EPISODE 475 Bev starts up a lottery with some unusual prizes; the strike causes hardship on all sides; and Dennis makes a stand for his principles. First broadcast ... 1984 (Melbourne) Broadcast on Channel 5 Wednesday 24 February 1999 04:40 DVD release: volume 30 disc 3 (AUS) Duration: 0:44:06

Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Judy ~ Betty Bobbitt Joan ~ Maggie Kirkpatrick Ann ~ Gerda Nicholson Myra ~ Anne Phelan Dennis ~ Nigel Bradshaw Bev ~ Maggie Dence Bobbie ~ Maxine Klibingaitis Marlene ~ Genevieve Lemon Dot ~ Alethea McGrath Heather ~ Victoria Nicolls Joyce ~ Joy Westmore Ray ~ Alex Menglet Lou ~ Louise Siversen Frances ~ Wanda Davidson Alice ~ Lois Collinder Gladys ~ Di O'Connor Phillip ~ Steve Kuhn Rita ~ Jenny Seedsman Marion ~ Taylor Owens Major ~ Carl Bleazby Vera Rodgers ~ May Howlett Frank Bolton ~ Terry Emery Officer Riley ~ Kathy Gordon Officer Slattery ~ Dorothy Cutts Reporter 1 ~ Ian Gilbert Reporter 2 ~ Gary Kliger Cameraman ~ Bill Manderson Union Type ~ Harry Reid Protagonist ~ Neville Stonehouse Policeman 1 ~ Peter Drake Policeman 2 ~ Andrew Grant Written by Alister Webb & Jim Simmonds Directed by Kendal Flanagan Ann tells Ray it is "no small matter serving breakfast to forty cells". Myra introduces Pam, Ronnie, Tina to the social worker.

Ann is informed of the strike: Joan's reinstatement and an apology from the Department. Meg takes the women out of the dining room early and locks them in their cells, but Joyce inadvertently lets slip that the officers are on strike. Judy is given emergency trustee status so she can serve breakfast with Dot. Bev taunts Myra for her apparent fear of being locked up in a cell with her and wonders which of them will kill the other first. The Union secretary and Joyce visit Joan at home: she reluctantly agrees to accept the Union's support. The Major comes to visit Joan after she has to put off another phone call from the press: she hasn't told him because she thought he would be disappointed in her. Ann tells Meg that social workers are to be sent in to help them run the prison: some of them are trainees. The Major tells Joan his leukaemia is in remission. Myra wakes up to find Bev has a razor blade against her neck, but she is only toying with her. The women protest noisily at being kept in their cells for their breakfast. The Major sends away the reporters gathering outside Joan's house. The social workers arrive for duty and are briefed: one of them is keen to start group "touch therapy" to get to know them. Bev threatens to kill the next person to walk into the laundry, which turns out to be Rita, another one of the social workers: the women create a disturbance and Myra takes the scissors from Bev. Heather and Dennis disagree about the strike: despite his Pom whinger background he is opposed to the strike. Bev announces a raffle with a $5 prize with only thirty tickets sold. The social workers lounge around in the staff room drinking coffee and trying to "empathise" with the women. Dennis tells Heather he is going in to work despite the strike. Marlene wins the $5 and Bobbie is told she has won the "consolation prize". Phil Cleary, one of the social workers, tells Meg he knew Bobbie when working with street kids: he suspects Bobbie doesn't know her mother died of cancer six months before. Dennis drives through the picket line and goes to work. Lou brings Bev a selection of "tools", including a knitting needle. Lou calls Dennis a scab for turning in to work. Ann tells Meg the officers at Barnhurst, Woodridge and Blackmoor have joined the strike. The women rehearse for the dance marathon: Judy makes another camp reference when asked to play the piano: "what do I look like, Peter Allen?" Bobbie is taken to Bev's cell to receive her "prize": Bev takes the bandages off her hands and reopens her cuts from the barbed wire with a razor blade to give her a "full manicure". ***

Channel 5 broadcast a slightly cut version of the end of this episode: in the version seen previously in the UK on Granada (and other regions?) after Bev's line about the "manicure", we see a closeup of Bobbie's hand, though thankfully not exactly what Bev is doing to it.

ITV regional broadcast dates:-
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