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EPISODES ON CHANNEL 5 (UK) - WEEK 19

111 * 112 * 113 * 114 * 115


EPISODE 111

Broadcast on Channel 5 (UK) 04 August 1997 Mon 11:25 p.m. Plans are made for Debbie's day in jail.

Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne
Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance
Erica ~ Patsy King
Bea ~ Val Lehman
Jim ~ Gerard Maguire
Doreen ~ Colette Mann
Vera ~ Fiona Spence
Sharon ~ Margot Knight
Judy ~ Betty Bobbitt
Caroline ~ Rosalind Speirs
Ken ~ Tom Oliver
Debbie ~ Dina Mann
Michael ~ Peter Ford
Geoff ~ Ray Meagher
Capt Lloyd Barton ~ Paul Young
Mouse ~ Jentah Sobott
UNCREDITED
Phyllis ~ Reylene Pearce
Officer Powell ~ Judith McGrath
Leila's father ~ John Gould
OTHER CHARACTERS
The reporter and photographer who disturb Jim
The priest at the funeral (Bill Buckley's suggestion during his continuity announcement over the credits that he was the same actor who played Captain Peacock in "Are you being served?" was meant humourously)

  • Written by Denise Morgan
  • Directed by Gary Conway
  • Geoff wakes Jim up, saying that this time he wants to make sure he knows what is happening to him. Vera is concerned about the risks of having Debbie inside Wentworth, though her worries are mainly about getting blamed for any trouble. Erica tells the staff that approval has been given for a 24 hour visit. Geoff pulls a gun and is about to shoot Jim when reporters arrive at the front door, and Jim comes to his senses. Erica announces to the women that Debbie Pearce will be inside for a day to see what life in like inside and Officer Powell explains to the women what she had learnt observing a similar scheme in Paramatta. Vera sees a photo of Michael Simpson in the newspaper and remembers the conversation she had with him about Jim's association with Caroline. Meanwhile, Michael is tied up in the empty house. Debbie reluctantly agrees to the Wentworth visit. The women practice their hard luck stories, and treat the matter far too lightly for Bea's liking. Debbie is inducted like a real prisoner and Vera supplies the usual hard-faced welcome to any new inmate. Geoff returns to the abandoned house and shows Michael the news report , making it clear that he intends to succeed eventually in killing Jim. Debbie complains about her treatment to Erica, but is told that the officers are treating her as they would any real prisoner. Vera confides in Meg, sharing her worries that she may have provoked Michael's jealous rage by telling him that Jim would lose his job if it could be proved that he was seeing Caroline. Naturally, she is more worried about the consequences for herself than for Jim or his family. Bea forces Debbie to shut up and listen to some of the women's stories: we hear Doreen's and Lizzie's alternately. Jim is packing up his kids' toys when Vera phones with her condolences. She begins well but manages to make Jim break down when she asks if the police knew why Michael Simpson did it. Instead of her usual Sunday service, Lizzie sees Captain Barton from the Salvation Army and her ears prick up when she realises that Phyllis is to be let out for a day to see the hostel where she may be going to live on her release. She asks if she could be let out to see the hostel herself, but realises that as Vera is Acting Governor while Erica is away she won't have much chance of getting permission, but Vera surprises her by agreeing. Bea asks Vera to put Debbie in her cell for the night, but Vera wants to know if it's all just an act to impress Ken. Debbie explains that she was conceived when her father had escaped from prison. Geoff marks a gun with Michael's fingerprints and tells him he's going to kill Jim first then come back and fake Michael's suicide by hanging. When he goes, Michael uses the open can of baked beans that Geoff has left on the floor to taunt him and cuts through his bonds. On her day out, Lizzie collects for the Salvation Army, but as much money goes in her handbag as in the collecting tin . Bea has a final heart to heart with Debbie before she leaves, telling her that she will be fifty before she gets out and can't expect any love in her life, even with Debbie's father. Judy reluctantly goes to hospital for a familiarisation tour. Leila's father approaches him at her funeral and tells him he regrets letting him come anywhere near his daughter. Michael goes to the halfway house to hide out with Caroline, and she finds out from him that Geoff is planning to kill Jim. Geoff arrives at the graveyard and watches the funeral from a distance.

