EPISODE 146Broadcast on Channel 5 Monday 13th October Kay dies and Lizzie is charged with manslaughter; Linda's parole comes through; and Tracey is allowed bail. Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Judy ~ Betty Bobbitt Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance Erica ~ Patsy King Jim ~ Gerard Maguire Doreen ~ Colette Mann Vera ~ Fiona Spence Linda ~ Elaine Cusick Tracey ~ Sue Devine Kathleen ~ Penelope Stewart Det. Insp. Grace ~ Terry Gill Bob Morris ~ Anthony Hawkins Danny ~ Darren Sole Jan ~ Charmayne Lane  Visiting Justice ~ Lloyd Cunnington Joe ~ Selwyn Crockett  UNCREDITEDSally ~ Nanette WallaceHeavy ~ Neil McColl  OTHER CHARACTERSPlainclothes Policeman | Lizzie tells Meg she thinks Kay must be dead, and gives a very unconvincing version of her "self-defence" alibi. Meg is not convinced and tells Jim she thinks it is completely out of character for Lizzie to be violent. Lizzie explains the whole "sting" operation to Erica, and Erica suprisingly says she believes the self-defence story and confines Lizzie to her cell rather than sending her to solitary. Judy blames herself for yet another death when Linda comes to tell the women the news about Kay. Doreen thinks Linda should go to Erica and take the blame. Tracey tells Kath she's being released and is very confident in Joe, saying that he would never believe she had informed on him. The women keep quiet at first when Erica appeals for any information which could help Lizzie, but later Judy changes her mind when told that Kay actually isn't dead, only unconscious. Bob is worried that Tracey will be in grave danger on the outside, and he refuses to pay the bail to get her out. Lizzie tells Linda that she feels she owes her life to her, so she must let her take the blame so Linda can get out and look after Danny. Doreen overhears Judy trying to cheer Tracey up and goes into the cell after Judy and Tracey have gone to the dining room and takes Tracey's mother's wedding ring from its hiding place (in plain sight on top of the bed!). Inspector Grace tells Bob that the police believe there is a gang member inside Wentworth already, which makes Bob reverse his decision and pay the bail. Tracey stops Doreen in the corridor and asks if she knows anything about her ring. Doreen tells Tracey she despises her for playing "poor little rich girl", admits she took the ring and gives it back. Bob invites Meg to dinner when he comes to collect Tracey, though she excuses herself on the grounds that it is against regulations. Doreen tells Judy she's better off without Tracey. Lizzie refuses to change her mind about taking the blame, but next day Erica has to tell her that she may have to face more serious charges as Kay died in the night. Tracey phones her friend Jan and asks her to come round wearing something "distinctive". Linda passes on the news of Kay's death to the other women, and Doreen reveals her reason for wanting to get Linda to take the blame: she is worried that Lizzie won't be released for years after her and they won't be able to live together as they planned. The VJ tells Lizzie he doesn't believe she is strong enough to have killed Kay, but commits her to face a charge of manslaughter. The detective watching Tracey's house is alerted when a person wearing Jan's clothes leaves the house, but it is Jan after all: Tracey drives away in Jan's sports car and goes to see Joe. He tells he he didn't know anything about the drugs either. Linda's parole is granted and she is released. Tracey and Joe are in bed when there is a knock at the door. It's another member of the McNally gang, and Tracey gets a rude awakening when she overhears their conversation and finds out what Joe really thinks of her. The other man has come round to silence Tracey with a little "accident", but when he goes to the bedroom she has escaped through a window. Tracey sees another two men waiting in a car outside, and she just about to use a phone box to call for help when one of them stops her. |
EPISODE 147Broadcast on Channel 5 Tuesday 14th October 23:35 The police rescue Tracey from two thugs and return her to Wentworth; Bea returns from solitary to confront her but Kathleen intervenes; and Jim tries to expand his meagre social life.Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Judy ~ Betty Bobbitt Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance Erica ~ Patsy King Bea ~ Val Lehman Jim ~ Gerard Maguire Doreen ~ Colette Mann Vera ~ Fiona Spence Margo ~ Jane Clifton Tracey ~ Sue Devine Bob ~ Anthony Hawkins Kathleen ~ Penelope Stewart Det. Insp. Grace ~ Terry Gill Plainclothesman ~ Rod Densley Garbage Collector ~ Bill Bennett  Heavy ~ Neil McColl OTHER CHARACTERSSean McNally (possibly Neil Thompson? )Janice McDuff (Jim's pickup in the disco)  Two young women in the disco (one of whom may be Joanne Barker?  )Barman (possibly Marcel Cugola?  ) | Tracey delivers a well-aimed knee to the groin area of one of the men, and gets away from them, though she runs straight into a gun battle between two thugs and the men who are chasing her, who turn out to be police officers. Doreen is completely despondent and tells Lizzie she's doesn't think she'll ever amount to anything. Inspector Grace tells Bob that Tracey is going back to Wentworth, as he's taking her into "protective custody" (?) after she has given him the names of Joe's friends. Meg is in reception when Tracey is brought back, and learns that Tracey is worried above all by Bea's imminent release from solitary, but Bea has already been released and is in the laundry catching up with the news. Erica is a little sniffy when Tracey alludes to other suspicious deaths in Wentworth before Kay, and tells her that is precisely why she should tell an officer if she is threatened. Bea and Doreen move in on Tracey (with Kath in tow), but Judy warns them that three officers are coming down the corridor. This is obviously a lie, as the scenes on either side of this go to great pains to establish that most of the officers are off sick. Judy is astonished at Tracey's gullibility with regard to Joe. Bea incites Margo to attack Tracey by telling her that it was Tracey who brought in the drugs that Kay used to set them both up. Erica tells Jim he must take a rest, and advises him to expand his social life beyond the prison. Judy tries to argue Tracey's case with Bea, but Bea tells that Margo gets first bash anyway. Kath overhears this and scuttles off to warn Tracey. Meg also advises Jim to go out and enjoy himself for a change. Margo, Lil and Cavelli rough up Tracey but Kath arrives in time to stop them. Tracey points out to Kath that she might be out of a job with Joe's boss after what she's told the police. The heavy who was going to arrange Tracey's "accident" visits Kath pretending to be her boyfriend and passes her a cigarette which has a message for her written inside the paper. Kath reads it and immediately goes to find Bea, telling her that she was put inside to protect Tracey and now has a message to stop her testifying. Vera invites Meg for a meal, but Jim decides to "cut loose" for the evening. Judy gets Bea to agree to at least consider laying off Tracey. Vera gets drunk and confesses to Meg she's afraid she'll never get a man. Jim goes to a disco and finds himself out of his depth until he meets a woman at the bar who's nearer his own age. At work next day Vera has a hangover and is worried she made a fool of herself in front of Meg. Tracey tells Bea she didn't give Kay any drugs, only money, so Bea orders Margo to lay off Tracey. The garbage van driver throws a parcel to Kath, which contains a flick-knife and the message "USE IT!"  . She goes to Bea for advice, and Bea tells her she can either use it on Tracey or on herself to put herself out of action. Kath tries to stab Tracey while she is asleep but can't carry it through and goes back to Bea. Bea tells her she's thought of another way she can help her ... and brings the steam press down  on Kath's hands  . |
EPISODE 148Broadcast on Channel 5 Wednesday 15th October 23:25 A sniper opens fire whilst Bob, Tracey and Meg are in the garden, hitting Meg; Vera goes to a disco with Jim and is picked up by a young man; and Doreen realises that she would like to work with children.Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Judy ~ Betty Bobbitt Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance Erica ~ Patsy King Bea ~ Val Lehman Jim ~ Gerard Maguire Doreen ~ Colette Mann Vera ~ Fiona Spence Tracey ~ Sue Devine Bob ~ Anthony Hawkins Phyllis ~ Reylene Pearce Damien Travena ~ Colin Setches  UNCREDITEDSister Franklin ~ Di GreentreeSally ~ Nanette Wallace OTHER CHARACTERSMother (later credited as Jane) Sniper Girl in pink at the disco (later credited as Poppy)  | Vera takes Bea to see the Governor. Judy and Lizzie realise that Kath was set up to put her hands in the press, but can't work out what Bea has got against her. Bea claims the incident was accidental, but Erica bans her from using the press to prevent any more "accidents". Doreen torments Tracey by switching her radio from classical to rock and telling her what Bea did to Kath. Meg is annoyed that Jim has changed the rotas to give himself more time to pursue his disco-going. Bea tells Judy about Kath getting orders to kill Tracey, and warns her that Tracey is still in danger, and so are they if they stand in the way of whoever's out to get her. Erica says that all of Tracey's future visitors must have her personal approval. Vera accuses Jim of not caring about the prison any more, so almost as a dare he invites her to come out with him to see how it's better than sitting at home. Tracey finds out from Judy why Bea injured Kath. After a visit to Tracey, Bob has another heart to heart with Meg and invites her to dinner again. This time her excuse is that she's on late shift. Doreen jealously watches Tracey playing Scrabble with her friends and sweeps the board onto the floor. Vera feels unhappy and out of place at the disco, especially when Jim gets the come-on and leaves her by herself. Bea wants to know what Doreen is going to do when her parole comes up in a few weeks' time. Jim spins a line to his latest conquest while Vera looks