EPISODES (596) to (600)

EPISODE 596 Broadcast on Carlton/LWT Thursday 06 August 1998 23:40; Channel 5 Saturday 11 March 2000 04:40. The new governor meets the women, and a CB radio is found in the prison. Meanwhile, Joan exacts a terrible revenge on the Bikies. 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 Roach ~ Linda Hartley Bongo ~ Shane Connors Mandy ~ Lucinda Cowden Pat Slattery ~ Dorothy Cutts Snake O'Neill ~ Paul Smyth Mongoose Reilly ~ Michael Neaylon Slasher ~ Slasher SOD Officer No 1 ~ Matthew Barker SOD Officer No 2 ~ Mal Billings Off. Radcliffe ~ Marion Dimmick UNCREDITED Two bin men Written by John Coulter & Tony McDonald Directed by Sean Nash The two bikers credited for this episode don't speak until the start of the following one.

Julie and Jessie ignore Lou's reminder of her order that Lexie is to be sent to Coventry. Eve sucks up to Lou by implying that if the new Governor proves to be a problem, she can always get rid of him just as she did with the previous one. Ann advises one of Ettie's girls called Mandy on sexual harassment from her boss at work. Bongo arrives and asks for her help with Roach: she agrees to come to Roach's room to talk to her. Jessie tries to make friends with Nancy after she was rude to her at breakfast. Bob addresses the women for the first time as their new Governor: he immediately takes away their TV and radios, saying that if they want privileges they will have to earn them: this puts Lou on the spot as top dog as she has to win back the lost ground. Ann walks in on Roach and Bongo in bed, as Bongo has planned: he gets out of bed to show Ann the family jewels and says he hopes she isn't embarrassed. Unfazed, Ann comments that she has learnt not to let "little things" upset her. Jessie finds out where Steve will be later in the morning and sends Lexie after him to try to seduce him, but he turns her down. Lexie returns to the kitchen and tells Jessie that she thinks Steve is a "pillow biter". Bob calls in the Special Operations Division for a cell search as he finds Meg's previous procedure for a cell search incomprehensible, questioning in particular her decision to call the search off as soon as the "razor blade" (scalpel?) was found in Rita's cell. Lexie is caught trying to get pregnant with one of the garbage men in the cab of his truck. Meg is in trouble with Bob for allowing a prisoner to be left unsupervised with people from the outside: as he points out, the garbage men could have passed Lexie drugs or weapons. Eve says she'll sweet-talk Bob, but instead she lags on Lou and claims David forced her to have sex with him. After listening sympathetically to her, Bob tells he realises she's quite an actress, but unfortunately for her, he doesn't believe a single word she says. Joyce visits Wentworth and runs into Eve coming back from the Governor's office. Bob finds Joyce talking to the women in the laundry and tells her off for being in the prison out of uniform. Ann asks Meg to contact Dan Moulton so she can visit him to talk about Bongo. All the women are locked in the rec room while the cell search is in progress: the search turns up Rita's CB radio amongst other things, so all the women are body searched before they leave the rec room. Bob announces that security is to be tightened up, and officers are to carry truncheons. New cell allocations are announced: Lexie is sharing with Lou. Julie appeals to the Governor in person to be allowed to stay with Lexie, but he turns her down flat. Meg phones Joan at home and tells her the result of the cell search: it is obvious to both of them that Rita's possession of a CB radio makes it possible for Rita to have ordered the attack on Joan after all. Nevertheless, Meg warns Joan that she can't expect any support from the new Governor if she goes after Rita for revenge. Joan replies that she has "other things to do" and sure enough, she follows the Conquerors to their hideout, pours petrol on their bikes and torches the shed . Most tactless comment in this episode has to be Lou to Joyce: "Bonzer wig! Expensive?" Mark Caffery comments "Jackie Woodburne and Pepe Trevor try to hide their amusement throughout Governor Moran's opening speech to the women as Trevor misjudges a jump onto the chair in the recroom at the beginning of the scene!"

