EPISODE 271Broadcast on Channel 5 Friday 15 May 1998 04:40 Susie flees into the woods to escape a rapist, and the women of Wentworth start work on their prison paper. Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Judy ~ Betty Bobbitt Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance Erica ~ Patsy King Off. Powell ~ Judith McGrath Kate ~ Olivia Hamnett Steve ~Wayne Jarratt Janet ~ Kate Sheil Ian ~ Peter Curtin Margo ~ Jane Clifton Susie ~ Jacqui Gordon Phyllis ~ Reylene Pearce Sgt. Brian Cameron ~ Alan Lee  Julie Cameron ~ Jennifer Jarmen-Walker  Roger Ford ~ Howard Eynon Policeman No. 1 ~ Paul Trahair  Policeman No. 2 ~ Ilya Dyukic  | The driver gets out of his car and opens the back door to get in beside Susie. He tells her they are miles from anywhere and he knows who she is, and indicates that he expects Susie to have sex with him. She pushes him away and scrambles out of the other car door, but he drives off leaving her stranded in the dark. The women can't understand how Bea let herself get caught with the kitchen goods: Margo assumes that Bea deliberately wanted to get put in solitary to get out of killing Kate. Judy points out that Kate is in solitary too, and Margo claims that Bea must have found a way to kill Kate in solitary. The driver reports Susie to the police,  and hangs up. The local police decide to drive around to investigate. Lizzie admits to Judy that she put the cans in Bea's locker to get her off the hook for a while. Susie is walking in the dark when she sees a car approaching, so she dodges off the road and watches the police drive past. Lizzie suggests to Judy that they should back up Kate's pretence of madness, and perhaps she'd be transferred to a psychiatric hospital. The women decide to call the newspaper "The Weekly Stir" and Judy is volunteered as Editor. Colleen pulls Steve up for not putting a report on Kate. Ian guesses that Janet is having second thoughts about the engagement, but they kiss and make up. Lizzie is watching through a security gate, and asks for an exclusive interview for her gossip column in the Stir. Colleen cuts Lizzie short when she starts to talk about Kate, saying that they are on to Kate's little game. To stop Ian leaving next day, Lizzie plans to mess up the first printing of the newspaper. Margo tells Judy that if Bea returns from solitary without killing Kate, she may as well forget about being top dog. Susie finds a farmhouse, and gets in through a sash window. No-one seems to be home, so she helps herself to a snack from the fridge. Erica tells Meg and Steve that she has no intention of indulging Kate in her attempt to fake madness. Kate is returned to share the cell with Judy: she insists on inspecting Judy's fingernails for germs, and tells her that she and "Erica" have decided that Judy will be her protector. Judy asks to see Erica and tells her she thinks Kate is having a nervous breakdown, but Erica says she will just have to put up with Kate for now. Susie is surprised by the return of Mrs Cameron: she hides until the coast is clear, then sneaks out of the front door and knocks as if she has just arrived. She spins a tale about having an argument with her boyfriend and asks where she can catch a bus. Mrs Cameron says the nearest stop is miles away, but her husband can give her a lift when he gets back from work. Erica is delighted to hear of Ian and Janet's engagement. Kate inspects the rec room shelves for dust and haughtily tells Steve off when he questions what she's doing. Mrs Cameron notices Susie's denim jacket is torn and offers to mend it while she has a shower. Steve admits to Erica that he dabbled in journalism in his student days and so she officially puts him in charge of the newspaper. Kate wanders around the workshop like a visiting dignitary inspecting a factory. As she is leaving, she warns Margo that she is next in line for "special attention". Margo decides to impress her friends by standing up to Kate when she's reading in the rec room later. Kate grabs Margo by the throat  and is throttling her one-handed when the other women pull her away. She then sits down calmly to carry on with her book. Mrs Cameron's husband arrives home: he is the local police sergeant and when he hears about their visitor he realises she is the escapee Susie Driscoll he was looking for the day before. |
EPISODE 272Broadcast on Channel 5 Saturday 16 May 1998 04:40 Meg agrees to act as matron-of-honour at Janet and Ian's wedding, and Helen returns to Wentworth on a prostitution charge. There is an attack on Judy's life.Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Judy ~ Betty Bobbitt Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance Erica ~ Patsy King Off. Powell ~ Judith McGrath Kate ~ Olivia Hamnett Steve ~Wayne Jarratt Janet ~ Kate Sheil Susie ~ Jacqui Gordon Helen Smart ~ Caroline Gillmer Margo ~ Jane Clifton Brenda Thomas ~ Victoria Eagger  Patrick Powell ~ Rob Steele  Jennifer Powell ~ Sarah Machin Robert Powell ~ Benjamin  Thanks to Roger Campion in Digest 1258 for spotting a strange jumpcut in the scene where Janet asks Meg to be her maid of honour. As they leave the main building and are only halfway down the path, Meg asks Janet a question about Susie Driscoll. Janet's response follows in the next shot, when they seem to have instantaneously rounded the corner and are well on the way to the front gate. Roger saw this on Foxtel but both the Channel 5 and Granada broadcasts were the same. | Meg