EPISODES ON CHANNEL 5 (UK) - WEEK 8

EPISODE 46 Broadcast on Channel 5 (UK) 20 May 1997 Tues 4:40 a.m. Lizzie's heart fails. Monica ~ Lesley Baker Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Jim ~ Gerard Maguire Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance Erica ~ Patsy King Bea ~ Val Lehman Doreen ~ Colette Mann Greg ~ Barry Quin Vera ~ Fiona Spence Karen ~ Peita Toppano Edith ~ Colleen Clifford Peter ~ Carrillo Gantner Denise ~ Linda Keane Joyce ~ Judy Nunn Leila ~ Penny Ramsay Kathleen ~ Penny Stewart Written by John Drew Directed by Marcus Cole Karen does not appear in this episode

Jim warns Edith that she might find it hard to adjust to life inside and offers to take her to the rec room and introduce her to the women. Blossom finally blows her cover by admitting that her "runty, sexstarved" lover was Fred Ferguson. Monica and Joyce both go for her, but Monica assures Joyce that it was only her own share of the money that Blossom had got hold of. Jim breaks up the fight when he brings Edie to the rec room. Lizzie is the only one to speak to Edie. Jim questions Blossom and even though she is careful what she admits to, he realises there must be some link between Joyce and Monica. Bea points out to Joyce that Monnie would hardly give her the key to an empty safe deposit box when she could just have run off. Vera refuses to let Edie move into Lizzie and Doreen's cell, but Jim overrules her as says it's OK. Blossom wants protection against Monica but Vera again refuses to help. Jim and Leila argue when he comes to look at the children: one point of dissention is that she needs to work because she claims they can't live on his salary alone. Bea (who ought to be an expert on jealous violent assaults) warns Monica to avoid trying to bash Blossom. Joyce helps Monnie to get back at Blossom by getting her to come to the rec room saying Monnie won't be there. Bea is too late to warn Blossom about leaving before Monica arrives. Lizzie has an attack, and is stopped on her way back to the cell by Vera, but Blossom's screams distract them and Jim reacts oddly to the sight of Blossom's blood streaked face . Edie tells Jim that Lizzie is dying as he is hauling Monica off to solitary. Monica swears she will go quietly and not cause a fuss as long as he gets help for Lizzie. Greg is called in to see her and says he wants her transferred to hospital the following day, but Vera pushes Erica into refusing. Vera tells Meg she is surprised by Jim's reaction to Blossom's injuries: Peter Clements is in the staff room at the same time and overhears her. Doreen criticises the women in the laundry for not caring what happens to Lizzie then goes to solitary to attack Monica through the bars then apparently has a breakdown. Jim finds a note on the staff room table tipping him off about Joyce's safety deposit key. Dr Clements is intrigued by Doreen as a "perfect example of retrogressive withdrawal" and wants her kept at Wentworth, but Greg persuades Erica to send her to hospital. Joyce's cell is searched, but nothing is found. Joyce checks her hiding place and goes to accuses Bea of lagging and stealing the key, but Bea points out that Jim may have found the key and kept it to collect the money.

EPISODE 47 Broadcast on Channel 5 (UK) 21 May 1997 Wed 4:40 a.m. Blossom asks Jim for help Jean ~ Christine Amor Monica ~ Lesley Baker Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Jim ~ Gerard Maguire Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance Erica ~ Patsy King Bea ~ Val Lehman Doreen ~ Colette Mann Greg ~ Barry Quin Vera ~ Fiona Spence Karen ~ Peita Toppano Edith ~ Colleen Clifford Peter ~ Carrillo Gantner Det Sgt Grace ~ Terry Gill Martha ~ Kate Jason Denise ~ Linda Keane Joyce ~ Judy Nunn Melinda ~ Lulu Pinkus Tom ~ Hu Pryce Officer Grahame ~ Susan Arnold Officer ~ Jean Cain Leila ~ Penny Ramsay Carol ~ Judith Roberts Paula ~ Trudy Simms Suzanne ~ Joanna Weir Written by John Upton Directed by Philip East Doreen is supposed to be in hospital and does not appear in this episode. Her next appearance is in (55) though the credits continue to list her in the interim.