on in disbelief, though she soon gets the old "do you come here often?" from a man called Damien. They end up going back to Vera's flat and early next morning Vera finds he has gone, leaving her a note. Doreen is rude to Erica when she asks what she's planning to do after she is released and Erica puts her on trolley duty for the rest of the week to give her time out of the laundry to think. Vera is horrified when Jim tells her has no intention of seeing the girl from the disco again, and even more so when Jim doubts if Damien will keep his promise to phone her. Doreen goes on sick call and meets a soon-to-be-released mother and her baby in sick bay, which cheers her up greatly. Vera protests about the double standard, and when Jim calls her naive she takes a huff and leaves work so that Jim has to do her double shift. Doreen tells Erica she's decided that she'd like to work with young children and Erica offers to see if there a possibility of work release in that area. Inspector Grace informs Erica that Joe has promised there will be an attempt on Tracey's life while she is inside Wentworth. At that very moment, a sniper is outside the fence at Wentworth assembling his rifle. Doreen apologises to Tracey for giving her a hard time. Bea refuses to fix the press after Erica had ordered her not to touch it, so Jim has to do it himself and in pique he cancels the outside recreation period. Bob arrives for a visit and Jim irritably approves it after Meg says she will supervise, even though she's off duty. They go out into the garden and the sniper opens fire  , hitting first Bob and then Meg  .
Perhaps we can guess from the Scrabble board Thanks to Simon Johnson for this observation: "If you watch very carefully in the cliffhanging moment when Meg, Tracy and Bob are shot at by the hitman, as Tracy falls down next to Meg on the ground, she clearly appears to be laughing (or grinning at any rate), followed by what looks like a smirk." |
EPISODE 149Broadcast on Channel 5 Monday 20th October 1997 23:45 An attentive Bob visits Meg who is recovering from surgery after being shot; the women organise a `truth' session to help Tracey's paranoia; and Jim goes to a party.Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Judy ~ Betty Bobbitt Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance Erica ~ Patsy King Bea ~ Val Lehman Jim ~ Gerard Maguire Doreen ~ Colette Mann Vera ~ Fiona Spence Tracey ~ Sue Devine Bob ~ Anthony Hawkins Kathleen ~ Penelope Stewart Sarah Forrest ~ Diane Craig Phyllis ~ Reylene Pearce Poppy ~ Joanne Moore  Officer Maguire ~ Jean Cain OTHER CHARACTERSUniformed police officer (after sniper incident) | After hearing the gunfire, the prisoner discuss who may have been shot. Jim tries to call Vera back to work, but she claims the doctor has given her something to relax her, though it sounds more like she's taken a half bottle of whisky already. After being locked in their cells, Bea and the others decide it must have been Tracey who was shot, but Tracey shouts out to them that it was Meg. Jim reports to Erica that Meg is not as seriously hurt as she might have been, as the bullet passed straight through her. Erica increases security and bans outdoor exercise periods. When interviewed by Erica, Tracey tells her that Bea deliberately injured Kath with the steam press to put her out of action. This turns Bea against Tracey again, but Judy suggests they need do something to make Tracey trust them all again. Vera goes to visit Meg in hospital, but is more concerned to tell Meg of her own worries that she's made a fool of herself in front of Jim by picking up a complete stranger. Vera leaves when Bob visits, bringing a huge basket of flowers. At home, Vera imagines her mother telling her "you're getting old and hard before your years", and hits the bottle in despair. Judy suggests they all play a truth game: she admits she wanted to kill Jock Stewart and wonders who else had ever contemplated murder. Bea agrees that a discussion might help and asks Phyllis to fix the press to give them a morning off work. Erica approves the "group therapy" session and even agrees that Tracey could be moved in to share with Judy. Bob visits Meg in hospital again and urges her to take up a safer profession. Judy leads the others in role-playing, asking Doreen to be Bea while she plays Tracey: Doreen (as Bea) says she'd accept an offer of $10,000 to kill her, but Kath takes Bea's part and says she wouldn't do it. The discussion (or argument) swiftly turns on Doreen and her need to be liked: Bea admits she's sick of having to look after them all as if they were a bunch of kids. Lizzie suggests she only does it because she's got nothing else to do. Bea storms out until Judy fetches her back. The long uncomfortable silence is broken when Tracey asks Lizzie why she's taking the blame for Linda, causing Doreen and Lizzie to argue. Vera tells the women the press has been fixed and they should get back to work. Lizzie wants a lawyer and Erica suggests they contact someone from Charles Baldwin's firm. There is more uncomfortable silence when the women