takes the phone call at Wentworth that Susie has been recaptured and will be brought back next morning. Lizzie notices Kate staring at Judy in the rec room and Judy admits to Lizzie that it bothers her. Janet asks Meg to be her matron of honour, and she accepts. Kate wants to know what Judy is going to do about Margo: Judy says that Kate seemed to be doing pretty well without any help from her. Susie shares the van back to Wentworth with Helen Smart,  who is inside again on another soliciting charge. Colleen takes Susie straight to the Governor. Kate scoffs at the women for thinking they're capable of writing newspaper articles. Erica tells Susie she'll have to see the VJ and her sentence will probably be extended. Helen tells the women she no longer needs to work the streets as she's now running her own "business". Janet is about to discipline Kate for slacking, but Kate threatens to tell Ian about her time in Wentworth as a prisoner. She reports the incident to Colleen, who takes several officers with her as reinforcements, but Kate says she's happy to see the Governor, and leads the way. Kate sympathises with Erica for having to run a prison with "types like Powell" and offers to help her. When Janet knocks on the door, Kate tells her to come in as if it were her own office. Colleen doesn't believe Kate is genuine, but Erica says Kate will have to be examined by Dr. Weissman before any decision can be made. Colleen invites Meg home for dinner, as her daughter Jenny is cooking. Kate tries to persuade Judy that they should be joint top dog, and threatens her when Judy refuses to have anything to do with it. Steve takes Erica to the workshop to see the trial issue of The Stir, but it is a disaster  , as Lizzie has deliberately messed up the printing plates to get Ian called back to sort it out. Despite Judy's warning, Helen goes to "interview" Kate for the paper.  Kate tells her she killed Conrad for the sake of her child, but in the next breath says she is never going to have children. She then confuses Conrad with Sandy and says she had to kill Sandy because she was going to report her fraud to the police, and says she put Conrad's body in the rubbish compactor. Helen reports this to the other women, and tells Judy to be careful if she's sharing a cell with Kate. Meg goes for dinner with Colleen and meets her family. Judy wakes in the middle of the night to find Kate sitting upright in bed staring at her,  and next morning tells Colleen that she must be moved to another cell. Kate later overhears part of a conversation between Margo and Judy where it appears they are planning to kill her, though Judy is in fact telling Margo she wants nothing to do with it. Four of the women including Kate are sent to the loading bay to bring in a delivery of paper, but Kate goes missing after a while. She hides and waits for Judy to return to their cell, then jumps her, putting a stocking round Judy's neck from behind, and pulling tighter as a manic grin spreads across her face.  |
EPISODE 273Broadcast on Channel 5 Sunday 17 May 1998 04:40 Kate is finally taken to an asylum, and Susie insists that one of the new prisoners is her mother.Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Judy ~ Betty Bobbitt Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance Erica ~ Patsy King Bea ~ Val Lehman Doreen ~ Colette Mann Off. Powell ~ Judith McGrath Kate ~ Olivia Hamnett Steve ~Wayne Jarratt Janet ~ Kate Sheil Margo ~ Jane Clifton Susie ~ Jacqui Gordon Ian ~ Peter Curtin Myra Desmond ~ Anne Phelan Joanne Slater ~ Carole Yelland  Helen Smart ~ Caroline Gillmer Brenda Thomas ~ Victoria Eagger A brief glimpse of Kate's file | Steve lets Bea out of solitary, and he is unlocking a security gate when they both hear a loud crash and muffled cries in the distance. Judy tries to get away from Kate, but Kate is hanging on tight. Bea and Steve manage to get Kate off Judy, but Kate deadlegs Steve and runs off. She finds the security gate unlocked, composes herself and walks back into the workshop just after the women delivering the paper. Colleen asks her where she's been: Kate says she was "answering a call of nature". She meets Steve in a corridor, and he tells her Kate has just tried to kill Judy, which she finds hard to believe. Colleen and Steve go back to the workshop and ask Kate to come with them to solitary: she asks them if someone is sick there. When she is put inside the solitary cell, Kate is puzzled and asks if she's being punished for something. Steve asks her if she remembers the fight with Judy: she says she does, but surely they realise she had to defend herself against the "evil forces". Erica still isn't convinced even though both Colleen and Steve tell her they are sure Kate is mad. Judy returns to work, and says the sister thinks her pacemaker saved her life by keeping her heart beating. Janet plucks up the courage to tell Ian about her time inside, but he says he can't see why she's so worried - it doesn't matter to him. Colleen tries without success to persuade Erica not to mention Susie's previous escape attempts at the coming VJ hearing. Bea isn't very impressed by the idea of the newspaper, but becomes more interested as soon as Erica announces the women will only be provided with a ream of paper a month and will have to do all the work in their own time. She tells the women they will just have to buy more somehow. Janet phones the doctor to make an appointment for a "check-up". Bea