Monica is released from solitary and asks to see the Governor. Jim wants everyone leaving the prison to be searched with a metal detector, in case the key is smuggled out. Monica asks if she could be told the result of Fred's trial and Erica agrees though she thinks it odd in view of what Monica is inside for. Jean tells Karen she'll be eligible for parole in four weeks and wants her opinion of Dr Clements, as she's concerned about the effect he is having on some of the women. Monnie learns that Fred has been given 2 years. Erica announces the new security measures to all the women, but does not say what the "item" they are looking for is. Lizzie accuses Dr Clements of driving Doreen mad: Greg asks him to leave the infirmary then goes to Erica to complain. Bea warns Monica she can't count on any support from her if she insists on going ahead with her plan to bash Blossom. Dr Clements takes his reprimand from Erica cooly and invites her for dinner to find out more about the prisoners: she reluctantly accepts. Joyce accuses Jim of having the key: he smugly thanks her for confirming that the key does really exist. Blossom wants help from Jim, and in return offers to share the money. Despite appearing to refuse her offer of a deal, Jim does protects Blossom from another attack from Monnie. Jim visits Leila to discuss whether they could get back together if he suddenly got a lot of money. Blossom calls in Sgt Grace to tell him the full story before she goes to court so he will speak up for her. Jim now tells Blossom he will help her to get the key out in return for half the money. One of the officers objects to the search with the metal detector . When Blossom sees the metal detector as she is due to go to court, she asks to go the toilet (and Vera doesn't find this in the least bit suspicious). Tom, a colleague of Peter's, invites him to dinner to try to help him convince his wife he isn't sleeping with one of his students. Bea drops a hint to Vera that Jim is having sex with a prisoner. Tom of course is sleeping with one of his students: he is cautious about leaving his wife, as he evidently married her for her money. Vera reports Bea's allegation to Erica and suggests that it might have been Blossom. Blossom is released on probation: she visits her sister purely to have someone to talk to about her problem with the key still being inside Wentworth. Blossom decides to phone Jim to arrange a meeting, but Vera hears the end of the conversation. Tom's wife Carol is bitter about the state of her marriage and during after dinner conversation she drunkenly vows to kill her husband if he she found out he had a mistress. Jim is suspended after Vera reports his phone call

EPISODE 48 Broadcast on Channel 5 (UK) 22 May 1997 Thurs 4:40 a.m. Jim makes a deal. Jean ~ Christine Amor Monica ~ Lesley Baker Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Jim ~ Gerard Maguire Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance Erica ~ Patsy King Bea ~ Val Lehman Doreen ~ Colette Mann Greg ~ Barry Quin Vera ~ Fiona Spence Karen ~ Peita Toppano Edith ~ Colleen Clifford Peter ~ Carrillo Gantner Det Sgt Grace ~ Terry Gill Martha ~ Kate Jason Denise ~ Lynda Keane Joyce ~ Judy Nunn Melinda ~ Lulu Pinkus Tom ~ Hu Pryce Bob ~ Paul Glen Policeman ~ Brian Hickey Officer ~ Judith McGrath Leila ~ Penny Ramsay Carol ~ Judith Roberts Written by S.E. Unsworth Directed by Philip East Thanks to Bjorn Wallgren for providing the credits above from the Swedish second run on 2nd February 2001, as most other showings seem to have an incorrect version: see below for further comments. Doreen is credited but does not appear in this episode. Erica tells Peter that "all staff files are held at the Department". Why? Must make administration a bit difficult, surely? If Meg is so mumsy, how could she resist reaching over and tucking in Greg's collar in this scene ?

