The seventh series of Shameless began airing on January 26, 2010, it consisted of 16 episodes, a trend continued from the previous two series. Series 7 saw the departure of main characters Ian Gallagher, Paddy Maguire, popular newcomer Maxine Donnelly as well as Joe Pritchard.
Overview[]
Karen and Joe continue their affair but when Karen gives birth to a son, Connor Maguire, she begins panic over who his biological father is. The stress of her son's parentage slowly breaks Karen down, she begins to spend all her time obsessively exercising to lose her pregnancy weight. She is eventually diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, perhaps inherited from her disorder ridden mother Sheila Jackson.
Paddy's son's take him out on the town to try and encourage him to start dating again, but they abandon him when he starts to embarrass them. Feeling hurt he returns home to find Kelly home alone, and make's an indecent proposal.
With Debbie leaving Chatsworth to join the army, Liam, now in middle school, finds himself responsible for looking after the Gallagher household and struggles with the fast changes in his circumstances.
Ian is surprised to find he has feelings for Maxine when he pretends to be her boyfriend at her parent's party. A complicated and stress filled relationship soon blossoms. Frank turns 50 and soon starts a new relationship with librarian Libby Croker.
Carl and Chesney witness a local thug committing murder and soon find themselves taking the blame. Shane proposes to Kelly but she turns him down due to her guilt over the night she spent with his father.
Karen admits her affair to Jamie and tells him she is leaving him. But things take a deadly turn before she and Joe can start their new life together.
Episodes[]
| Title | Writer(s) | Director(s) | Airdate | # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episode 701 | Writer: Tom Higgins | Director: David Threlfall | January 26, 2010 | #701 |
| Frank turns 50 and finds a new woman in his life, a librarian named Libby Croker. Karen gives birth but while the Maguire's celebrate she worries over who the real father is, Jamie or Joe Pritchard.
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| Episode 702 | Writer: Emma Taylor | Director: David Threlfall | February 2, 2010 | #702 |
| Karen's new baby son Connor is christened but friction is caused when Mimi decides that an infertile relative should replace Kelly as Godmother. The pressure of the planning begins to get to Karen and she starts to exhibit strange behavior.
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| Episode 703 | Writer: Sarah Hooper | Director: Lawrence Till | February 9, 2010 | #703 |
| Liam meets a girl he likes but finds himself lying about his family background. Karen works obsessively to get back into shape after giving birth, but struggles to cope with motherhood.
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| Episode 704 | Writer: Kevin Erlis | Director: Lawrence Till | February 16, 2010 | #704 |
| Paddy's son's take him out for the night in an effort to encourage him to start dating, Mimi starts a relationship with a younger man but soon finds out he is under age! After being left at a club by his son's Paddy returns home and finds himself making an indecent proposal.
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| Episode 705 | Writer: Jack Lothian | Director: Paul Norton Walker | February 23, 2010 | #705 |
| Karen returns home after being diagnosed with Bipolar disorder to find Mimi has been telling everyone she was in prison, Ian pretends to be Maxine's boyfriend at her parent's party but they soon realize their feelings for one another aren't pretend.
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| Episode 706 | Writer: Frank Rickarby | Director: Paul Norton Walker | March 2, 2010 | #706 |
| Paddy finds himself torn when he wants to start a new life with his new girlfriend, but soon realises he has a greater responsibility to his family. Jamie starts a surprising new career. Liam allows bailiffs to strip the house when no one will listen to his warnings, the family are left with 28 days to raise the cash to get their things back.
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| Episode 707 | Writer: Darren Fairhurst | Director: Dominic Leclerc | March 9, 2010 | #707 |
| Libby is released from prison and follows her heart to the Chatsworth Estate, and Frank Gallagher. Jamie begins to regret his current career path, Lillian believes she can contact dead people through her new television.
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| Episode 708 | Writer: Ian Kershaw | Director: Dominic Leclerc | March 16, 2010 | #708 |
| Shane proposes to Kelly but is confused when she turns him down, not knowing it's because she slept with his father. Following a house party at Chesney's, he and Carl are the only witnesses to a brutal murder.
