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EPISODES ON CHANNEL 5 (UK) - WEEK 12

70 * 71 * 72 * 73 * 74 * 75


EPISODE 70

Broadcast on Channel 5 (UK) 17 June 1997 Tues 4:40 a.m. Will Chrissie decide to have her abortion?

Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne
Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance
Erica ~ Patsy King
Bea ~ Val Lehman
Jim ~ Gerard Maguire
Doreen ~ Colette Mann
Greg ~ Barry Quin
Vera ~ Fiona Spence
Karen ~ Peita Toppano
Pat O'Connell ~ Monica Maughan
Chrissie Latham ~ Amanda Muggleton
Roslyn Coulson ~ Sigrid Thornton
Alice Hemmings ~ Anne Haddy
Rosie Hudson ~ Anne-Maree McDonald
Phyllis ~ Reylene Pearce
Joe McDonald ~ Stewart Bates

  • Written by John Wregg & Eric Scott
  • Directed by Marcus Cole
  • Erica removes Chrissie from working in the maternity wing, after she insists on going ahead with the abortion. Vera reports Pat for "consorting" with her own son, but Pat refuses to say how she knew that David was coming to Wentworth. Back in the rec room, Bea is about to land one on Chrissie for lagging on Pat, until Pat stops her. Jim reports that it must have been Doreen who gave the information to Pat, but Erica decides to take no action. She also agrees to Jim's suggestion that Pat should only be given extra work duties and that the incident with David should not be officially reported. Erica inspects the halfway house and tells Karen that Doreen will be released the following afternoon. Vera complains to Jim about Pat being let off so lightly and is surprised when she finds out whose idea it was. Chrissie tells Greg she's changed her mind and doesn't want the abortion after all. Alice visits the halfway house and Karen tells her she should keep out of Doreen's life unless she's prepared to be a proper mother to her. Meg tells Doreen to collect her things as she's to be released in half an hour. During the tearful farewells, Doreen nearly forgets to take Teddy with her. At the halfway house, Doreen finds the freedom difficult to accept and is reluctant to take the key Karen gives her. Greg takes Karen out for a drink and warns her against emotional involvement with people at the halfway house. Alice takes Doreen for a drive: she asks to go and see Miss McBride, but the new owner of her house tells Doreen that Miss McBride died a few months before. Rosie asks Pat to get some extra things from the kitchen for her baby Sam's first birthday party . Doreen tells Alice she had a baby herself, but gave it up for adoption: when Alice offers to help her trace the child, Doreen tells her she isn't interested. Lizzie explains to Pat that Sam will be taken away from Rosie when he is one year old: Erica gives Vera the job of arranging the foster parents. Alice shares a secret with Karen, which explains why she wanted to see Doreen, but did not want to get too involved - she has terminal cancer.

    EPISODE 71

    Broadcast on Channel 5 (UK) 18 June 1997 Wed 4:40 a.m. Rosyln refuses to see a psychiatrist.

    Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne
    Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance
    Erica ~ Patsy King
    Bea ~ Val Lehman
    Jim ~ Gerard Maguire
    Doreen ~ Colette Mann
    Greg ~ Barry Quin
    Vera ~ Fiona Spence
    Karen ~ Peita Toppano
    Pat O'Connell ~ Monica Maughan
    Chrissie Latham ~ Amanda Muggleton
    Roslyn Coulson ~ Sigrid Thornton
    Alice Hemmings ~ Anne Haddy
    Rosie Hudson ~ Anne-Maree McDonald
    UNCREDITED
    Dr Weissman ~ Bryon Williams
    Officer Powell ~ Judith McGrath
    OTHER CHARACTERS
    Policewoman escorting Roslyn
    Shop assistant