likes Steve's idea of taking on small private printing jobs to pay for the newspaper. Colleen checks on Kate to find she is holding an imaginary surgery, and tells Colleen she's far too busy to take a lunch break. Erica offers to contact Myra Desmond from the PRG to advise the women about the project. Kate has a nightmare and rushes around her cell screaming and babbling about Conrad and her son. When she sees Steve looking through the peephole, she loses control  and throws her bed at the door. Her screams carry far enough to wake up the other women. Steve returns with restraints:  Kate begs him not to use them, but she is strapped to her bed. Doreen returns from maternity. Meg tells Susie the VJ will hear her case the following Thursday. Susie tells Lizzie she's going to ignore Bea's advice and make another escape attempt, so Lizzie is forced to agree to help her. Doreen overhears them plotting the details later and joins in: they agree to cover for Susie who will hide out in the garden until dark, then dig under the fence. Erica tells all the officers that Dr Weissman has arranged for Kate to be transferred to a hospital for the criminally insane. Myra Desmond  tells the women they could easily find work for cheap rates, and Steve offers to buy the first paper for the women, but Bea firmly refuses, and says that the women should all contribute a little from the money the Department is holding for them. Kate seems pleased to be going to hospital, saying there is so much she can do there.  As the van arrives to collect Kate, and deliver a new prisoner, Susie hides near the barbecue and watches. Margo tells Kate she'll be getting a new office - one with padded walls. Kate smiles serenely and climbs into the van, waving to the women and saying "goodbye - I hope you'll all be better soon". Lizzie sees Susie walking back towards the prison and wants to know why she isn't hiding. Susie says she doesn't want to escape now: the new prisoner being led inside is her mother. |
EPISODE 275Broadcast on Channel 5 Wednesday 20 May 1998 04:40 Bea suspects that her birthday has been forgotten, and Joanne tries to persuade Susie as gently as possible that she is not her mother.Judy ~ Betty Bobbitt Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance Erica ~ Patsy King Bea ~ Val Lehman Doreen ~ Colette Mann Off. Powell ~ Judith McGrath Steve ~Wayne Jarratt Susie ~ Jacqui Gordon Robert ~ Benjamin Mel ~ David Cameron  Jennifer ~ Sarah Machin  Wendy ~ Helen Noonan  Doug ~ Martin Phelan  Joanne ~ Carole Yelland Off. Barry ~ Joy Westmore Phil Slater ~ Ian Scott  Jason Slater ~ Jason Sole V.J. ~ Howard Priddle Matthew Thomas ~ Peter Dunn  Male Stripper ~ Erwin Martens  At least the Stir is starting to shape up But is Bea really forty or is she lying about her age? | When Doreen asks if Helen can help with the paper, Steve reminds her that she's been released. As Doreen also says that the paper is an article short, Steve tries again to persuade Bea to write a column for the paper: she agrees to his suggestion that she writes about Susie's case, but only when he promises to show the article to a reporter friend. Doreen gives Jo a hard time as she thinks she is trying too hard to establish she isn't Susie's mother. Susie is treated leniently by the VJ and only gets an extra month, but is warned what will happen if she tries to escape again. Steve is puzzled by Susie's claim that she can't wait to tell her mother and so finds out what Susie thinks of Jo. After Steve approves of Bea's article, the first issue of The Stir comes out. Bea is convinced by Jo and tells her she's in the clear, but Jo tells Bea that after reading her article she will let Susie think she is really her mother after all. Joanne's husband and son visit  , and her son Jason plays with Susie. Steve invites Wendy out for a drink when he finds out she has just broken up with her boyfriend. Colleen is shown discussing "disco pants" with her daughter Jenny as they wait for their car to be filled up at a garage. The garage attendant  overcharges them and pockets the difference. Steve and Wendy meet Matt Thomas in the bar and Steve passes on a copy of the Stir and draws Matt's attentions to Bea's column. Matt is impressed and says he will show a copy to his editor. Steve asks Bea to give her permission for her article to be reprinted and she agrees (though when we see the article  it comprehensively fails to mention Susie and favours instead an extensive discussion of the benefits of a property development called Westall Grange). Colleen catches Lizzie helping herself to some extras when she's supposed to be cooking Bea's cake. Jo asks Erica if she can help Susie by offering her a home to go to when she is released. Erica agrees and says she will apply for an early release for Susie. Jenny compromises and wears canary yellow jeans instead of the threatened disco pants, but is still sent out to look for her brother, who runs away fromm her after blowing a raspberry  . Bea's party is enlivened by the male stripper  arranged by Helen: Steve and Erica arrive in the staff room just in time to see Officer Barry trying to cover him up with her jacket  . Jenny is kidnapped  when she recognizes the man from the petrol station who is swapping getaway cars after a bank robbery. |
Script Editor: Ian Smith (274)-(275)
Storyliners: John Mortimore, Andrew Kennedy, Michael Freundt, Dave Worthington
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