EPISODE 591Broadcast on Carlton/LWT Thursday 02 July 1998 23:40; Channel 5 Sunday 20 February 2000 04:40. A blow of fate changes Nancy McCormack's life forever. A mysterious figure means the difference between life and death for Joan.![]() Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Joan ~ Maggie Kirkpatrick Eve ~ Lynda Stoner Jessie ~ Pat Evison Nancy ~ Julia Blake Julie ~ Jackie Woodburne Lou ~ Louise Siversen Lexie ~ Pepe Trevor Barbie ~ Jayne Healey Joe McCormack ~ John Larking Peter McCormack ~ Steve Bastoni Bet Gowan ~ Rosalind Hill ![]() Mrs Gibson ~ Patsy Martin Sister Hall ~ Gael Andrews Pat Slattery ~ Dorothy Cutts Off. David ~ Cheryl Ballantyne ![]() UNCREDITEDRita ~ Glenda Linscott | Lou and Alice drag Joan to the laundry and put her one of the driers. Rita defends Dan against Lexie's accusation that he must be a wimpy cleric: in fact he has been thrown out of the church for helping the less fortunate. Lexie notices Jessie is staring at her and suspects her of perving. Lou shuts Lexie up when she starts to complain when Eve comes into the rec room. Jessie goes to Lexie's cell pretending she wants to place a bet on the sweepstake to decide what Barbie is inside for. Instead Lexie and Jessie end up arguing when Jessie objects to Lexie's arrogant attitude and to being called a lesbian. Lou sends Eve away to clean her cell: just after she leaves Officer Slattery comes into the rec room to call the women into the garden to hear an address from Meg. Lurch is worried that they are going to have to leave Joan in the drier longer than they intended. Once the women are outside, Rita asks permission to go inside again for "an oil change". Lou shrugs off Lou's suggestion that she should do the same to go inside and get out of the drier. However, a mystery figure has already moved Joan out of the drier: we can see only the hands as she cuts Joan's bonds and hides a note under her collar. Meg addresses the women in the garden with an unconvincing "tough guy" routine, but then asks the women to observe a minute's silence in May's memory. When the women go inside again, Pat Slattery finds Joan on the floor just outside the laundry: she finds the note under Joan's collar which implicates Lou. Meg questions Lou but she claims she was with Alice or Lexie the whole time. Lexie demands the hundred dollars again from Lurch in return for confirming her and Lou's alibi. Joan is in the infirmary but is not seriously hurt. ![]() ![]() ![]() |
EPISODE 592Broadcast on Carlton/LWT Thursday 09 July 1998 23:40; Channel 5 Saturday 26 February 2000 04:40. A trap to identify the Lagger ends in a shock revelation. Rita finds an unusual way to communicate with Slasher.![]() Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Joan ~ Maggie Kirkpatrick Joyce ~ Joy Westmore Eve ~ Lynda Stoner Julie ~ Jackie Woodburne Lexie ~ Pepe Trevor Lou ~ Louise Siversen Alice ~ Lois Collinder Nancy ~ Julia Blake Jessie ~ Pat Evison Rita ~ Glenda Linscott Barbie ~ Jayne Healey Steve Ryan ~ Peter Hayes ![]() Peter McCormack ~ Steve Bastoni Mabel ~ Val Jellay Sister Hall ~ Gael Andrews Ida Brown ~ Paddy Burnett ![]() Det Mike Woods ~ Bob Ruggiero ![]() Det Tony Neil ~ Stephen Hutchinson ![]() Slasher ~ Slasher Pat Slattery ~ Dorothy Cutts Off. Radcliffe ~ Marion Dimmick | Lou accuses Lexie of writing the note: Julie points out to Lexie later that it would be reasonable to suspect Jessie as she's been snooping around and the notes only started to appear after Jessie came to Wentworth. Julie also remembers that Jessie was the last into the garden on the morning when Joan was put into the drier. Nancy phones Joe's boss and says he's gone away on family business which make a time to sort out, so he shouldn't keep the job open for his return. Despite Julie's stern warning to keep her mouth shut until they have more evidence, Lexie tells Lou that Jessie is the Phantom Lagger. Meg visits Joyce in hospital to fill her in on the news, and when telling her about Barbie Cox, she does a grotesquely poor imitation of her. Joyce introduces Meg to her doctor, Steve Ryan, who asks Joyce if he can speak to her on another matter next day. Jessie phones Mabel to ask her to bring in some glossy magazines for