  • Written by Margaret McClusky
  • Directed by Leigh Spence
  • Pat tries to get Rosie to accept that the authorities are going to take Sammy away from her, as she seems to be unrealistically hoping that she will be released at the same time. Rosie tells Pat that if they took her child away she would kill herself. Pat tries to raise the matter with Erica but Vera refuses to let her into the Governor's office, where Erica is trying unsuccessfully to persuade Roslyn to see a psychiatrist so that she might get a lighter sentence if she can claim temporary insanity. Ros unsettles Vera by asking her what she would do if someone killed her mother. Pat tells Greg that Rosie has threatened suicide: he says there isn't much he can do, but unfortunately Vera overhears Pat's plea that Greg should contact Angela Jeffries to get the Department to instruct Dr Weissman to see Rosie. Greg visits the halfway house and mentions Rosie's case to Karen, who promises to pass it on to Angela. Ros is convinced no court will convict her. Erica is perplexed when Dr Weissman arrives next day but to see Rosie not Roslyn. Just before her interview with Dr Weissman, Vera maliciously warns Rosie not to mention her suicide threats or she will seem mentally unstable and unfit to keep her baby. As a result, Rosie pretends not to care what happens to her baby, so Dr Weissman is unable to recommend reversing the usual Departmental policy. Erica confronts Greg with Vera's accusation of colluding with Pat and Karen. Ros packs her suitcase and says goodbye before she goes to court, but the women only reply half-heartedly because they know she'll be coming back. Alice offers to pay to send Doreen to college. Rosie's baby is taken away from her and handed over to foster parents while she watches, after Meg has helpfully explained this apparent extreme act of mental cruelty on the grounds that it is the only way Rosie will accept the baby has been taken from her. Pat bursts into Erica's office to protest at Rosie's immediate removal from the maternity wing: Erica is very haughty and dismisses Pat with thanks for her advice. Alice takes Doreen to a dress shop, and the shop assistant instantly recognises that they are mother and daughter. Ros is brought back kicking and screaming to Wentworth after receiving a life sentence. Rosie leaves the rec room to feed Sam, forgetting that he's gone. Alice tells Karen that she has made her last visit and says goodbye to Doreen. A letter from Doreen reminds Lizzie of Sally Lee, and Meg nervously indicates to her not to mention how she died, as Ros is looking as if she has given up hope herself. When Alice returns to the halfway house a short time afterwards to collect her shopping bag, Doreen has already opened Alice's present to her. It is the same scent Alice used to wear: this jogs Doreen's memory and she is able to identify Alice as her mother .

    EPISODE 72

    Broadcast on Channel 5 (UK) 19 June 1997 Thurs 4:40 a.m. Rosyln escapes when the fire alarm goes off.

    Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne
    Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance
    Erica ~ Patsy King
    Bea ~ Val Lehman
    Jim ~ Gerard Maguire
    Doreen ~ Colette Mann
    Vera ~ Fiona Spence
    Karen ~ Peita Toppano
    Alice Hemmings ~ Anne Haddy
    Pat O'Connell ~ Monica Maughan
    Roslyn Coulson ~ Sigrid Thornton
    Chrissie Latham ~ Amanda Muggleton
    Rosie Hudson ~ Anne-Maree McDonald
    UNCREDITED
    Sally ~ Nanette Wallace
    Officer Phillip ~ Lise Rodgers
    OTHER CHARACTERS
    Man from the typewriter suppliers

