1979
TV-14
50m

Summary Follows the lives of inmates and staff at Wentworth, a high-security women's prison in Australia, exploring their backstories, daily struggles, and interpersonal relationships within the harsh realities of incarceration. View more details

Crime
Drama

1979
TV-14
50m

Prisoner

Directed : Unknown

Written : Unknown

Stars : Elspeth Ballantyne Barbara Jungwirth Betty Bobbitt Sheila Florance

All cast & crew

8.1

Details

Genres : Crime Drama

Release date : Feb 26, 1979

Countries of origin : Australia

Official sites : Apple TV Official Facebook fan group

Language : English

Filming locations : 27 Howard Street, Box Hill, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Production companies : Grundy Television Productions Network Ten Network 10

Crime
Drama

Details

Genres : Crime Drama

Release date : Feb 26, 1979

Countries of origin : Australia

Official sites : Apple TV Official Facebook fan group

Language : English

Filming locations : 27 Howard Street, Box Hill, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Production companies : Grundy Television Productions Network Ten Network 10

Photos

Jane Clifton, Margaret Laurence, and Richard Moir in Prisoner (1979)

Margaret Laurence and Richard Moir in Prisoner (1979)

Episodes

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Episode 1 • Oct 07, 1984

Episode #1.1

Two new prisoners, Karen Travers and Lyn Warner, are inducted into Wentworth Detention Centre and have to adjust to the harsh regime and the tough women they meet there. Karen, convicted of stabbing her cheating husband to death in the shower, turns out to be an old flame of prison Doctor Greg Miller. Lynn has been convicted of kidnapping and burying a baby alive, and though she loudly protests her innocence, she is bullied by the other women, led by their 'Top Dog', murderess Bea Smith. Meanwhile, young inmate Sally Lee hangs herself in her cell while going through serious drug withdrawal. Tough lesbian Franky Doyle goes berserk when she learns her girlfriend Doreen Anderson, is being moved to another cell and destroys the Recreation Room. Bea Burns Lynn's hand in the steam press and Lynn reports her for it, putting Bea's upcoming parole in jeopardy. Late at nigh, bent screw Officer Yates lets Bea out of her cell so she can go and scare Lynn into withdrawing her complaint.

Episode 2 • Feb 26, 1979

Episode #1.2

Lynn withdraws her complaint, so Bea's release is approved. The prisoners hold a farwell party for Bea and Mum. Mum leaves her beloved garden in the hands of Lynn. Mum is released into the care of her daughter, Lorraine, and Bea gets a lift into town from Eddie. Meg and Bill are having problems with their teenage son Marty, who tells them he wants to move out and get a place with his girlfriend. With Bea gone, Franky siezes the opportunity to take over the press and announces she is now in charge. Greg tries to talk Karen into appealing against her sentence, realising her husband was abusing her. Lynn goes on hunger strike until her innocence is believed. Mum's daughter rejects her, saying she doesn't want her coming home with her, so Mum checks into a grotty bedsit in town. Bea spends her first night of freedom in luxury at a hotel. Next morning, she visits daughter Debbie's grave and picks up a package from her old cellmate, a ""present"" for her husband.

Episode 3 • Feb 27, 1979

Episode #1.3

With Franky's hold growing in the prison, it reaches boiling point when an all out riot causes Bill to be stabbed. As Marilyn and Eddie's affair begins with Lizzie messing with the wiring.

Episode 4 • Mar 05, 1979

Episode #1.4

Bill dies on the way to hospital and Rosie gives Birth to a boy. Meg is devastated as the police investigate into Bill's murder begins. The cops are not getting very far; meanwhile, Eddie tells Marilyn he saw who stabbed Bill. Bea and the girls learn from him that it was Chrissie who killed him. They attack and scalp Chrissie, and she is transferred away to another prison. Meg turns up for work, yells at everyone and is sent home by Erika Davidson until the funeral is passed, Mum collapses at the bedsit and her landlady goes through her belongings. After the funeral, Erika tells meg that she doesn't have to come back to the prison, she will get compensation from the department for Bills death. Meg is Furious and tells Erica she isn't going anywhere.

Episode 5 • Mar 06, 1979

Episode #1.5

Mum recuperates from her collapse at her daughter's home but has to pretend to the children that she is an aunt as Lorraine told them their grandmother was dead. Frankie and Bea fight during a dance class in the Rec Room. Yates is caught smuggling the pill in for Marilyn. Suspected of being the one who supplied Sally Lee with drugs, she is reprimanded by Erica Davidson, and quits in disgust. Bea reads the girls tea Leaves and Lizzie pinches a bottle of surgical spirit from the infirmary. Mum can't deal with Lorraine any longer and walks out. After which Judith Anne learns that she is really her grandmother. Mum is arrested for shoplifting and sent back to Wentworth. Meg Jackson is still very angry after Bill's death and takes it out on the women, and tells Lynne Warner, her hunger strike is a waist of time. Lynne digs a hole under the fence and plans to escape but is caught by Meg Jackson and Vera Bennet and collapses. Greg examines he and tells he she is pregnant.