Lexie. Lou bashes Jessie in the shower next morning, but relents and gives her time to prove her innocence. Eve starts saving her tablets. Peter seems to believe Nancy's story about Joe going to Queensland. Joan returns to work and finds another note poking out of the lock of a corridor security gate. The note reveals that Eve has not been taking her pills, which is proved to be true after a cell search turns up a small stash of them hidden in a matchbox. Rita's dotty Auntie Ida brings some magazines for her. Dr Ryan asks Joyce for her impressions of how women in prison cope, as it's a topic he's interested in for a project for his psychiatry exam. Mabel brings in the magazines, but it was just a pretext: Jessie really wants her to visit to get her to ask Lily Spencer (apparently a much feared character) in C block to vouch for her. Eve tells Meg she was not taking her pills because she needed to stay alert in case the women took action against her for her attack on Joyce. She begs Meg not to tell the women about it, but Joan points out that at least one of them must already know if she was set up. Auntie Ida is not what she seems: as soon as she gets through the gates she becomes a Hell's Granny ![]() ![]() ![]() Gina (Balzano) is mentioned as losing her privileges after the Lagger exposes her for stealing meths. The young blonde prisoner in the infirmary referred to as "Spencer" is probably not supposed to be the same as the Lily Spencer mentioned by Jessie. Is it really necessary for Rita to break the glass in her window to use the radio? And as Martin and Ouija both pointed out in Digest 2000, this causes a major wall wobbling moment. |
EPISODE 593Broadcast on Carlton/LWT Thursday 16 July 1998 23:45; Channel 5 Sunday 27 February 2000 04:45. Ettie Parslow surprises Ann, and Joan shocks Rita. Lou tries to murder Lexie, while Jessie doesn't know whether to tell Lexie the truth or keep her secret.![]() Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Joan ~ Maggie Kirkpatrick Ann ~ Gerda Nicolson Joyce ~ Joy Westmore Eve ~ Lynda Stoner Jessie ~ Pat Evison Nancy ~ Julia Blake Rita ~ Glenda Linscott Julie ~ Jackie Woodburne Lou ~ Louise Siversen Lexie ~ Pepe Trevor Barbie ~ Jayne Healey Ettie ~ Lois Ramsay Mervin ~ Ernie Bourne Alice ~ Lois Collinder Steve Ryan ~ Peter Hayes Pat Slattery ~ Dorothy Cutts Peter McCormack ~ Steve Bastoni Det Mike Woods ~ Bob Ruggiero Det Tony Neil ~ Stephen Hutchinson Sam Page ~ Bruce Crowl Sister Hall ~ Gael Andrews Slasher ~ Slasher Off. Hagen ~ Christine Andrew Off. Radcliffe ~ Marion Dimmick Officer Ward ~ Jacqui Jackson Policewoman ~ Patricia Anthony ![]() Ronnie ~ Lyne Ford Tina ~ Hazel Henley ![]() Nora no longer appears in the credit mugshot sequence in this episode, replaced by Julie. | Lou passes the word round that it was Lexie who was the Lagger and she will kill her. Eve bloodthirstily urges Lou to make sure she carries out her threat. Meg visits Ann at home and finds out she hasn't made her mind up yet what to do with her enforced leisure. When Lexie arrives for lunch, everyone ignores her. Nancy sees Peter again before she goes to court and reminds him to keep to their story. Meg refuses to accept Rita's explanation of how the window got broken and tells her the money to repair it will be taken from her wages. Mervin leaves the women unsupervised in the kitchen to meet Joyce when she arrives home from hospital. Alice gets a slight shock from the power point in the kitchen - one that has suddenly appeared at the end of one of the workbenches and seems to have no possible use at all. It does give Lou an idea of how to dispose of Lexie. Nancy's bail is refused, which baffles even her own solicitor, so she has to go to prison on remand. Lexie tells Julie she has to help her and find out what Barbie's sentence was, now she's working in reception and can get access to the files. Eve overhears this and suggests to Lou that they should write a note exposing Julie for looking in the files, as it might help to convince the women that Lexie deserves a severe punishment for lagging on her best friend. Joan finds the note ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Mark Caffrey comments "We can see Ernie Bourne waiting outside for his cue to return as the kitchen scene with him, Siversen, Evison, Collinder and Stoner continues... " |
