A whole new

Ball game
thing or two between washes and blow-drys and not just about holiday destinations either. Her hairdressers is kind of the hub for women in Chatsworth, thats where all the gossip goes on and stuff. She knows a lot of secrets about people, Angeline reveals, while refusing to budge on future plot lines. Her background is a little unclear which I cant really go into rip on the estate. Shes always had to look after and take care of him, Angeline explains. Any time he gets into trouble he always lands up back on Glorias doorstep. They have a love-hate relationship but they look out for each other too. Angeline joins an interesting group of Irish actors who have appeared and thrived on the show, with Pauline McLynn giving a memorable turn as librarian Libby Croker, Portadowns Aaron McCusker now a mainstay as bad boy Jamie Maguire and well-known Dublin comedian-turned-actor Paddy C Courtney recently popping up as ladykiller Milo. And being Irish isnt a character requirement either Angelines Gloria is as Manc as Bettys hotpot. Initially they were going to do a screen test with me being Irish and then from Manchester, she tells me, and basically I did the Manchester accent first and they told me, Well go with the Manc! Even so, it must have been a challenge putting it on amongst the natives. Im surrounded by the accent on set so its actually pretty easy. An original cast member like Rebecca Atkinson [who plays Katie Maguire on the show], shes a

Angeline Balls new character in the gritty Channel 4 drama Shameless might be Meak by name, but she certainly isnt meek by nature, which is why the Dubliner is enjoying the role so much, she tells Paul Flood.
hat publicity still for the ninth series of award-winning Channel 4 drama Shameless featuring a face like a well slapped arse seems familiar. Fronting up to the camera as if to say, Wha?! These are me going out pyjamas!, itd put you in mind of a young one that used to knock around with a soul band back in the day. Angeline Ball, the Cabra-born actress who first came to the worlds attention in that seminal Irish film The Commitments, has also spotted the similarities between her role as Imelda Quirke and her new gig as Gloria Meak on tellys favourite council estate. Gloria is an older, tartier, muttondressed-as-lamb version of Imelda, she tells me, her earrings are huge, she has a padded bra and all that kind of thing. Its quite nice not to have to be pretty-pretty its quite nice to be gritty and a bit crass. Nobody does gritty and crass better than the Shameless writers, and with Gloria theyve given Angeline something to really get her teeth into. A feisty, self-made business woman who runs a hairdressers from her home, she hears a 20
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Its quite nice not to have to be pretty-pretty its nice to be gritty and a bit crass
because its going to be revealed as we go on, but theres a few really good episodes with my character coming up. The next one in particular will introduce her wayward brother Dominic (played by Stephen Lord), a priest on a sabbatical to sort his head out who lets

real Salford girl, so if I want to hear it, all I have to do is talk to her. Its just about having the confidence to speak with the accent too. The Manchester actresses are probably cursing me, though. I kind of didnt think that I would get it because obviously they only had to look around Manchester. I dont know who else was up for it but they did cast a wide net. Then when I did get it I was just a little bit daunted by it because of the nature of the beast and what it is and what it represents. Its edgy and in your face and I thought, Oh God, can I do this? The actress, who played Molly Bloom in the Ulysees film adaptation Bloom, one

of Martin Cahills wives in The General and will be seen later this year in Glenn Closes Dublin-based Albert Nobbs, had to prove her worth from the off. Glorias alway been on the Chatsworth Estate, which is a little bit scary as well because Im not actually being introduced. In the first episode that I did you just see me at the bar with Frank Gallagher. That was a bit odd because I was a bit thrown in at the deep end I didnt make any grand entrance. David Threlfall not only plays Frank but is also an executive producer on the show, so it was all a little bit daunting. But the cast were really welcoming and we have such a great time on the show I

I was just a little big daunted by it... I thought, Oh God, can I do this?
slotted in straight away. Leaving her two young children and partner, French graphic designer Patrice Gueroult, back at home in London, though, did prove difficult. Thats the only minus: a mothers guilt. And Id probably feel that guilt if I was only going to work round the corner from my house, she admits. But Shameless is certainly worth doing and I love the work. Its just a great learning curve for me to be on camera that much. I know Shameless is quite funny and people love the humour and all of that but theres kind of a dark side to it as well. Theres some great drama there. Great drama peppered with some salty language and more than the occasional bit of friskiness (Gloria, Paddy Courtneys Milo and a satsuma share some interesting screen time in episode three), I wonder what sort of reaction shes been getting from her family back home in Dublin. Nothings been said yet, she laughs. I dont know whether they close their eyes and dont watch it or they kind of say, Oh! OK... I mean it can be shocking to some people. Ive had great reactions from my friends, though... Filming on the current series will take Angeline up to April but not before she hooks up with her old Commitments co-stars for three back-to-back UK gigs thatll culminate with a Paddys Day show in Londons O2. She doesnt know yet if Gloria will still be a Chatsworth Estate resident in series 10 but she has some pet projects that shed like to see out. Im six songs into an album and I have to just pick it up again because Ive been so busy with the kids and work. But thats a little project that I have to get finished by the end of this year. I planned to do one after The Commitments and 21 years later I still havent done it. Im not going to change the world with the record its just for me. Theres no shame in that. Catch series nine of Shameless on Channel 4 at 10pm every Tuesday.
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THE SHAMELESS IRISH

Channel 4 couldnt have set their show on a Manchester council estate without acknowledging a heavy Irish influence and just as the Paddys got the boat back in the day and settled in the cities of Englands north, so too Irish actors have found a home on the Chatsworth Estate. Pauline McLynn gave us Frank Gallaghers narcoleptic librarian love interest in series seven and eight, while Portadowns Aaron McCusker has been following in his screen dads bloody footsteps as Jamie Maguire since season four. Brendan Coyle and Michael Legge have also had varying stints on the estate. Angeline Ball isnt the only Dubliner to join the cast in series nine. Comedian and actor Paddy C Courtney made quite an impact in episode three as Milo, a blow-in whose talent for peeling a satsuma with his tongue makes him understandably popular with the Chatsworth ladies. The producers are trying to make the show as genuine as possible, Paddy explains, so there have been a lot of Irish on the show even a lot of the day players are Paddys. Its great for Irish actors. Youre seeing more and more Irish accents in UK drama too, he adds, and Im sure Shameless is responsible for creating this mindset among producers of creating characters from the diaspora.

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