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| Episode 709 | Writer: Jimmy Dowdall | Director: David Threlfall | March 23, 2010 | #709 |
| Carl and Chesney are on the run and find themselves blamed for murder in their absence, Mimi joins the Women's Institute but struggles to fit in with their high standards.
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| Episode 710 | Writer: Davey Jones | Director: David Threlfall | March 30, 2010 | #710 |
| Carl and Chesney return home to find Jimmy still causing trouble on the estate. Shane and Kelly find out they won't be able to have children naturally so discuss their options.
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| Episode 711 | Writer: Phil Charles | Director: Lawrence Till | April 6, 2010 | #711 |
| Maxine's brother Bruce turns up claiming his father evicted him for being gay, but is he telling the complete truth? Meanwhile Micky is left uncomfortable when openly gay Bruce starts working at The Jockey.
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| Episode 712 | Writer: Malcolm Campbell | Director: Lawrence Till | April 13, 2010 | #712 |
| Ian, Carl and Chesney take up boxing but it turns out the boxing club owner has a history with Paddy Maguire. Micky decides to join the Fire Service in an attempt to gain some respect from his family, Libby tries to convince Frank to start a family with her.
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| Episode 713 | Writer: Tom Higgins | Director: Paul Norton Walker | April 20, 2010 | #713 |
| Frank takes Patty on a pilgrimage in hopes of a miracle. Kelly's teenage sister Tonya moves in with her, hoping to regain custody of her baby.
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| Episode 714 | Writer: Sarah Hooper | Director: Paul Norton Walker | April 27, 2010 | #714 |
| Mimi and Paddy file for divorce but are shocked to discover they were never married in the first place, realizing her children are illegitimate Mimi convinces Paddy to marry and then divorce her again.
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| Episode 715 | Writer: Ian Kershaw | Director: Metin Huseyin | May 4, 2010 | #715 |
| Joe tells Karen that he can't wait for her any longer, spurring her to admit her affair to Jamie, who admits his own cheating, but when he finds out who Karen has been with he reacts badly and Karen leaves with Joe. The pub football team enter a gay only tournament, much to Chesney's disgust. Ian and Maxine find themselves attracted to other men.
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| Episode 716 | Writer: Tom Higgins | Director: Metin Huseyin | May 11, 2010 | #716 |
| Despite Jamie's precautions, Karen and Joe manage to retrieve Connor and leave for a new life, but Karen finds herself realizing who she really wants to be with. Mimi believes she has a bad case of indigestion but is really in labour!
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Cast[]
Main cast[]
- Frank Gallagher - David Threlfall
- Ian Gallagher - Gerard Kearns
- Carl Gallagher - Elliott Tittensor
- Liam Gallagher - Johnny Bennett
- Jamie Maguire - Aaron McCusker
- Karen Maguire - Rebecca Atkinson
- Paddy Maguire - Sean Gilder
- Mimi Maguire - Tina Malone
- Micky Maguire - Ciaran Griffiths
- Shane Maguire - Nicky Evans
- Kelly-Marie Ball - Sally Carman
- Maxine Donnelly - Joanna Nigson
Secondary cast[]
- Joe Pritchard - Ben Batt
- Chesney Karib - Qasim Akhtar
- Lillian Tyler - Alice Barry
- Bruce Donnelly - Phillip Hill-Pearson
- Stan Waterman - Warren Donnelly
- Yvonne Karib - Kelli Hollis
Frank's Intro Speech[]
"Tickets this way for the Chatsworth Express! Come and watch pikeys make a mess of the life the were given by him upstairs, and kids they're convinced aren't actually theirs. What sounds on Earth could ever replace kids needing money, or wives in you face. Because this, people reckon, and me included is why pubs and drugs were kindly invented - to calm us all down, to stop us going mental. These are Chatsworth Estate basic essentials. We are worth every penny for grinding your axes. You shit on our head, but you pay the taxes. Imagine a Britain without Chatsworth buccaneers who'd cum on your face for the price of a beer. Make poverty history, cheaper drugs now! Make poverty history, cheaper drugs now! Skol, party!"