Colleen Powell unlocks the cells in the morning instead of Jim, but she's a new officer and doesn't know much about the reasons why Jim isn't there. Jim goes to meet Blossom and he agrees to go to a motel room with her, a room which she has booked. Tom meets Peter outside Wentworth (purely so he can offer an opinion on Vera as she passes - "a raving lez"): he tells Peter he has decided to end the affair with his student. Vera gloats to the new officer that Jim was suspending for having it off with one of the prisoners. After having sex with Blossom , Jim pressurises Blossom into telling him where the key is. Joyce wants Martha to get a message to Harry that Jim is after the money. Jim phones Sgt Grace with the information about the key, but naming Joyce as the person responsible for hiding the key. Jim gives Blossom some money and tells her to get a plane out as he's told the police in order to get the reward money. Erica foolishly tells Peter about the reasons for Jim's suspension. Tom tries to break it off with Melinda, but she refuses to let him and tells him she has taken incriminating photos. When he says he wants to leave anyway, she demands money instead or she will send copies to his wife. Martha reports back to Joyce that she can't get a message to Harry as he is under arrest for drunken driving in Adelaide. Erica is forced to reprimand Jim, but he assumes he will be reinstated. Grace interviews Monnie again about the money and charges her with being an accessory to armed robbery. Monica's plan to keep quiet falls down when Grace tells her that her husband won't be charged with involvement in the robbery as Harry Martin has taken all the credit: Fred will therefore be out earlier than her and have plenty of time to get to the money before she does. Greg allows Lizzie to get out of bed. Jean sees Edith about her forthcoming release and where she might go. Even with the reward money, Leila won't come back to Jim: he finds she in bed in the middle of the afternoon with a new man friend "Bob". Karen tells Peter that Meg was born in prison, which makes him even keener to get hold of the officers' files. After Karen suggests Jim must have an Army file, Peter realises he has a contact who might be able to help him with that. Edie looks after Lizzie in their cell and makes sure she has her pills where she can reach them. Lizzie calls for help for Edie who seems to be sobbing in her sleep (or maybe that's just the actresses strange performance): she confesses to Jim she was upset by Jean's questions about her future. Melinda sends the photos to Tom's wife and then phones her up to make sure she opens the parcel. She then phones her husband to find out whether he knows what the parcel is, and realises it must be photographs. Jean sees Joyce about her transfer to D block, but Joyce turns on her heel and leaves. When the parcel arrives, Carol opens them and finds the photos and a demand for $5,000. Jim confronts Jean about upsetting Edie, but she attacks his assumption that old people need special treatment. Tom arrives home to find the photos torn up and Carol no longer in the house.

Another bad day in the credits department? The credits attached to this episode (see left column below) on all UK broadcasts I know of and in the recent Australian Foxtel re-run (thanks to Robert for checking) are incorrect. They appear to be the same as for (46) apart from the first screen which has been updated to reflect Jean Vernon's re-appearance in (47). Kathleen and Doreen are not in this episode, and several characters are missed out.

Thanks to Steve West of "Blockade - The Prisoner Magazine" (PO Box 63, Pinner, Middlesex) who sent a typed sheet of the credits prepared by Grundy's publicity department (see right hand column below - character surnames omitted). As can be seen, even this doesn't correspond to the correct broadcast credits: Det. Insp. Grace isn't in either set, for instance.

CREDITS AS BROADCAST Jean ~ Christine Amor Monica ~ Lesley Baker Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Jim ~ Gerard Maguire Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance Erica ~ Patsy King Bea ~ Val Lehman Doreen ~ Colette Mann Greg ~ Barry Quin Vera ~ Fiona Spence Karen ~ Peita Toppano Edith ~ Colleen Clifford Peter ~ Carrillo Gantner Denise ~ Lynda Keane Joyce ~ Judy Nunn Leila ~ Penny Ramsay Kathleen ~ Penny Stewart

GRUNDY'S TYPED CREDITS Bea ~ Val Lehman Jim ~ Gerard Maguire Denise ~ Lynda Keane Vera ~ Fiona Spence Monica ~ Lesley Baker Greg ~ Barry Quin Tim ~ Hu Pryce Peter ~ Carrillo Gantner Erica ~ Patsy King Jean ~ Christine Amor Karen ~ Peita Toppano Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Leila ~ Penny Ramsay Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance Edith ~ Colleen Clifford Carol ~ Judith Roberts Melinda ~ Lulu Pinkus Bob ~ Paul Glen

EPISODE 49 Broadcast on Channel 5 (UK) 23 May 1997 Fri 4:40 a.m. Tom warns Melinda about Carol. Jean ~ Christine Amor Monica ~ Lesley Baker Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Jim ~ Gerard Maguire Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance Erica ~ Patsy King Bea ~ Val Lehman Doreen ~ Colette Mann Greg ~ Barry Quin Vera ~ Fiona Spence Karen ~ Peita Toppano Detective ~ Roy Baldwin Edith ~ Colleen Clifford Phyllis ~ Reylene Pearce Melinda ~ Lulu Pinkus Tom ~ Hu Pryce Carol ~ Judith Roberts Written by Denise Morgan Directed by Leon Thau & Philip East

