles in Jonathan Creek and Coronation Street boosted her profile, but it was Victoria Wood's sitcom dinnerladies that really put her on the showbiz map. She also received acclaim for Clocking Off and sublime comedy Early Doors before landing the part of Veronica in Shameless. In recent years she's been much in demand, starring in Messiah, See No Evil: The Moors Murders, Little Dorrit, Red Riding and The Street. She is currently starring in the BBC legal drama Silk. Maxine has also enjoyed an extensive stage career, with roles in Hamlet, Robin Hood, Leaves of Glass, The Children's Hour, and The Deep Blue Sea. In 2012 she wrote her first radio play about Leeds cyclist Beryl Burton.
Quote:
"I remember feeling, at drama school, that if you were male and working class you were a bit of a poet, a working class hero. But if you were female, you were just a bit gobby and a bit brassy and common."
Trivia:
She provided vocals for 1612 Underture, the Eccentronic Research Council's 2012 concept album.
Marjorie Yates
(Actor)
.. Carol Fisher
Jack Deam
(Actor)
.. Marty Fisher
Maggie O'Neill
(Actor)
.. Sheila Jackson
Born:
November 15, 1962
in
Buckinghamshire
Best Known For:
EastEnders and Shameless.
Early-life:
Margaret O'Neill was born in Buckinghamshire on November 15, 1962. She was educated at a convent school and was inspired by a sixth-form drama teacher to take up acting. She went on to train at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In 1985, she appeared in the video for Simply Red's Holding Back the Years, before making her stage debut in Moving Pictures at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds.
Career:
O'Neill made her big-screen debut in Mona Lisa (1986) and two years later starred in Gorillas in the Mist. Better known for her TV work, she has made guest appearances in a number of programmes and had recurring roles in Take Me Home, Peak Practice, Shameless and EastEnders.
Quote:
"Some people feel guilty if they're not doing something with their day. Not me. I'm a slacker."
Trivia:
She enjoys pilates, yoga and reading.
Rebecca Ryan
(Actor)
.. Debbie Gallagher
Born:
April 27, 1991
in
Manchester, UK
Best Known For:
Playing Debbie Gallagher in Shameless.
Early-life:
Born on April 27, 1991 in Manchester. Her mother, Mairanna, was the first World Irish dancing champion. Rebecca was inspired by her mother to have Irish dancing lessons when she was three and competed in various competitions. She first acted on stage in a production of Tommy at Manchester Opera House, following her brother Charlie's example.
Career:
Ryan was cast in State of Play after her brother, who was already cast in the TV series, recommended her to play his little sister. Following this, Ryan landed the role as Debbie Gallagher in Shameless. Her most notable television roles since then have included playing Vicki MacDonald in Waterloo Road, Ellie McCall in Doctors and Gemma Dean in Casualty. Ryan also performs in theatre productions. She starred in the UK tour of Beryl, which was written by her Shameless co-star Maxine Peake.
Quote:
"I was 11 when Shameless started and still too young to realise how unusual that was. It was only when people started recognising me that it became a bit weird."
Trivia:
She likes country music.
Elliott Tittensor
(Actor)
.. Carl Gallagher
Paul Abbott
(Writer)
Matt Jones
(Producer)
Jonny Campbell
(Director)
George Faber
(Executive producer)
Charlie Pattinson
(Executive producer)
