Norma Starkey (born 18 July 1969) is a lorry driver. It is likely that she is from Newcastle upon Tyne. Although it is never explicitly stated onscreen, she does possess a strong North East accent. Norma was previously Monica Gallagher's (Annabelle Apsion) lesbian lover after her split from Frank Gallagher (David Threlfall). She is introduced in the series when Frank convinces Sheila to ring Monica to tell her that she has won a teddy bear in a contest. Frank does this in order to discover Monica's whereabouts so that he can obtain child support payments from her. Throughout the series, he occasionally calls her "Shrek".