EPISODE 597 Broadcast on Carlton/LWT Thursday 13 August 1998 23:40; Channel 5 Sunday 12 March 2000 04:45. Police fear bikie unrest, and Lou becomes the new top dog at Wentworth. A woman's body is found in a plastic bag - could it be Nora? Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Joan ~ Maggie Kirkpatrick Ann ~ Gerda Nicolson Eve ~ Lynda Stoner Jessie ~ Pat Evison Nancy ~ Julia Blake Julie ~ Jackie Woodburne Lou ~ Louise Siversen Lexie ~ Pepe Trevor Bob ~ Peter Adams Ettie ~ Lois Ramsay Alice ~ Lois Collinder Steve ~ Peter Hayes Dan Moulton ~ Sean Scully Sam Page ~ Bruce Crowl News Reporter ~ Petar Tollich Pat Slattery ~ Dorothy Cutts Roach ~ Linda Hartley Bongo ~ Shane Connors Mandy ~ Lucinda Cowden Newsreader (V/O) ~ Jennifer Keyte Slasher ~ Slasher Off. Radcliffe ~ Marion Dimmick Off. Ward ~ Jacqui Jackson Liz Spencer ~ Kerry Clapton UNCREDITED Two bikers - probably the "Snake O'Neill" and "Mongoose Reilly" credited for (596). Written by Ian Coughlan Directed by Tony Osicka

The Conquerors declare war on the Eagles, thinking them responsible for the fire. Julie suggests to Jessie that that Lexie should get herself put in solitary to get away from Lou, or if that doesn't work, she has another cunning plan. Alice comes in to take Lexie's place sharing with Julie, throws herself on the bed which immediately collapses under her weight (or possibly it has been fixed to collapse by Lexie). Meg goes round to Ettie's where she hears the news about the gang warfare. The news also worries Ann. Julie can't get to sleep for Alice's snoring but Lexie has to try to stay awake to fend off Lou. Meg goes round to see Joan and accuses her of starting the fire, pointing out she has a motive after the attack on her house. Lou waits for Lexie to finally drop off to sleep, then attacks her just to give her a bit of a fright. Eve suggests Julie and Jessie should also be sent to Coventry instead of bashing them. Bob tells Joan to apply for compensation after the attack on her. Joan is taken in by this apparent show of sympathy and starts to tell Bob she's all in favour of the tightening up of security. For good measure, she warns him about Meg's soft attitude and goes a bit too far by indicating that she would be keen to become Deputy in Meg's place. Bob sternly reminds Joan of the more lurid aspects of her service record and lets her know he'll be watching for her to make a mistake, so she had better not be thinking of paying a visit on Rita in solitary. Eve then casts doubt to other prisoners on Lou's order to send Julie and Jessie to solitary, even though she had herself suggested it to Lou. Julie suggests Lexie escape the same way Nora did. In her letter to Julie she had described how she planned to get out through the air conditioning, after using bolt cutters to snip through the security grilles installed in them. She would then slip out through the kitchen as Mervin always leaves the kitchen unattended for a moment to go and get an officer to lock the back door. Bob gets an anonymous note, promising to give Nora back - for keeps. Jessie promises to help Lexie if she escapes by providing her with an address where she can hide. A body wrapped in plastic is found just inside the boundary fence. Lou threatens Bob with a hunger strike but he tells her he will just let the prisoners starve if she tries that trick again. Lexie decides she will escape. Andrea Radcliffe reports to Meg that the body has been identified as Nora's (though how anyone knows that just by looking at its hand isn't clear). Bob remarks that with "the things that were done to Flynn", they obviously have a "total psycho" on their hands. Ann goes to see Dan: contrary to expectations he has a nice house, likes classical music and is reading T.S. Eliot. Eve pushes Lou into declaring the hunger strike by pointing out that a new Governor would not want to have a strike on his hands. Nancy sees her solicitor: he tells her that Peter's attempted confession made it look worse for her. Dan tells Ann that in his opinion she shouldn't try to keep Roach and Bongo apart, as she is a good influence on him. Bob fights back and isolates the women from Lou's influence by serving meals in the women's cells. Lou and Alice bash Nancy for talking to Jessie and for answering Lou back when she asks her who she thinks she is to tell who she can and can't talk to. Eve overhears Jessie give Lexie the address where she is to go after escaping, but rather than lagging on the escape, she urges them to go ahead with it as a way to discredit Bob. The killer's note reads "We CAtch The biTches you GIVE them early PaROLE or leT TheM EScaPe SO We'll Do your Job for you. I'm MOVing in on norA FLYnn. you'll be getting ..." and even though this appears to be the bottom of the page, Bob continues reading without turning over "... her back and this time she won't escape signed Justice".

