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EXCITED: Actress Karen Bryson

POPULAR CHANNEL 4 show, Shameless, is to get its first black family.

The Powells, a family of three, will get a permanent role in the Manchester-based drama.

The new series, which began at the end of August, features feisty housewife and home brewer Avril, played by Karen Bryson, her onscreen hubby, trainee teacher Jackson, played by Emmanuel Ighodaro, and their chronically dim-witted but gorgeous teenage daughter Letitia (Kira Martin).

Bryson told The Voice: “It never felt like we are getting a black family. We were the new family. We just happened to be black.”

She didn't want to reveal too much about the forthcoming series. However she hinted that the new family is expected to bring some trouble to the Chatsworth Estate.

Bryson, herself a big fan of the show, added: “My character does drink. She is quite fun. She is very feisty. She does not suffer fools gladly and she is the matriarch of her household.”

The Powell family can be seen in the new series of Shameless on Tuesdays, 10pm on Channel 4