    EPISODE 112

    Broadcast on Channel 5 (UK) 05 August 1997 Tue 11:30 p.m. Caroline turns Michael over to the police.

    Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne
    Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance
    Erica ~ Patsy King
    Bea ~ Val Lehman
    Jim ~ Gerard Maguire
    Doreen ~ Colette Mann
    Vera ~ Fiona Spence
    Sharon ~ Margot Knight
    Judy ~ Betty Bobbitt
    Caroline ~ Rosalind Speirs (mis-spelt "Spiers" in the credits)
    Ken ~ Tom Oliver
    Debbie ~ Dina Mann
    Geoff ~ Ray Meagher
    Det Sgt Parsons ~ Kevin Summers
    Capt Lloyd Barton ~ Paul Young
    Kerry Vincent ~ Penny Downie
    UNCREDITED
    Sally ~ Nanette Wallace
    Michael ~ Peter Ford
    OTHER CHARACTERS
    Halfway house resident called Louise in (109)

  • Written by John Wood
  • Directed by Gary Conway
  • Debbie does not appear in this episode.

    Officer Barfield (Kate Fell) now has her hair scraped back Vera-style.

    Michael is arrested when the police arrive at the halfway house, as Caroline has called them while out of the room. The police tell Jim that Michael has been arrested but warn him that Geoff is still after him, so he is under permanent police guard. Meg finds the money from the Salvos' collecting tin in Lizzie's handbag when she returns from her visit and hands it to Erica who suspends Lizzie's buyup for a week. Judy hospital visit hasn't made her feel any better about the operation. Ken suggests to Erica that the women might be ready for a performance such as a play reading and she agrees to give them an hour's rehearsal time. Lizzie is wracked with guilt when Captain Barton comes to visit, and has to be forced to go out into the garden to talk to him. Ken tells Bea her talk had the required effect and Debbie has gone back to live with her mother. The women have difficulty reading the script of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (though as it's the mechanicals scene any bad acting would not be out of place). Captain Bennett isn't angry with Lizzie and gives her a hymn book as a present. Judy tells Erica she doesn't want to see Captain Barton and when he comes to her cell to see her anyway, she tells him she doesn't believe in God and doesn't want to be "saved", as she enjoys being a lesbian. Bea is disturbed to overhear that Ken is planning to hand over the running of the drama group to the women themselves and so might not be visiting for much longer. Sharon and Lizzie squabble when Lizzie's newfound religious fervour starts her preaching at Sharon's "immorality". Caroline is told that Michael has been refused bail and will be held in a psychiatric unit, possibly permanently. Lizzie announces she's giving up smoking. Erica tells Meg and Vera that Kerry Vincent is to be transferred from Barnhurst and that special arrangements are to be made for her. The police surround Geoff Butler's hideout, but he manages to get past them and makes his escape by car. Lizzie is moved to share Bea and Doreen's cell to make room for Kerry, who gets a large cell to herself to give her room for all her artists' materials. Jim tells the police to call off the surveillance and he will disarm Geoff himself. Kerry works in the laundry and tells the women she's an ex-prostitute and was imprisoned for killing a man with an ashtray. Doreen sees Kerry set up an easel in the garden, and finds out that Kerry has an agent who's arranging an exhibition of her work. She also finds out that Ken Pearce has supported Kerry's work, which makes Doreen suspicious that Kerry must be paying him back ... somehow. Jim arrives home to find Geoff waiting for him. There is a gunshot, but it is a police marksman firing through the (presumably wide open) French windows at Geoff . The guard on Jim was not called off after all.

    Lizzie's use of the exclamation "grouse!" when talking to Captain Barton is nothing to do with complaining. According to The Macquaire Dictionary's section on slang

    grouse
    adjective 1. very good. 2. Prison genuine; not jail-issue. --
    noun 3. Prison tobacco or a cigarette that is not jail-issue. [origin unknown]


    EPISODE 113

    Broadcast on Channel 5 (UK) 06 August 1997 Wed 11:30 p.m. Jim decides to return to Wentworth.

    Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne
    Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance
    Erica ~ Patsy King
    Bea ~ Val Lehman
    Jim ~ Gerard Maguire
    Doreen ~ Colette Mann
    Vera ~ Fiona Spence
    Sharon ~ Margot Knight
    Judy ~ Betty Bobbitt
    Kerry ~ Penny Downie
    Caroline ~ Rosalind Speirs
    Vivienne ~ Bernadette Gibson
    Ken ~ Tom Oliver
    David Austin ~ Rod Mullinar
    Capt Barton ~ Paul Young
    Charles Baldwin ~ Michael Duffield
    Dr East ~ Kirk Alexander
    UNCREDITED
    Officer Barry ~ Joy Westmore
    Wendy ~
    Detective ~ Roy Baldwin

  • Written by Ray Kolle
  • Directed by Leigh Spence
  • I have corrected the misspelling "Rod Mullinor", which is repeated in the credits for (114)

    The three witches . Bea refers to the one stirring (on the left) as Beryl.

    Another silent male nurse cameo from Vince D'Amico?

    The props department provided a sketch version of the painting Kerry works on.

    Caroline is warned by the police to expect the press to take an interest in her for some time to come. Jim phones the prisoner and asks Meg to tell Erica he intends to return to work straight away. Bea and the other women are intrigued by Kerry, and Bea muses that there may be more to be gained by playing the system along than by fighting it. She gets an enthusiastic response from three background prisoners with her (perhaps tactless) enquiry if they want to "keep up the acting stuff". Accordingly, she decides the drama group should be kept going. Doreen tells Bea that Kerry is a painter and that Ken is probably having an affair with her, as he was behind her transfer from Barnhurst. Caroline calls on Jim to request that he reclaims his bail money as the reporters are too much for her: a press photographer takes a snap of the two of them together. Kerry spills some paint in her cell and Vera makes her miss breakfast to clear it up. Meg tells Vera not to be petty when she says she's putting in a report about the incident, revealing her own frustrated artistic ambitions which could be the real reason for her resentment of Kerry. Doreen and Lizzie sneak into the staff room and add extra items to everyone's buyup list to help Lizzie out. Bea directs three of the background characters in a mime of the three witches from "Macbeth". Judy comes round after her operation to find Captain Barton at her bedside. Caroline visits her mother in the nursing home with their barrister to discuss the trial. Jim and Vera both see the newspaper photo of Jim and Caroline. Erica tells Jim he isn't ready to return to work: he tells her he bailed Caroline but when he loses control of his emotions, Erica sends him home. The women listen to the news and Bea realises that Jim and Caroline's association becoming public will not help Caroline at her trial. Bea warns Kerry she will only make enemies if she gets above herself. Erica phones Ted Douglas to request a replacement for Jim. Kerry's agent David Austin calls on Erica to ask permission for Kerry to attend her exhibition. Sharon's request to Erica to be able to visit Judy is turned down, and walks straight from this rebuff right into another. She misinterprets Kerry's remark about not being interested in men and makes a move on her which is politely but firmly refused. Vera is outraged to find that the Department's replacement will be a male officer from Pentridge. Ken confirms Doreen's suspicions by asking to see Kerry when he comes to see Bea and Bea happens to mention Kerry's name. Still miffed about her rejection, Sharon throws in a hint that Kerry is buying special favours by lagging to Vera. Kerry catches Vera appraising her paintings and gives Vera the one she likes the most, telling her to take it to David Austin to have it framed. When Vera takes the picture to David's shop - whose name ("Framery") and address ("72 Barker's Road, Hawthorn") can be read backwards on the windows - , he seems very interested and comments that it will be worth a lot of money in a few years. When Vera notices the extra items on the buyup lists and confiscates them, Sharon uses this as further evidence of Kerry's lagging.