EPISODE 598 Broadcast on Carlton/LWT Thursday 20 August 1998 23:40; Channel 5 Saturday 18 March 2000 04:40. Lexie's escape plan is foiled, the hunger strike is in full swing, and Rita is sentenced to 3 years' gaol. Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Joan ~ Maggie Kirkpatrick Ann ~ Gerda Nicolson 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 ~ Peter Hayes Dan ~ Sean Scully Pat Slattery ~ Dorothy Cutts Max Purvis ~ Tony Mac Fay Donelly ~ Maud Clark Wendy Stone ~ Vivien Davies Off. Hagen ~ Christine Andrew UNCREDITED Pocco the dog ~ Pocco Written by Kit Oldfield Directed by Tony Osicka

Lexie and Julie bump into Joan on their way to the laundry, but pretend they need to go the toilet so Joan leaves them alone. Joan challenges Lou about her failure to warn her about Rita having the CB radio. Lou tells her she didn't know herself until the officers found it, and passes on some information she thinks Joan won't know. Joan however just scoffs at the news that Lexie is pregnant. Lexie gets into the air conditioning duct in the laundry with Julie's help. Jessie is forced to tell Eve all the details of Lexie's escape and then Eve blackmails them that she will reveal what she knows unless Jessie and Julie support her in her attempt to make trouble for Bob. Lexie gets as far as the kitchen, but Pat spoils the plan by locking the back door before Mervin leaves, so she has to go back. Joan tells Lou that she's spoken to Sister Hall, who has told her that Lexie isn't pregnant, so Lou comes looking for Lexie. Lexie gets out through the Governor's office: fortunately the door has been left unlocked so she is able to get in to the corridor and then to reception, where she knocks out Pat in reception with a handy Sellotape dispenser. [Incidentally, the roll of Sellotape comes loose and sticks to Officer Slattery's uniform]. Lexie has already climbed over one perimeter fence when Pat comes to and raises the alarm, but Lexie gets away. Bob decides to deliver the women's meals to their cells starting immediately. Next morning Lexie makes friends with a stray dog and steals a pink track suit off a washing line to try to blend in more with her surroundings [*1]. Rita comes out of solitary and tells Nancy that she fully intends to eat her meals - as do half the other women. Eve tells Jessie and Julie to discredit Lou with the other women. Dan is worried that Slasher, Roach and Bongo have disappeared. Rita's lawyer tells her to wear a dress for her court appearance, as it will possibly mean a longer sentence if she doesn't: the judge is notorious for his prejudice against bikies. Jessie talks to Fay in the laundry to try to persuade her to turn against Lou. Lou demands that Joan tell her who is breaking the hunger strike. Dan phones Ann to tell her that Slasher has been killed in a gang fight and Bongo is injured. Alice tries to seduce Steve and warns Barbie to keep off him, as she seems to have a giggling fit whenever Steve walks past her. Dan tells Rita about Slasher's death: she changes out of her dress and goes to court in bikie gear. Meg warns Joan to stay away from Rita, especially after Slasher's death. Steve goes to fix Alice's bed and tries to talk to Julie who is sitting on her bed reading, but she reacts sharply to his patronising attitude. Rita is brought back to Wentworth on a three-year sentence. Joan inducts her and tells her to forget the minimum non-parole period of eighteen months: she will make sure that Rita serves every day of her sentence. Barbie gets a magazine from her mother showing Steve as a nude centre-fold and shows it to Alice and Julie [*2]. Nancy tries to commiserate with Rita , but she tells her she doesn't need her sympathy. Rita goes to the laundry, switches on one of the dryers and rides it like a motorbike in memory of Slasher. The magazine containing Steve's centrefold seems to be called "Body Play". A large part of the responsibility of allowing Lexie's escape must be down to Bob "Mr Security" Moran for leaving his office unlocked.

The original run in the Carlton/LWT region in the UK ended with episode (598) in August 1998: a curiously unsatisfying place to stop.

Thanks are due to Mark C ("chicken") for spotting and reporting in Digest 1211 on two brief but significant cuts in the version shown on Channel 5, compared to the versions seen previously in the ITV regions. Both cuts seem to have been made with Victorian ideas of "decency" in mind. This hardly squares with Channel 5's notoriety for showing soft porn in the small hours, but it can't be ruled out that they originated the cuts... unless the same cuts have been seen in any other broadcast...?

[*1] Twenty seconds were cut from the end of the scene where Lexie steals a pink tracksuit from a washing line and puts it on. The start of the cut coincides with the moment where Pepe Trevor takes off her skirt and exposes her knickers and pallid legs, and takes with it the dialogue in italics: "Makes you feel like a trip into town. You can go and see Mabel: she's pretty good. We've come this far together, eh? Come here, boy, come here. [Probably improvised by Pepe Trevor as Pocco seems about to wander out of shot!] Hey, we might even be able to get some brekkie. I could eat the leg off a rag doll. Come on boy, come on."

