THEY played some of the wildest characters on TV – but the cast of Shameless have come a long way from the Chatsworth Estate since.
From real life romances (and splits), to major TV and movie roles, millionaire lifestyles and even a scandal over a notorious child killer, they've undergone major life transformations in recent years.
Now Jody Latham, who played Philip 'Lip' Gallagher in the Channel 4 series, has claimed he's presiding over a cosmetics empire worth £18million.
The 38-year-old actor says he got into the beauty business when he met an extra who was doing Botox injections and decided to join the industry himself.
However he insists it hasn't gone to his head, and told the Mirror: "I live in a two-bed flat and drive a modest car. I’m pumping everything back into the company."
As well as appearing in Shameless, Jody also had roles in EastEnders as evil pimp Rob Grayson and in Waterloo Road as Steve-O Malone. He's stayed loyal to Manchester too – where Shameless is set.
But he's not the only member of the cast to have overhauled their life since… Here's a look at some of the main stars and what they've been up to…
David Threlfall (Frank Gallagher)
As the Gallagher family patriarch, Frank Gallagher was well known for his outbursts and drinking habits – but actor David Threlfall couldn't be further from the man he portrayed on screen.
The 67-year-old star has enjoyed major roles in Shakespeare plays and wider theatre, taking on parts including Oedipus, McBeth, and Don Quixote.
On film, his credits include Hot Fuzz, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Master and Commander and Alien Autopsy. In 2016 he also starred as Abel Croker in Ripper Street.
He has been married to Bosnian-British actress Brana Bajic since 1995, and the pair have two children.
Tina Malone (Mimi Tutton)
Tina Malone – who played foul-mouthed Mimi in the series – has had a very turbulent past few years and underwent a major transformation after her time on the show.
The 57-year-old actress had a reported £50,000 makeover, including a tummy tuck and a face lift, after dropping a whopping 12 stone when she had a gastric band fitted.
She appeared in Celebrity Big Brother in 2009, before marrying her husband Paul Chase, who is 19 years her junior, in 2010. They have daughter Flame together, while Tina also has a daughter, Danielle, from a previous relationship.
She briefly split from Paul last year, before they reconciled in February.
In December 2018, Tina was sacked from a production of Sleeping Beauty just days before Christmas after admitting to possession of cocaine. But in an emotional interview, she insisted she was set up.
She once again had a brush with the law at the start of last year when she retweeted an apparent picture of James Bulger's killer, Jon Venables, whose identity and that of his accomplice are protected by law.
She faced a possible two-year jail sentence, but eventually received an eight month suspended jail sentence after admitting to breaching the injunction.
She was also ordered to pay £10,000 in court costs.
The entire scandal left her penniless and Tina later admitted to The Mirror that she borrowed money from her priest at one point.
“I felt like a lowlife. I borrowed money from everyone I knew. I cleaned my mother out," she added.
She later told This Morning that the whole court case "ruined her life". She blamed the stress of a mental breakdown and financial problems for breaching the injunction.
Rebecca Ryan (Debbie Gallagher)
Actress Rebecca Ryan, now 29, played young Debbie Gallagher on Shameless from the age of 12.
Debbie eventually left to join the army, but actress Rebecca went down a different route completely – joining BBC series Waterloo Road as Vicki MacDonald from 2009 to 2011, and Gemma Dean in Casualty from 2017 to 2019.
She's also undergone a very glam makeover and looks unrecognisable now, with her Instagram page filled with summery outfits, stunning photoshoots and days out with her pals.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CFfHxMvBkhR/
I ain’t come to play ??? ~ love this set from @loyaltybeforeroyalty13 *Gifted*
A post shared byRebecca Ryan (@rebeccaryan___) on
https://www.instagram.com/p/CB1Dm1JB_Mq/
My face when the weather man said it’s going to be 30° ?☀️
A post shared byRebecca Ryan (@rebeccaryan___) on
https://www.instagram.com/p/CFFX3_ABoQp/
Ain’t nothing like a bit of retail therapy ??
A post shared byRebecca Ryan (@rebeccaryan___) on
Anne-Marie Duff (Fiona Gallagher)
London TV and stage actress Anne-Marie Duff, now 50, played reluctant matriarch Fiona in the series.
Co-star James McAvoy played her love interest Steve on the show, before they departed together – and started a relationship off-camera as well.
The two married in a quiet ceremony in 2006 and have one child Brendan together, who was born in 2010. They divorced in late 2016.
Her career went from strength to strength after Shameless, with her starring as Elizabeth in BBC's The Virgin Queen in 2006 – earning her a BAFTA nomination for Best Actress.
She also starred as the mother of Sex Education's central character Maeve and her film work includes 2009 biographical film Nowhere Boy about John Lennon's adolescence with Anne-Marie starring as Julia Lennon.
Earlier this year she starred in BBC drama Salisbury Poisonings.