Tom phones Melinda to warn her she's in danger from Carol, saying she should keep her doors locked until he arrives. Lizzie uses Greg's consultation with Edie to try to pick the lock on the medicine cabinet to steal spirits. Tom arrives at Melinda's rather expensive looking apartment (with track lighting! ) and after a brief canoodle storms out again saying he is going to look for Carol as she fears what she will do. Jim stops Karen going to classes when he hears her psychological assessment of his motives for his being an officer in a women's prison. Bea decides to get even and Karen provides the ammunition by passing on information that Peter Clements found from Jim's Army file about his fear of blood. Jean objects to Jim's questioning of her efforts trying to find Edie somewhere to live. Carol phones Melinda to offer her $5,000 in return for the negatives. Carol and Melinda meet as agreed in King's Park but Carol has called the police and Melinda is arrested for blackmail . Bea persuades Greg to give first aid classes, and ironically Jim gives his full support when it is suggested to Erica. Edie tells Vera of her suspicion that the women are planning something against Jim. During the first aid class, Karen distracts Greg while Lizzie pours some red liquid on Monnie and Jim gets agitated just as Erica arrives on the scene. Jim is forced to admit to Erica that he over-reacted, and Bea notes that he wants to keep his phobia secret from the authorities. Melinda is surprised to meet Karen when she's brought to Greg's surgery on her arrival at Wentworth. Edie echoes Vera's mother's warning that she'll be "old and hard before her time". Jim approaches Edie with the offer of financial assitance, telling her that she reminds him of his grandmother, who brought him up after his parents died in a car accident when he was seven years old. Vera tries to work out Jim's secret by telling him the women are planning to get one over on him, but she doesn't know how. Lizzie gives Edie a keepsake in the form of the piece of porcelain she stole from her brother, but nevertheless tries to appeal to Erica for ways that Edie might manage to keep inside. Vera tries to blame Jim for Edie wanting to stay inside as he was too protective of Edie. Edie dies in the same cell as Lizzie the night before she is due to be released. Monnie and Bea have fixed the press and smeared the handle with tomato sauce but when Jim tries the press next day it has been wiped clean - probably by Edie, as Bea realises. Jim phones the coroners to claim Edie's body in order to avoid her having to have a pauper's funeral and give her a decent burial. Lizzie cries in her cell for Edie, as she fears she will die in Wentworth herself with no-one to grieve for her.

EPISODE 50 Broadcast on Channel 5 (UK) 24 May 1997 Sat 4:40 a.m. A burglary fails. Jean ~ Christine Amor Monica ~ Lesley Baker Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Jim ~ Gerard Maguire Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance Erica ~ Patsy King Bea ~ Val Lehman Doreen ~ Colette Mann Greg ~ Barry Quin Vera ~ Fiona Spence Karen ~ Peita Toppano Dr Herbert ~ Henry Blake Leanne ~ Tracy-Jo Riley Noeline ~ Jude Kuring Spud ~ Joe Lamont Male Guard ~ Brad Lindsay Denny ~ Tony Mahood Melinda ~ Lulu Pinkus Officer ~ Lisa Rodgers CES Officer ~ Malcolm Steed Written by John Wood Directed by Leon Thau & Philip East Lise Rodgers is credited as "Lisa".