[*2] When Alice gets her first look at Steve's centrefold, the shot of it over Alice's shoulder was deftly cut out along with one of her lines (in italics); "Oh bloody hell. It's him! Hey Chuck come and get an eyeful of this. It's him! It's Steve, naked as the day he was born" (though in fact we can see it's someone else naked as the day he was born, with Steve's head rather unconvincingly stuck on top).

EPISODE 599 Broadcast on Channel 5 Sunday 19 March 2000 04:45 Lexie spots the headlines "Madman murders prison escapee", and the phantom lagger strikes again. 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 Bob ~ Peter Adams Ettie ~ Lois Ramsay Alice ~ Lois Collinder Mervin ~ Bruce Crowl Steve ~ Peter Hayes Dan ~ Sean Scully Fay Donnelly ~ Maud Clark Janet Williams ~ Christine Earle Pat Slattery ~ Dorothy Cutts Policeman ~ Geoff Staples UNCREDITED Mabel Morgan ~ Val Jellay Written by Dave Worthington & Marie Trevor Directed by Steve Mann

Lexie wakes up after a night sleeping rough in a wood to find her new canine friend is still by her side. She decides to call "him" (though observant Digest contributors spotted that the dog is female...) by the name "Pocco" after a pet rabbit she once had. Bob catches Rita in the laundry still sitting astride the dryer and is sympathetic about her loss but firmly tells her to get down and go back to her cell. Rita is disgusted that he still wants her to be searched before she leaves the laundry, and asks what she could possibly have stolen. Alice shows the photo of Steve around. Most of the women are too busy speculating on what Steve's strategically placed knee really conceals, but the eagle eyed Eve notes that he is described as a medical student and wonders what he is doing working as a handyman. Rita rejects Nancy's attempt to mother her and get her to talk about Slasher's death. Alice sees Steve doing a bit of DIY in the shower block and stages a faint in front of him. He dashes away hastily, claiming he can't respond to Alice's overtures because he wants to keep hold of his job (and his dinner, I guess). Lexie finds out about Nora from a newsstand ("MANIAC MURDERS ESCAPEE - FURTHER THREATS" ), and seeks refuge with Mabel . Steve is worried that he won't be able to do his research properly if the women only see him as a sexual object. Dan comes to see Bob and thanks him for letting him see Rita: Bob allows him to talk to her again as he hopes it will calm the situation. Joan finds the women fighting over the magazine, gets hold of the picture of Steve and takes it to Bob, but he doesn't take any action, despite her objections. Pat Slattery reports that the killer has phoned Wentworth and offered to track Lexie down. Bob realises that Nora's murderer must have contacts in the prison or the police to know that Lexie has escaped. Bob decides to tell Julie in confidence about the killer, but she still won't tell him where Lexie is. Jessie and Julie agree that they have to keep Lexie's whereabouts a secret. Joan refuses to tell Joan the names of the women who are breaking the hunger strike. Eve offers Joan a deal to bring down Lou so that she can take over as top dog. Bob welcomes Joyce back to duty, having tactfully ducked out of the way while she adjusts her awful wig. Bob tells the women that 70% of them are breaking the hunger strike, so the meals will be served in the dining room as normal from now on. After consideration, Julie still refuses to tell Bob where Lexie is. Bob threatens to send Lou to solitary id she causes any more trouble. Eve offers information to Joan, starting with Lexie's escape route. Eight of the women turn up for breakfast as usual: Eve takes their names. Alice tells Lou not to trust Eve, as she's seen her talking to Joan. Bob refuses to let Rita attend Slasher's funeral, as it's too big a security risk. Dan invites Ann to come away with him and Bongo and Roach for a weekend camping. She initially refuses, but accepts his challenge to ride pillion. Lou tells Rita she's taking over the prison by the end of the day, then in a shameless attempt to suck up to the women leads the singing of "Happy Birthday" for Julie's 21st. Ann enjoys her motorbike ride so much that she changes her mind and agrees to go on the weekend away with Dan. Eve admits to Joan that she was the Phantom Lagger. She also tells her she saved Joan's life when Lou and Alice put her in the drier and that Lou forced Lexie to give her an alibi. However, Alice is listening outside... Lou makes up for lost time by reading a book called "Logic puzzles" Eve gives Lou only five strike breakers' names: "Connors, Egbert, Windom, Simpson (?), Spencer" Lynda Stoner fluffs a line by calling Joan "Mrs" Ferguson.