  • Written by Denise Morgan
  • Directed by Leigh Spence
  • Doreen wants to know why neither Karen nor her mother told her the truth. Bea and Pat try to raise Ros's spirits by telling her about Karen's appeal: Ros replies it doesn't matter as she won't be around for very long. Lizzie reads Doreen's letter by torchlight. Erica announces that the women are not to worry if the fire alarm goes off as there will be a fire drill at some time during the say. Meg takes Rosie to maternity to help convince her that her baby has gone and tells her about her own mother, but she is annoyed to find that Chrissie is listening in. Chrissie gets sick of Meg's relentlessly optimistic tone and points out that Rosie is a junkie and so she won't get her baby back, and replies to Meg's criticisms of her own potential as a mother by telling Meg of her own experience of "family" life with an alcoholic mother and a sexually abusive father. Karen is so annoyed by Doreen's hatred of Alice that at last she tells Doreen the real reason why her mother doesn't want to get too involved. Inspired by Doreen's typed letter, Lizzie asks Erica if the women can have typing classes, but is miffed when Vera offers to teach the classes in the women's own time. Erica isn't satisfied with the slack response to the fire drill and warns that the exercise will be repeated. Vera invites Meg and Jim to her birthday party in the staff room. Karen takes Doreen to visit Alice at her home. Lizzie overhears the secretary wishing Vera a happy birthday, so the women make a fake present for Vera and leave it on the desk for the second typing class as if it has come from George Lucas - it is a sack to wear over her head for their next date . To the women's surprise, she carries on the lesson as if nothing has happened. At Roslyn's instigation, Rosie attacks Chrissie and two of the typewriters are badly damaged. Bea catches Ros about to set the fire alarm off, but she agrees to let her go ahead with an escape attempt. In the chaos that ensues, Ros gets out through the gates in the back of the van driven by the typewriter repair man. Rosie rushes to the maternity wing to save her baby, and punches Chrissie in the stomach when she thinks that Chrissie has taken Sam away. Doreen calls to see Alice at home, but she is lying down in a darkened room and does not answer the door. Vera is just about to leave her birthday spread when she hasn't had any guests when Lizzie arrives in the staff room to give her a present - a bar of soap from her buyup. Karen and Doreen find Ros waiting for them at the halfway house, saying she has nowhere else to stay.

    EPISODE 73

    Broadcast on Channel 5 (UK) 20 June 1997 Fri 4:40 a.m. Karen allows Roslyn to stay the night.

    Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne
    Erica ~ Patsy King
    Bea ~ Val Lehman
    Jim ~ Gerard Maguire
    Doreen ~ Colette Mann
    Greg ~ Barry Quin
    Vera ~ Fiona Spence
    Karen ~ Peita Toppano
    Pat ~ Monica Maughan
    Roslyn ~ Sigrid Thornton
    Chrissie ~ Amanda Muggleton

    UNCREDITED
    Frank Heath ~ Nick Kislinski
    Doctor ~ Barry Michael
    Pearl Price ~ Valerie Thompson
    Policeman ~ Bruce Kilpatrick
    Old Man ~ Bill Bennett
    OTHER CHARACTERS
    Tony Hepworth (the actor could be Peter Paulsen); Sister ; Henry Paisley (the undertaker) ; Mrs Haynes ; Policeman 1 & 2 ; Policeman 3 & 4 ; Woman passerby

  • Written by Sheila Sibley
  • Directed by Philip East
  • Doreen persuades Karen to to let Ros stay one night and gives Ros some clothes (seeming to disregard the difference in their sizes). Greg tells Meg that Chrissie could lose her baby and Meg responds by being extra nice to Chrissie. The police call at the halfway house next morning before Ros has left, but they are not looking for Ros. They tell Doreen that her mother has been found in a coma by her cleaning woman and is in hospital. Doreen is upset at the thought that her mother was lying ill in the house all the time. Karen tells Ros she must be gone by the time she and Doreen get back from the hospital. Chrissie apologises to Meg for throwing her concern back in her face, saying she finds it hard to cope with people being caring towards her. Doreen and Karen are kept waiting at the hospital but eventually a doctor appears to tell Karen that Alice has just died. Karen has to give Doreen a stern talking to, so that she is prepared to face up toher responsibilities as next of kin. Ros seeks shelter with Pearl at the brothel where her mother worked, but she has to seek approval from Frank Heath, who is now running the place and is an associate of Sean McNally. He wants to make Roslyn pay for her accommodation by prostituting herself. Pat is concerned that she has not had any visitors. After Ros reluctantly agrees to Frank's conditions, Pearl warns her not to get involved too deeply and offers to help her move on. When Bea asks why Rosie's cell is empty, Vera tells Bea that Rosie had been "transferred" and Bea assumes that means she has been sent to a mental hospital. Frank reports Ros to a corupt contact in the police after he finds she has left with $200 from the takings. The police come to the halfway house with a search warrant looking for Ros. Doreen attends her mother's funeral with Karen. Erica also attends to pay her respects and gives them both a lift back to the halfway house. Ros returns knocking on the back door just after Erica has left by the front: Karen tells her to leave as she is going to phone the police, but she is prevented from doing so by the arrival of Doreen's parole officer. Karen makes the excuse for Doreen's disappearance that she was upset after her mothers' funeral. Doreen breaks in at her mother's house to give Ros somewhere to hide out. Ros is worried that she will get Doreen into trouble, so she leaves to catch a bus to leave for Sydney. On the way, Ros stops to help a drunk who collapses in the gutter with a (fake?) heart attack. A woman passerby agrees to go to call an ambulance, but she has recognised Ros and reports her to the police. Ros is arrested.