James McAvoy (Steve McBride)
Perhaps one of the most successful stars from the show is James McAvoy, 41, who starred as Fiona's love interest Steve McBride.
While the pair split in real life in 2016, Anne-Marie insists they're still good friends and told The Telegraph: "There’s a lot of goodwill between us. And we do still laugh all the time.
"I cannot imagine a time in my life when he doesn’t make me belly laugh. We love being parents and he’s someone I’ll respect, always."
McAvoy has gone on to start dating Lisa Liberati, who he spent lockdown with.
He has starred in everything from X-Men to Split, Atonement and His Dark Materials since leaving Shameless.
Gerard Kearns (Ian Gallagher)
Actor Gerard Kearns, 36, is best known for his portrayal of Ian Gallagher in the series.
Ian famously had an affair, while underage, with married corner shop owner Kash Karib, before his character left the show suddenly after accidentally killing Joe Pritchard.
He, like his co-stars, appeared in some racy scenes during his time on set and he told the Daily Record after leaving: "They're awkward, those scenes. It's hard when I do a scene with Ciaran. We normally go and have a few beers, and try to laugh about it. But you can't really get rid of the awkwardness."
He went on to star in everything from The Mark of Cain to crime drama Trespass Against Us, alongside Michael Fassbender, and the second series of the BBC 1 daytime show Moving On.
He has been married to Sarah Kearns since 2017. Together they have two sons, Aidan Kearns and James Kearns.
Dean Lennox Kelly (Kev Ball)
He shot to fame as barman Kev on Shameless, but Dean Lennox Kelly has also starred in Jamestown and as William Shakespeare in Doctor Who.
He was well known for stripping off for raunchy sex scenes during his time on the show, and told The Mirror after he left: "There was loads in Shameless. If I was an actress people would probably talk about how many times I've taken my clothes off for the camera. But when you're a bloke nobody seems to care.
"Now the older I get the more I'm trying to limit the love scenes, so that eventually there'll be no flesh visible at all. Just my feet."
He now shares two kids with wife Eugenie, and he's previously spoken about his happy home life.
He told The Sunday Post: “I have a blessed life. My wife Eugenie is a full-time mother so I can go out and work, but I try to be around as much as possible.”
Maxine Peake (Veronica Fisher)
Kev's on-screen love interest Veronica was played by actress Maxine Peake, 46.
The pair struggled to conceive on screen, portraying a heartbreaking struggle many parents face.
Life cruelly imitated art when she and her art director partner Pawlo Wintoniuk also struggled to have children off screen, undergoing IVF and tragically having two miscarriages.
She told Red Magazine she had chosen not to be a spokeswoman for women who don't have children, but slammed the scrutiny many women suffer if they don't have kids.
“I get angry about the way women are forced and bullied into what the male ideal is," she added. "Men don’t get quizzed about their personal lives in the same way.
“No one says to a man, you’re 38 and you haven’t got children – why?"
Maxine has landed some very hard-hitting roles since Shameless.
In 2006, she played Myra Hindley in the dark retelling of the real-life Moors Murders. She also played sexual health worker Sara Rowbotham in Three Girls – a drama about the Rochdale child sex abuse scandal.
Maxine also appeared in the Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything, as Elaine Mason.
The actress lives in Salford, Manchester with Pawlo. In an interview with The Guardian she referred to him as her "soulmate".
Rebecca Atkinson (Karen Maguire)
Rebecca Atkinson, 37, played rebellious Karen Maguire on Shameless from 2004 to 2013, with top storylines including an affair with Frank and taking over The Jockey with her new husband, Jamie Maguire.
Staying firmly in acting once she left, she joined the cast of BBC Scotland soap opera, River City, in 2016 as Belinda Roberts.
She's also starred in Life on Mars, Holby City, Coronation Street and Doctors.
And like her co-stars, Rebecca enjoyed a real life romance with a colleague, as she's still happily married to Ben Batt, who played Joe Pritchard. They have a son together.
Elliott Tittensor (Carl Gallagher)
He played Carl in the famous Channel 4 series, but Elliott Tittensor has changed dramatically since – and had a very turbulent few years.
The actor has taken up tattoo artistry and Jiu-Jitsu since leaving Shameless and breaking up with his longtime partner and Skins star Kaya Scodelario.
Elliott hit the headlines in 2010 when he was arrested following a shocking car accident which left a teenager, Oliver Flint, brain-damaged and blind in one eye following a row.
Flint was thrown from the bonnet of the actor's BMW outside a McDonald’s restaurant.
Elliott claimed he acted in self-defence after Mr Flint had climbed up and bashed on his car windscreen.
In 2015, two years after their split, Kaya spoke as a character witness for Elliott in court via a video link from Australia, where she was filming Pirates of the Caribbean 5.
He was ordered to pay substantial damages to Mr Flint as he was driving an uninsured car at the time.
Mr Justice Edis said: “The decision to which I have come is that Mr Flint
succeeds in his claim against Mr Tittensor for battery.”
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