    EPISODE 114

    Broadcast on Channel 5 (UK) 07 August 1997 Thu 11:25 p.m. Prison drama

    Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne
    Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance
    Erica ~ Patsy King
    Bea ~ Val Lehman
    Jim ~ Gerard Maguire
    Doreen ~ Colette Mann
    Vera ~ Fiona Spence
    Sharon ~ Margot Knight
    Judy ~ Betty Bobbitt
    Kerry ~ Penny Downie
    Caroline ~ Rosalind Speirs
    Vivienne ~ Bernadette Gibson
    Ken ~ Tom Oliver
    Capt Barton ~ Paul Young
    Jock Stewart ~ Tommy Dysart
    Mouse ~ Jentah Sobott
    Judge ~ Jeffrey Booth
    Crown Prosecutor ~ Peter Stratford
    David Austin ~ Rod Mullinar
    Charles Baldwin ~ Michael Duffield
    UNCREDITED
    Wendy ~ Helen Noonan
    John Smythe (the man talking about art to Kerry's agent) ~ Bruce Kerr

  • Written by Bryon Williams & Chris Milne
  • Directed by Leigh Spence
  • Kerry's new painting includes figures from Wentworth, including Lizzie on the left and Bea at the back. The figure on the right is clearly meant to be Jim, which is slightly odd as Kerry can never have seen him - he only returned to work briefly in (113) and was sent straight home again.

    Lizzie tries to get Bea to back off from taking action against Kerry for lagging. Kerry finds she is snubbed at breakfast and the women overhear Vera promise to get paints for her. Erica volunteers to do the late shift herself due to the staff shortage. Bea confronts Kerry with her suspicions about how chummy she is with Vera and warns Kerry she'll be watching her. The replacement officer, Jock Stewart, reports for duty next morning and is welcomed by Erica before she goes home to sleep. Vivienne and Caroline go to court for their trial. Mouse asks Lizzie for her home brew recipe for the women in D block, and after giving a brief sermon on the evils of drink, Lizzie agrees (with the promise of a taste of the finished product). Kerry tells Vera to get out of her cell with the excuse that she can't work when she's being watched. At mealtime, Kerry does a quick drawing of Bea and gives it to her to assure her that she isn't a lagger. Jock overhears the women discussing the grog and where it is hidden. Bea warns them to keep quiet as they are just passing Kerry's cell, which is where Jock is hiding. Vivienne and Caroline are both given a bond, of three and five years respectively. Mouse announces that the women of D block have been caught and Bea jumps to the conclusion that Kerry has lagged on them. Caroline calls in at Jim's house to say goodbye to him: they agree they will both need time to recover after their recent experiences. David delivers a special lamp that Kerry requested and insists on seeing her: Meg volunteers to supervise his visit as official visiting hours are over. When Kerry returns to her cell, she finds the painting she's been working on has been ruined . Vera finds her working late on a new painting and Kerry tells her she destroyed the other one herself because she wasn't satisfied with it. Kerry assumes that Bea was responsible for destroying her painting and calls her gutless for not facing up to her in person, but Bea tells her she's no idea what she's talking about. Doreen is called to Erica's office to be told that her mother's will has been proved and she now owns the house. Kerry's agent has "forgotten" to bring a dress for her to wear to the exhibition, so after a bit of buttering up, Vera lets her go in prison uniform on the condition that she changes before the exhibition. Erica offers Vera a spare ticket to the exhibition. David realises the potential news value of a prisoner artist and engineers it so Kerry is seen at the exhibition in prison costume. Sharon admits to Bea that she destroyed Kerry's painting, because she couldn't wait any longer for Bea to do something about her. Judy has changed her mind about Captain Barton, and admits she's happy to see him when he comes to visit her in hospital. Erica is annoyed with Vera when she sees Kerry at the exhibition still wearing her prison dungarees. Meanwhile, David is manipulating the press even further by telling a reporter that a prison officer has extorted a painting from Kerry in return for providing artists' materials. Vera overhears the conversation and realises she might be in trouble.

    EPISODE 115

    Broadcast on Channel 5 (UK) 08 August 1997 Fri 11:35 p.m. Kelly (sic) gets an apology.

    Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne
    Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance
    Erica ~ Patsy King
    Bea ~ Val Lehman
    Jim ~ Gerard Maguire
    Paul ~ George Mallaby
    Doreen ~ Colette Mann
    Vera ~ Fiona Spence
    Sharon ~ Margot Knight
    Judy ~ Betty Bobbitt
    Kerry ~ Penny Downie
    Jock Stewart ~ Tommy Dysart
    Kevin ~ Ian Gilmour
    David Austin ~ Rod Mullinar
    Capt Barton ~ Paul Young
    Mr Douglas ~ Ian Smith
    Harry Bone ~ Stephen O'Rourke
    Mr Westmore ~ Eugene Schlusser
    UNCREDITED
    Wendy ~ Helen Noonan
    Sally ~ Nanette Wallace
    Officer ~ Dawn Klingberg
    Phyllis ~ Reylene Pearce (as a background character)
    OTHER CHARACTERS
    The nursing sister (who appears to be watching something off camera the whole time). The actress is possibly Jacqui Jackson.

  • Written by John Upton
  • Directed by Michael Pattinson
  • Kerry is disgusted with the art snobs at the exhibition. Bea admits to Kerry that she was too hasty in assuming she was a lagger, and Kerry demands to know who ruined her painting. Bea lets her know without actually saying Sharon's name. Sharon fakes stomach cramps to stop Kerry beating her up, but Kerry considers her beneath contempt and only warns her to keep out of her way in future. Vera demands to know why Kerry told her agent Vera was blackmailing her, but Kerry tells her it was all her agent's idea. Vera goes to recover the painting and but David lies and says he sent it away to be framed. A solicitor comes to see Doreen offering to buy her house for $85,000, which is considerably more than its valuation, but she hesitates as she has promised Lizzie that they would live there together. Erica calls Vera to her office to explain the insinuations about her in the newspaper report of the exhibition, and Vera insists she was given the painting. Doreen asks Paul to contact Kevin to discuss whether to sell the house. Erica accepts Vera's explanation, but won't ban David from Wentworth as Vera insists, as she thinks David is "a man of principle". David admits to Kerry that he lied to the reporter purely to get more publicity. When Kerry protests that Vera was nice to her, David tells her that Vera is a "bitch" who's been "asking for it for years". Vera shows her vindictive streak and makes Kerry give up an hour a day from her painting time to clean the toilets. Kevin and Doreen misunderstand each other and have an argument rather than discussing the house. Jim returns to work. Jock Stewart supervises Doreen on another visit from the solicitor's "representative" who increases the offer to $100,000 if Doreen will make an immediate decision, but she refuses to sign. Paul has to advise Doreen to hang on to her house without influencing her unduly. Judy returns from hospital and has to deal with a jealous outburst from Sharon on the subject of Captain Barton. Paul advises Captain Barton that Lizzie may end up with no-one to stay with when she is released, so he persuades her that she should try to contact her eldest daughter Marcia. Ted Douglas makes an unofficial visit to warn Erica that David's claims about Vera will have to be officially investigated once he receives them in writing. Kerry finds that the lightbulb in her lamp is missing and accuses Vera of removing it. Kerry is still fuming from the encounter when Jim arrives to take her to the Governor's office, so when she is asked how Vera got hold of the painting, she tells Erica that Vera made her hand it over. Judy tells Captain Barton that her experience in hospital has made her realise she has to make the best use of her time, and that Sharon is no good for her. Sharon shows Kerry that she has the lightbulb and deliberately drops it on the floor. Judy is disgusted with her and tells Sharon it is all over between them . Kevin asks Doreen again to marry him and this time she says yes. Erica tells Vera that additional evidence has come to light suggesting that she was indeed blackmailing Kerry and therefore she is suspended from duty until further notice.

    Storyliners: Dave Worthington, Margaret McClusky
    Script Editors: Ian Smith (111); Patrick Amer (112); Ian Smith (113); Patrick Amer (114)-(115)


    (106) to (110)


    Updated ~ 02 September 2001