    EPISODE 74

    Broadcast on Channel 5 (UK) 21 June 1997 Sat 4:40 a.m. Prison drama.

    Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne
    Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance
    Erica ~ Patsy King
    Bea ~ Val Lehman
    Jim ~ Gerard Maguire
    Doreen ~ Colette Mann
    Greg ~ Barry Quin
    Vera ~ Fiona Spence
    Karen ~ Peita Toppano
    Pat ~ Monica Maughan
    Roslyn ~ Sigrid Thornton
    Chrissie ~ Amanda Muggleton
    Alex ~ Geoff Collins
    Kathleen ~ Penelope Stewart
    UNCREDITED
    Mrs Devlin ~ Rosie Sturgess
    Gate Guard ~ Brad Lindsay
    Officer ~ Betty Hargreave
    Officer Barry ~ Joy Westmore
    Det Sgt Allen ~ Keith Goodlet
    Desk Sergeant ~ Telford Jackson
    Sally ~ Nanette Wallace

  • Written by Ray Kolle
  • Directed by Philip East
  • When Vera hands out the mail, the prisoner called "White" seems to be Jentah Sobott , who later plays Mouse.

    Rosie's removal to a psychiatric hospital makes Bea determined to have a showdown with the officers. A reporter walks into a very unconvincing police station set and uses an equally creaky journalistic technique by asking the desk sergeant if he has any good stories for him. He then stays around long enough to overhear the desk sergeant phoning Wenwtorth to report Ros's recapture. Lizzie reminds Bea that they usually put on a Christmas play, which would be a good opportunity to get in a few jibes. Vera recommends to Erica that Bea is put in solitary (even though she admits Bea hasn't actually done anything), but Jim disagrees. Ros is brought back to Wentworth and Erica has to fend off the reporter looking for a human interest story. Jim finds out Lizzie is writing the play, and encourages it as a way of defusing tension (as if!). Ros is interviewed in Wentworth, but doesn't give away to the detectives where she was staying while she was on the run. Meg warns Greg that the police suspect that Karen helped Ros while she was on the run, and if so her parole could be in danger. The reporter, Alex Fraser, visits the halfway house but Karen refuses to talk to him. When she hears about it, Vera wants the Christmas play cancelled. After at first deying it, Karen admits to Greg that Roslyn stayed at the halfway house. Bea and Lizzie sneak off to solitary to speak to Ros. When she hears the old man she helped has died, Ros vows that it will be the last time she helps anyone. Doreen is interviewed by the detectives, and Karen manages to stop her saying anything stupid. Vera tells Erica that Lizzie has received two letters from Doreen, and uses the search for them as a pretext to gather up all the writing paper and pens and have them burnt . Greg's statement seems to convince the police that Ros had not visited the halfway house, but he is furious with Karen for putting him in a position where he was forced to lie. Lizzie finds her play has disappeared along with the writing paper: this convinces Ros to help her write it again. Pat's mother visits her and tells her that Andrew had run away from home, but is now safe at home again. Chrissie agrees to steal paper for Ros if she will include something particular in the play to upset Vera. Greg calls in to the house to set Karen's mind at rest over the letter Doreen wrote to Liz: Meg gad seen the reference and censored it. Vera confiscates a script from Ros and takes it to Erica, who gives permission for the women to put it on. However, Ros has tricked Vera into finding her with an innocuous version - the real thing is being read by Chrissie. Karen writes about Pat's situation for the reporter to make an article from it. Pat's mother visits her again to tell her that if she's not paroled by next week, she will have to put the kids in a home.