Jim opens the hatch on Lizzie during night rounds to hear her muttering to herself in her sleep. Noeline does a job with her daughter Leanne. Meg is just relaxing with a mug of cocoa, a flannelette nightgown and an easy listening record when Jean arrives to ask her if she can move in with her. Noeline's job goes wrong when Leanne fails to keep watch and she is sent to Wentworth. She shares a cell with Karen and Bea, who slaps her around for breaking the TV last time she was inside. Melinda has a pregnancy test. Greg goes to see the premises for his own practice, which turns out to be a derelict house in a run-down area . Noeline refuses Jean's help as the Burkes aren't "charity cases", and when Leanne visits she urges her to do a job to support the rest of the family. Jean tries to persuade Leanne and her brother to apply for dole instead, giving her the address where she is now living if she needs help. Leanne is enterprising enough to steal Jean's car to get to the CES, where she meets a young man called Denny, who helps her fill out the form and invites her out for a drive later in the afternoon. Greg tells Erica he is leaving for his new practice but he agrees to visit for a few weeks after she tells him the Department won't have any replacement for him. Denny plans a scam to steal hotdogs from a van with Leanne and another pool playing friend . Muster bell is half an hour late and the women are kept in their cell to prevent them knowing about a new prisoner. Meg tells Erica the new prisoner has been put in solitary as soon as she arrived. The radio in the laundry has also gone missing. Greg gives Melinda the result of her pregnancy test. She isn't surprised to be told she is pregnant and admits she stopped taking the pill a while before and was trying to get pregnant to stop Tom going back to his wife. Leanne suggests to Denny a quick way of making a bit of ready cash. When the television disappears from the rec room, the women speculate about what the authorities are trying to hide from them. Karen is worried that she won't be allowed out for day release, but from the previous two occasions when the same tactics were used (Barbara Davidson and Ann Yates), Bea concludes the secret is that the new prisoner is a pusher. Meg gets back from a date with Greg to find her flat has been burgled.

EPISODE 51 Broadcast on Channel 5 (UK) 25 May 1997 Sun 4:40 a.m. Meg is robbed. Jean ~ Christine Amor Monica ~ Lesley Baker Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Jim ~ Gerard Maguire Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance Erica ~ Patsy King Bea ~ Val Lehman Doreen ~ Colette Mann Greg ~ Barry Quin Vera ~ Fiona Spence Karen ~ Peita Toppano Bella ~ Liddy Clarke Peter ~ Carrillo Gantner Martha ~ Kate Jason Noeline ~ Jude Kuring Leanne ~ Tracy-Jo Riley Officer Phillip ~ Lise Rodgers Written by John Upton Directed by Leigh Spence Jim is not in this episode (thanks Mark C) Bella is led to the shower block through reception behind the screen where new prisoners are lined up . In one shot you can even see back into reception through the shower block where there is usually a blank brick wall.

Jean arrives home to find Meg clearing up after the burglary: only twenty dollars and a radio are missing and the police suspect it was kids. The new prisoner demands to be let out of solitary: Bea stirs it by leading the other women to join in the chant. Erica orders Bea to stop the chanting as the new prisoner is due out of solitary in any case. Erica then tells Karen the new woman's name is Bella Albrecht and she is put on trust not to reveal anything she may find out about the case on the outside. The women discuss the new prisoner: Lizzie thinks she must be a spy and Noeline suggest she is a heavy from another prison. They get their chance when they hear the prisoner being taken on a round trip and led for some reason right past the laundry. Erica reminds Bella she is being kept from the women for her own protection as she killed her own child. She is advised to think up another reason why she is inside, and when she meets Bea for the first time (taking a good look through the spyhole of the single cell she'd been assigned to) she tells her that she killed her husband, which makes Bea warm to her a little, though she is suspicious that Bella is still locked in her cell. Leanne tells Noeline she's moving in with Denny, and from what Meg overhears she realises that it was Leanne who burgled her flat. Jean persuades Meg not to report it to the police. Bea refuses Martha's offer to find out about Bella and says she will ask Karen when she returns from her study leave. Jean confronts Noeline about Lianne's burglary, but she tries to pretend she knows nothing. Karen keeps silent about the new prisoner depsite Bea's accusation that she has gone over to the other side. Erica warns Peter Clements not to tell anyone about Bella when he arrives to carry on his study. Lizzie is appalled to find out that no doctor has been appointed to replace Greg. Bea tricks Peter into telling the whole story: Bella murdered her illegitimate child to marry another man, and mutilated the child to cast suspicion elsewhere. Bea threatens Bella in front of Vera, but refuses to take Bella staright to the Governor as she demands and instead takes her back to her cell, after threatening a detour via the library. Vera tells Erica that the women know and accuses Karen of leaking the information. Erica stops Karen's study release. Bea is appalled to find out about this and she goes to Erica to confess that she got the information from Peter Clements. Erica is not convinced and tells Bea she will be held responsible for any trouble. Bella is let out of her cell and is attacked in the shower block .

Storyliners: Dave Worthington; Margaret McClusky (50)-(51)
Script Editor: Anne Lucas

(40) to (45)

(52) to (57)