Shameless' Monaghan Explains What Convinced Him Back To The Show

Cameron Monaghan is due to return to Shameless after his seeming departure last year, and he's now admitted that one condition drew him back to the show.

The last time we saw Ian Gallagher was a brief appearance during Fiona's (Emmy Rossum) recent exit, though he will now be back in full swing for season 10.

Monaghan has explained that Ian's "almost Shakespearean" relationship with boyfriend (and now cell-mate) Mickey Milkovich (Noel Fisher) convinced him to return.

"That was something that felt worth going back to," the star told Entertainment Weekly. "There's still a lot of story to tell. We've never really had these characters just together in a somewhat stable environment for very long, so that's been fun."

Fisher further teased that prison doesn't necessarily bode well for their relationship, explaining: "It turns out that living in cramped quarters without much break from one another is not necessarily all that conducive to a healthy relationship.

"It's basically living together in the worst studio apartment you can possibly imagine."

Monaghan added: "Like any romantic relationship, you need a healthy level of distance and separation, and that's something not afforded to them. They're in a challenging place and trying to work through their issues.

"Now, the way that people work through their issues on Shameless tends to be pretty volatile. I won't exactly say how they work on solving them, but I will say it involves shivs and stabbings!"

Take a first look at the pair in season 10 below:

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Shameless airs on Showtime in the US and on Netflix in the UK.

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Sam Warner

Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.