With this episode, the copyright date at the end of the final credits belatedly and briefly changes to 1985 - even though we are now well into the original 1986 season, which started with (589). As there was supposed to be a six month gap between the making of episodes and their transmission, the copyright date ought to have been 1985 since about (547)...

EPISODE 600 Broadcast on Channel 5 Saturday 25 March 2000 04:40. Julie is badly beaten in the kitchen and Eve's murder is to be made to look like suicide. 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 ~ Peter Hayes Wendy Stone ~ Vivean Davies Fay Donnelly ~ Maud Clark Mabel ~ Val Jellay Delores ~ Samantha Bews Mitzy ~ Jane Menz Off. Radcliffe ~ Marion Dimmick Driver No 1 ~ Charles McCracken Driver No 2 ~ Steve Gunn Gate Guard Bob ~ David Bickerstaff Written by Ian Smith Directed by Steve Mann The scene of Eve's hanging was cut on its first showing in some ITV regions. Channel 5 showed a longer version of this crucial scene.

After Alice passes on the information to her about the true identity of the Phantom Lagger, Lou checks the details of Lexie's escape with Julie then decides to punish Eve and those breaking the hunger strike. Meg phones in sick and Bob tells her not to come in for the evening shift. Joyce shows Bob the newspaper headline about Lexie's escape expecting him to be concerned, but he says he hopes that Lexie reads it and gives herself up. Joan suggests to Bob that Lexie may have escaped through the air conditioning ducts even with the security grilles fitted after Julie got into the Governor's office during the Ruth ballinger siege - after all, two hacksaw blades have been reporte dmissing from the workshop. Lexie hides out at Mabel's "house" wearing an outfit that seems to be inspired by Adam Ant or Spandau Ballet . Mabel persuades her to change into a (slightly) less conspicuous outfit and takes her to the "parlour". Lou decides she has the advantage and tells Alice they will take over in the dining room at lunch. Ettie worries that even a "man of God" will take advantage of "a pretty young thing" like Ann on the weekend away and is all set to come with them, until Ann asks who will look after Meg if her illness gets worse. Eve meets Steve as she takes the laundry truck around and notices that he is asking a lot of questions and warns him he could be exposed as a "spy" if he's not careful. Lexie meets the other girls at Mabel's place, and turns down the offer to "turn a few tricks" while she is there. We see the mysterious killer turning over the pages of his scrapbook and pasting the lastest news about Lexie's escape into it . Joan's guess is proved to be right, but the grilles were cut through with bolt cutters not sawn through. Lou orders her follwers to bring all the women still observing the hunger strike to the rec room. Julie is served a birthday cake made by Mervin in the dining room. Lou rouses her followers in the rec room and leads them in a chant of "kill the bitch". Alice knocks out Officer Radcliffe, and Lou and her gang take over the kitchen and the dining room. Joan, Steve and Mervin are tied up in the dining room, but Joyce is sent as a messenger to the Governor. Lou has Eve brought to the dining room, strings her up from the ceiling and kicks the chair away, then sends Alice and Wendy to hang Eve up in her own cell to make it look like suicide. Mervin, Joan and Steve have been moved to an empty cell and they attempt to untie each other . As Bob arrives to negotiate with Lou, Lou is just about to attack Julie, so Lou hands her over to Wendy who takes her to the kitchen and batters her. Lou demands TV reporters, Bob's and Joan's resignation and the Department to recognise her officially as top dog. If she doesn't get it in one hour, Joan will be killed. Ettie arrives at the front gate to try to deliver Julie's birthday present . Steve is called to patch Julie up when Wendy goes too far. Lou tells Joan that her friend Wilder "jumped to a conclusion". Ettie sees a vanload of Woodridge officers arrive as backup. Bob refuses the Department's offer of special officers and goes through the air conditioning from his officers to get behind enemy lines. Lou takes Rita and Joan to the laundry and orders them to fight to the death , or she will kill them both.

Story Editor: Bevan Lee
Script Editor: Ian Smith & Alister Webb (596); Kit Oldfield (597); Alister Webb (598); Kit Oldfield & Ian Smith (599); Kit Oldfield (600)
Storyliners: Bevan Lee, Tony McDonald, John Coulter, Kelly Bermingham

(591) to (595)

(601) to (605)