    EPISODE 75

    Broadcast on Channel 5 (UK) 22 June 1997 Sun 4:40 a.m. Pat is upset.

    Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne
    Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance
    Erica ~ Patsy King
    Bea ~ Val Lehman
    Jim ~ Gerard Maguire
    Doreen ~ Colette Mann
    Greg ~ Barry Quin
    Vera ~ Fiona Spence
    Karen ~ Peita Toppano
    Pat ~ Monica Maughan
    Roslyn ~ Sigrid Thornton
    Chrissie ~ Amanda Muggleton
    David ~ David Letch
    Mrs Devlin ~ Rosie Sturgess
    Kathleen ~ Penelope Stewart
    Singer ~ Di Greentree
    UNCREDITED
    Phyllis ~ Reylene Pearce
    Officer Barry ~ Joy Westmore
    Wendy ~ Helen Noonan
    Pentridge Guard ~ Terry Trimble
    OTHER CHARACTERS
    Pat's children Emma and Andrew
    Policeman at the end of the episode

  • Written by Denise Morgan
  • Directed by Kendal Flanagan
  • Bea, Pat and Ros have their coffee making things confiscated after lights out for staying up talking: Ros decides to make her digs at Jim in the play even more harsh. Greg warns Karen not to get her hopes up about the newspaper article, but it is published and Erica gives Greg a roasting for passing on confidential information. She also points out that the parole board do not like being but under pressure by publicity. Greg is so annoyed by Erica's warning that he must choose between Wentworth and the halfway house that he threatens to resign from his post at Wentworth. Vera tells the women she'll be watching the rehearsals, but Lizzie fakes an attack to get Vera out of the laundry to give them a chance for a quick run through. Vera takes her to the surgery where Lizzie helps herself to some cotton wool from Greg's desk. Doreen makes a Christmas cake for Lizzie and soaks it in port. While she's out in the grounds supposedly recovering from her "attack", Lizzie talks to Vera about what she used to do for Christmas: she says her mother had asthma and so wouldn't have a Christmas tree in the house or allow her to have pets. When Lizzie is left alone, she finds a little conifer in the garden and and smuggles it inside to use as a Christmas tree . Vera finds Meg miserable in the staff room: she has had a letter from Marty to say he's not coming home for Christmas. Doreen goes to the gates to deliver her presents, and manages to persuade Vera to take them inside for her. Vera then has trouble when Jim checks it in, but Vera has already removed the card so it's not clear who it's from. Vera gives Lizzie the card from Doreen's present and Lizzie wants to know where her cake is: Vera warns her not to complain or she'll get Doreen in trouble. Pat gets her parole, and goes home to a welcome message from her children . The officers are surprised that so many prisoners have taken up the opportunity to get visitors under the visitor's scheme, but Bea has told them to do so to keep the officers occupied. Pat visits David in Pentridge: she sees him get punched in a disgreement with one of the guards. The play goes ahead with Bea as Miss Bennett and Lizzie as "Letch", who faints at the sight of tomato ketchup . There are also digs at Vera and Meg and Greg . The officers make an excuse and leave one by one as it is their turn to be insulted. One of the prisoners sings "Silent Night" as Meg does her rounds and we see the women in their cells. The police come to Pat's house looking for David; they tell Pat he has escaped from prison.

    Storyliners: Dave Worthington, Margaret McClusky
    Script Editor: Anne Lucas


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    Updated ~ 25 March 2001