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EPISODE 38

Erica is rebuked..

First broadcast ... 1979 (Melbourne)
ITV broadcasts: Yorkshire Mon 23 Sep 1985 23:00 ; TVS/Channel Thu 11 Sep 1986 22:30 ; Central Sun 19 Jul 1987 23:15 ; other regions
Broadcast on Channel 5 (UK) 10 May 1997 Sat 4:40 a.m.
DVD release: volume 3 disc 2 (AUS)
Duration: 00:47:23



Lynn ~ Kerry Armstrong
Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne
Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance
Erica ~ Patsy King
Bea ~ Val Lehman
Doreen ~ Colette Mann
Greg ~ Barry Quin
Steve ~ Jim Smillie
Vera ~ Fiona Spence
Karen ~ Peita Toppano
Policeman 2 ~ Tony Accetta
Monica ~ Lesley Baker
Alex ~ Lakis Kanzipas
Clara ~ Betty Lucas
Irene ~ Maria Mercedes
Policewoman ~ Gillian O'Flynn
Tessa ~ Nadia Tass
Stavros ~ Theo Tsalkitzakos
Policeman ~ Vernon Wells

  • Written by Sheila Sibley
  • Directed by Marcus Cole
  • Greg is not in this episode

    The actor playing Stavros gives a a splendidly hammy performance - one of the ripest ever seen in Prisoner ("Lies! All lies! So your liddle sister innocen dis she? Like a flaaah!?!?")

    Was the "SPEAK IN ENGLISH" sign in the interview room put up especially for this episode?

    Erica is furious to get the blame for the press coverage of the smashed TV and cancels all privileges, including work and study release. Vera stops Karen and Lynn in reception as they are about to leave. Karen finds Bea in her cell instead of in the laundry, as she objects to Clara queening it in there. Bea says it wouldn't have happened if she'd been in charge and to prove she knows everything that's going on, she tells Karen she knows that her "boyfriend" Greg is "having it off" with one of the officers. Bea is sent back to the laundry while the cells are searched, so she teases Clara that if she thinks it's unfair for all the women to be blamed she ought to go and persuade Erica. Not recognising the sarcasm (or not acknowledging it anyway), Clara scuttles off to try to do just that. The hammer is found in the shower block where anyone could have hidden it. Despite Meg's suggestion that Noeline is the most likely suspect (as no-one who was staying inside would have smashed the TV) Erica declares that the ban on priveleges will stay. Clara unfortunately chooses that moment to pop her head round the door without making an appointment, and is sent packing by Erica . Clara's parting shot as she leaves is that she understands, as it must be a "bad time of the month" for Erica. A Greek woman called Irini is arrested for prostitution . Erica looks over the expenses for the catering and wonders how the women could have got through so much cream and eggs. Vera is forced to admit that the women were unsupervised for part of the time. Doreen tries to convince Erica to let her and Lynn to work in the garden, with no immediate success. Irini's brother and his wife are worried by what will happen to her. Next day, Lynn and Doreen have been given permission to work in the garden. Irini is brought to Wentworth on a 21 day sentence: she speaks little English. Irini's fiance Stavros turns up wanting to know what has happened to her and is told she is in prison. Karen and Lynn find Irini crying in her cell and Karen tries to communicate with her as she knows a little Greek. They find out that she came to Australia to be married, but not much else. Irini is introduced to the women in the rec room: Monica calls her a "dago" (inaccurately as well as offensively) and her prejudice seems to stem from a Greek shop competing with her beach front business. Meg asks Bea in private why she is standing back and doing nothing with all the trouble: she lets it be known she is put out by Clara. Karen asks Steve to visit Irini's brother and find out why he wasn't in court to speak up for her. With Monica's encouragement, Lizzie and Doreen teach Irini some colourful English expressions, so when Meg comes back to the cell, Irini tells her to "bugger off". Bea sits quietly in a corner of the rec room reading and tells Karen she's in "semi-retirement". After visiting Irini's family, Steve tells Meg and Karen that Stavros has broken off the engagement and that Irini's brother Alex and his wife Tessa did not attend court as they are illegal immigrants. Now that Irini will not be getting married, she is also liable to be deported.

    ***


    Storyliner: Dave Worthington
    Script Editor: Anne Lucas


    ITV regional broadcast dates:-
    YTV Mon 23 Sep 1985 23.00; TVS ... ; Channel ... ; TSW Mon 28 Nov 1988 22.35; Central Sun 19 Jul 1987 23.15; Thames Thu 31 Mar 1988 23.35; STV Fri 15 Jul 1988 22.35; Anglia ... ; Granada Mon 27 Jun 1988 23.15; Tyne Tees Thu 09 Mar 1989 23.05; Border Thu 15 Dec 1988 23.05; HTV ... ; Grampian ... ; Ulster ...


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