Dean Lennox Kelly to make Shameless return

Shameless star Dean Lennox Kelly will return to the Channel 4 show for its 100th episode - but has admitted he is worried people will have forgotten who he is. The actor's character Kev Ball was last seen in a Romanian courthouse after he and his partner Veronica, played by Maxine Peake, tried to adopt an orphan. "I thought it was going to be like, 'Oh look, Kev's back!' And then Paul Abbott, the creator and writer, kindly reminded me that no one would know who I was," Dean said. However, he has remained tight-lipped about his comeback storyline. "I return because Frank's in a bit of trouble and Kev was witness to something that will help him get off. I can give evidence as to where he was at a certain time and why he was in that particular place. Carl rings Kev and I return to try to save the day," Dean said. And although the actor has gone on to appear in other shows, including ITV1's short-lived Married Single Other and Cranford, he said the return to Shameless felt special. It's flattering to be asked back - George Clooney went back to ER! I am forever Kev. You're always synonymous with one job and I'll always be the guy from Shameless." Viewers will see Kev's comeback when the 100th episode airs on Channel 4 on September 27.

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.