EPISODE 594Broadcast on Carlton/LWT Thursday 23 July 1998 23:40; Channel 5 Saturday 04 March 2000 04:40. Ann agrees to help Ettie with her charges. Jessie warns Lexie to act sick and save her life. Nancy is going through agony, and Joan gets a terrible shock from Slasher.![]() Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Joan ~ Maggie Kirkpatrick Ann ~ Gerda Nicolson Joyce ~ Joy Westmore Eve ~ Lynda Stoner Jessie ~ Pat Evison Nancy ~ Julia Blake Rita ~ Glenda Linscott Julie ~ Jackie Woodburne Lou ~ Louise Siversen Lexie ~ Pepe Trevor Barbie ~ Jayne Healey Ettie ~ Lois Ramsay Steve Ryan ~ Peter Hayes Sister Hall ~ Gael Andrews Pat Slattery ~ Dorothy Cutts Faye ~ Maud Clark ![]() Slasher ~ Slasher Off. Hagen ~ Christine Andrew UNCREDITEDMervin ~ Ernie BourneAlice ~ Lois Collinder | When Pat Slattery arrives on the scene, Joan hurriedly pockets the scalpel and accuses Rita of slashing her own jacket to attempt to frame Joan. Joan goes back to reception and sends Officer Hagen off to help Officer Slattery deal with Rita. When she is left alone, she hides the scalpel between the pages of a report in a pile of papers on the desk. Eve tells Lou that Jessie won't join them and has even threatened to spread a story that Eve herself is the Lagger. Meg thinks it very odd that Rita would try to destroy something that meant so much to her. Joan pledges support for Meg, but Meg has her searched just the same "for her own protection". Meg goes to Rita cell to question her and another scalpel is found there where Joan hid it. Joan is smugly confident and asks that Rita be searched again in case she's had anything else smuggled inside. Rita gives the CB radio to Barbie to hide ![]() |
EPISODE 595Broadcast on Carlton/LWT Thursday 30 July 1998 23:40; Channel 5 Sunday 05 March 2000. An ex-Vietnam veteran takes over as new governor of Wentworth, and Joan feels the wrath of Rita's biker friends.![]() Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Joan ~ Maggie Kirkpatrick Ann ~ Gerda Nicolson Joyce ~ Joy Westmore Eve ~ Lynda Stoner Jessie ~ Pat Evison Nancy ~ Julia Blake Rita ~ Glenda Linscott Julie ~ Jackie Woodburne Lou ~ Louise Siversen Lexie ~ Pepe Trevor Barbie ~ Jayne Healey Bob ~ Peter Adams ![]() Ettie ~ Lois Ramsay Mervin ~ Ernie Bourne Alice ~ Lois Collinder Steve Ryan ~ Peter Hayes Pat Slattery ~ Dorothy Cutts Sister Hall ~ Gael Andrews Peter McCormack ~ Steve Bastoni Det Mike Woods ~ Bob Ruggiero Slasher ~ Slasher Roach ~ Linda Hartley ![]() Bongo ~ Shane Connors ![]() Denise ~ Elizabeth Rogers ![]() | Rita is just chatting with Slasher on the CB radio (with Barbie acting as lookout) to get an account of what the Conquerors did to fix Joan when Officer Slattery comes to tell her she has "visitors" - the police. Officer Slattery isn't impressed with Rita's explanation of how the cell window got broken a second time. Joan's lounge is completely wrecked: Sam's picture of Shane and the Major has been slashed with a knife ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() No time for a retake, it seems, for the scene where Rita storms out of the Governor's office and almost shuts the door on herself after narrowly avoiding a collision with the door frame. Muster is for "Laundry: Jenkins, Kelly, Wilder, Cox, Egbert, Kenndy, and Murray. Kitchen: Lin-Mai, Corbett, Balzano and Windom". The spelling of the first name for kitchen duty is anyone's guess but I think it is meant to be the Chinese / Vietnamese looking prisoner who has been seen in the background and is given prominent position serving dinner in this episode. Lou calls for "Ronnie, Tina" to act as lookout in the laundry, but the usually ubiqitous Ms Murray is absent for once. Though Louise Siversen seems to fluff her line and says "Turner" rather than "Tina". Bob's phonecall to "Alan" is probably meant to be Alan Maxwell, to be introduced in (601). |
Story Editor: Bevan Lee
Script Editor: Kit Oldfield (591); Alister Webb (592)-(593); Kit Oldfield (594); Alister Webb (595)
Storyliners: Bevan Lee, Tony McDonald, John Coulter, Kelly Bermingham
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