are back at work. Jim meets one of his disco conquests again and she invites him to a party at her flat. Vera is touched when Jim calls round to apologise for saying her man friend would not contact her. Doreen and Lizzie are still arguing in their cell after lights out, and when Bea tries to call a halt, Doreen accuses her of needing them all to boss them around. At the party, Jim meets a woman called Sarah Forrest  : he tells her he's in the building trade and she tells him she and her partner are interior decorators. Vera dabbles at painting again. Both Lizzie and Doreen ask Vera if they can be moved to another cell. Bea tells Judy the women can't cope with that much honesty when there's no escape from it, but the arguments continue until Bea warns them they have to make it up, and offers the olive branch to Judy to set an example. Doreen is still cross with Lizzie and goes to Erica to tell her it was Linda who killed Kay White, and Lizzie is only taking the blame so she can stay in prison longer. |
EPISODE 150Broadcast on Channel 5 Tuesday 21st October 1997 23:45 Lizzie denies Doreen's accusations but receives a five year sentence for manslaughter; Sarah makes a Jim an offer; and Bob escorts Meg home after she is discharged from hospital.Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Judy ~ Betty Bobbitt Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance Erica ~ Patsy King Bea ~ Val Lehman Jim ~ Gerard Maguire Doreen ~ Colette Mann Vera ~ Fiona Spence Linda ~ Elaine Cusick Tracey ~ Sue Devine Bob ~ Anthony Hawkins Sarah Forrest ~ Diane Craig Charles Baldwin ~ Michael Duffield Prosecutor ~ Ian Clutterham  Judge ~ Arthur Barradell-Smith  Julian Phillips ~ Peter Stratford  Dot ~ Valma Pratt  Mouse ~ Jentah Sobott Wendy ~ Helen Noonan Ken ~ John Bishop  UNCREDITEDSally ~ Nanette WallaceOh look - another Vermeer Jim is called in court as "Matthew James Fletcher" and Linda as "Linda Mary Jones". Dot's bedtime reading appears to be called "The Whispering Rocks". A historical romance with this title by Sandra Heath was published in 1977. | Erica warns Doreen that if her story is true, she could be charged herself along with Lizzie, Bea and others with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Doreen is taken to an interview room to prevent her taking to Lizzie until Erica has got her reaction to Doreen's allegations. Jim is annoyed to be called back after signing out to take Lizzie to Erica's office. Bea and Lizzie wonder why Doreen's away so long, and Lizzie wonders if it's to do with their investments, though she soon finds out it isn't. She sticks to her story and gets Jim to back her up by asking if he saw Linda anywhere near the cell. When told to wait outside, Lizzie puts her ear to the door and hears Jim say that he'll go to see Linda on his way to work next day. When Lizzie and Bea criticise Doreen's actions, she admits it's only because she was scared to live on her own. Lizzie says she hopes Linda sticks to the story or they'll all be in a lot of trouble. Vera suffers at work, but it's not clear if it's flu or a hangover. When Jim calls on her, Linda denies Doreen's allegations. Vera tells Bea to keep away from the press, and since it can't be fixed all the pressing will have to be done by hand. Mouse explains to Tracey why they have to go along with Lizzie taking the blame, and Jim overhears part of the conversation. Vera hangs up on the service company when they won't come to fix the press the same day. Jim relays the conversation to Erica, though he admits he didn't hear any direct threats against Doreen. Nevertheless, Erica decides to transfer Doreen to maternity to make her less dependent on her existing friends. Charles Baldwin interviews Lizzie and is suprised she isn't interested in using self-defence as mitigation. Bea tells the service engineer what is wrong with the press but he insists it needs a new part. Doreen goes to maternity, leaving her teddy behind, saying it's time for her to grow up. Linda comes to visit Lizzie but Jim turns her away as she's to be a witness at Lizzie's hearing. When Judy tries to use the press it won't work, so Bea gets it going with a well-aimed clout. Vera tells Jim she's convinced Bea is playing games with them by getting the press to stop and start as it suits her, so Jim suggests she transfers Bea out of the laundry for a while. Jim goes for lunch with Sarah and she has business proposition to put to him. Vera sends Bea to work in the kitchen. Sarah's partner Julian expresses surprise that she hasn't come across Jim before through his contacts in the building trade. Jim offers Sarah a cash investment of $10,000, but Julian asks her to put him off for a while until he can investigate him further. The woman in the next bed in hospital tells Meg she thinks Bob in in love with her and gives him three weeks to propose. Vera's attempt at a still life goes a bit wrong  . Bob comes to give Meg a lift back from hospital. Despite Charles Baldwin's plea in mitigation  , Lizzie gets a heavy sentence - five years. |
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