Shameless' lost streets and buildings of the Chatsworth Estate including The Jockey pub
It's been over 20 years since Frank Gallagher and his anarchic brood scruffily ambled onto our screens - and into our lives - in Channel 4's hit TV show Shameless
It's been over 20 years since Frank Gallagher and his chaotic family first graced our screens in Channel 4's hit TV show Shameless. The gritty comedy-drama, set on the fictional Chatsworth council estate in Manchester, was created by Paul Abbott and ended its run in 2013.
The show's success led to an American adaptation, Shameless, which debuted in 2011. William H. Macy portrayed the dysfunctional father figure, Frank.
The US version proved equally popular, becoming the longest-running scripted series in the network's history before concluding in 2021.
The original UK series, which premiered in January 2004, was filmed on location at the corner of Wenlock Way and Clowes Street in West Gorton and at the Pie Factory Studios in Salford. From the fifth series onwards, production moved to a purpose-built set on the Roundthorn Industrial Estate in Wythenshawe, the M.E.N previously reported.
The show's exceptional script gave birth to a host of memorable lines, many of them delivered by Frank Gallagher and subsequently dubbed "Frankisms". These often profanity-laden lines were expertly delivered by actor David Threlfall, with one of the most notable being:
"People say the children are the future; teach them well and let them lead the way. But after you've had eight of your own, you realise that's a load of ********. Darwin had the right idea; just leave the ****** to fend for themselves.
"So what if I'm not an astronaut or the Prime Minister or a football player. I am Vernon Francis Gallagher. I came, I saw, I drank the ******* lot.
"Son when you have them, little babies, you love them. Even if they're real mingers. I mean when Ian was born he looked like David Gest."
(To Liam) "I promise I'll always be there for you. As long as I'm collecting your benefits.
"Make poverty history. Cheaper drugs now."
The original estate in Gorton, where the show was first filmed, became known locally as the 'Shameless estate'. The first four series featured the outrageous Gallagher family's antics set against a backdrop of neglect, abandoned sofas, and social deprivation.
Most residents of West Gorton were quick to adopt the Gallagher family and other characters as local heroes. They held mass viewings in The Wellington pub (now also gone), on which the fictional local The Jockey is based, and welcomed the cast during filming.
But programme-makers also faced difficulties. Teenage yobs had to be handed anti-social behaviour orders to stop them persistently targeting cast and crew while they filmed on the estate.
In 2011, the Manchester Evening News was given access to the new purpose-built replica set in Wythenshawe, where the show was filmed until it ended in 2013. Our photographer captured the shops, homes, streets, and perhaps most importantly, inside The Jockey pub, where so many classic moments would take place.
After the final series of Shameless ended, the Wythenshawe set, which had stood for around seven years, was demolished. By this time, demolition had already started at the Gorton estate, where the show was originally filmed, including The Jockey (Wellington Inn) pub.
Following the demolition of the estate in West Gorton, a £100m public/private investment programme turned the once dilapidated 'Shameless estate' from where people wanted to leave to where people were queuing up to live. The rows of dilapidated and boarded-up maisonettes that made up the 'Chatsworth Estate' on the show have now gone, replaced by solid red brick houses.
So now the best way to relive those lost streets and places is through the M.E.N. photo gallery of the Wythenshawe filming set, where all the original locations were replicated.
Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE