Shameless transfers to USA with William H. Macy

Paul Abbott's Shameless is being turned into a new series for a US audience with William H. Macy playing a Chicago-based version of David Threlfall's perpetually sozzled patriarch Frank Gallagher.

In its own way, Shameless is becoming as much of a TV institution as Coronation Street, while offering a rather more realistic - or self-mocking - portrait of Manchester to boot. Tonight, Frank's librarian lover Libby (Pauline McLynn) is released from prison and parks her mobile library on the Chatsworth Estate in an attempt to track him down.

Shameless star Jody Latham arrested for assault

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Shameless star quits over Tina sex scenes

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Series seven of the award-winning drama from the sink estates of Manchester continues. At the Gallagher house, Liam (Johnny Bennett) is suffocating beneath the burden of household debts and the fallout from trying to gamble his way out of trouble - and is regarded as a major disappointment by Frank (David Threlfall). Shameless has always been a risky blend of the comic with the dark, and tonight's episode is no exception: debt, post-natal depression and child abuse are leavened with violent farce.

A lot of men with a midlife crisis grow a ponytail. Or buy a massive motorbike to pose on. Not Patrick Maguire, though. He's fallen in love with D'reen, a salsa-mad woman who wants to run away with him and live in Cuba. As she's already got him wearing a sparkly shirt and purple cummerbund, as well as taking part in a regional salsa competition, she's obviously in with a chance. But first, Mimi insists he does one last job to guarantee the financial security of the family - one that involves the very nasty Roscoe. And so, once again, the best-laid plans of mice, men and Maguires go horribly wrong. The Gallagher home is a bit of a mess, too. Well, not so much a mess as empty. The bailiffs have taken everything - even the kitchen - and little Liam, whose gambling efforts have signally failed, is driven to desperate measures, while Frank does something shocking, even by Shameless standards.

Whoever owns the fancy dress shop on the Chatsworth must be absolutely coining it in. Practically everybody's getting into costume at some point tonight. Even if Frank Gallagher's get-up - he's come as Jesus, ­naturally - is completely ­home-made... as well as utterly ­inappropriate considering his absolutely unforgiveable ­behaviour.

But it's Paddy Maguire who everybody should be asking: "What the hell have you come as?" He's fallen for a­ ­salsa-loving lady called D'Reen, who wants him to go and live with her in Cuba. What? And leave all this?

But before he can say adios to Mimi forever, there's some serious family business he has to attend to first.

And while Mimi may have her faults, let's not forget making Paddy wear an electric blue sequined waistcoat and purple cummerbund has, thankfully, never been one of them.

It feels as if Shameless has been on Channel 4 for almost as long as Countdown. There's no doubt the show's lost some of the shock value that was its original appeal but there's still some smart writing and cracking one-liners on display. Tonight sees the inestimable Mimi planning for the family's future - robbing a psychopathic drug dealer is apparently the express way to financial security.

The Americans do apocalyptic stuff like Survivors so much better than us. But where they can't touch us is with delicious filth like Shameless, back on top form this series and excelling itself last night as Ian de-gayed himself, a sexuality twist that made Mickey's head explode. 'Don't worry, we'll sort you out. We'll de-straighten you,' Mickey screamed as he tried to turn Ian's head away from Carl's ex, Maxine, with some rock-hard porn. 'Maybe I just like people, maybe sexuality isn't one thing or another,' countered the Chatsworth's new crown prince of bisexuality. A moral debate with knobs on - get in there.

With much of the original cast and crew departed, this scally saga is said by some to have passed its sell-by date. That might be so, yet even on series seven, it remains one of the most energetic, outrageously ribald dramas around. Tonight Mimi (Tina Malone) bags herself a toy boy who isn't all he seems.