Episode 6 • Mar 12, 1979

Episode #1.6

Lynn reveals she was raped by Mr Bentley. Vera has trouble with her ailing mother, as Meg's attitude changes again. Meg and Erica believe Lynn's case can be reopened.

Episode 7 • Mar 13, 1979

Episode #1.7

Lizzie finds a stray cat in the garden and brings it into the prison. When it dies, she blames Frankie for killing it, but it turns out she did it accidentally herself by giving it water from the garden tainted with weed killer. Lizzie then tries to fake amnesia in order to get an early release but Meg Jackson sees right through it. Gary Doyle comes to visit Frankie again and gives her a copy of his plans for the farm. Later the other women deface the plans by scribbling all over them. Mum suggests Frankie work in the garden to keep her away from Bea Smith. Erica Davidson and Meg Jackson ponder Frankie's chances of parole. Some male prisoners come to work outside the fence to work on the drainage system and Lynn Warner befriends one of them, a guy named Doug. Vera's mother has a hart attack and dies. Marilyn is released to live with Eddie but, unable to get a job after being inside, she considers going back into prostitution.

Episode 8 • Mar 19, 1979

Episode #1.8

Bea Smith and the other inmates find out about Frankie's plans to get paroled and live on a farm so they try to rile her into blowing her chances. Marilyn gets a job at a hotel but she is demoted after beauty consultant Helen Masters complains about her and then quits after being sexually harassed by her boss. She goes back on the game to buy Eddie a birthday present, prompting them to have a row and she walks out on him. Helen Masters is sent to Wentworth charged with manslaughter after her car is used in a hit-and-run. At first she is to be bailed but when she tries to skip the country the police send her to jail. She finds it hard to settle in, and is tormented by Vera Bennett and teased and bullied by the other prisoners. Finally, she announces she is withdrawing her bail application and intends to make as much trouble as possible while she is in Wentworth.

Episode 9 • Mar 20, 1979

Episode #1.9

Marilyn's boyfriend Eddie is suspicious of where she got the money for his birthday gift: back "on the game" (prostitution)? The final straw is a visitor who is obviously a "workmate" from the street. Officials and inmates are puzzled when Helen Masters drops her application for bail. She uses the media to bring attention to the "innocent" women being incarcerated--including herself, of course. The Bentleys, the culprits responsible for Lyn's conviction, continue their libertine ways, but are finally exposed and arrested.

Episode 10 • Mar 26, 1979

Episode #1.10

Helen Masters sets out to affect the quality of prison meals as part of her campaign to get a character witness for her trial, the prison doctor. Marilyn returns to prison, but Eddie is through. Vera's drinking almost gets her arrested in a pub, but the officer grants her professional courtesy and takes her home. Masters cons everybody--even her blackmailing assistant--and wins acquittal, trashing the prison officials and inmates in her first TV interview.

Episode 11 • Mar 27, 1979

Episode #1.11

The inmates start realigning after Master's release; Frankie gains motivation from her brother to work on good behavior. Lyn, who has returned to her parents' home, runs away with Doug whom she had met while in prison. A detective, pretending to be attracted to Vera, interrogates Marilyn about her associates and their drug connections. Frankie, who can't read, gets a telegram saying her brother was injured and goes berserk when it's read to her, deciding to end it all.

Episode 12 • Apr 02, 1979

Episode #1.12

Franky is devastated by the death of her brother as she makes a plan to go over the wall. While Marilyn is given the third degree by Detective Lang.

Episode 13 • Apr 03, 1979

Episode #1.13

Vera's attitude continues to become more punitive toward the inmates, bringing a reprimand from the governor. Lizzie's heart forces her to return to the prison, while Frankie and Doreen face life on the run with no money. Lyn faces the fact that Doug is still a criminal, and she reluctantly gets involved in a holdup.

Episode 14 • Apr 09, 1979

Episode #1.14

Lynn losses it all when Doug dies in an armed hold up, while Eddie losses his job because of his affair with Marilyn. Doreen and Franky still on the run they both decide to hold up somewhere for the night.

Episode 15 • Apr 10, 1979

Episode #1.15

Karen permits the prison doctor to contact her lawyer about a retrial, and Dr. Miller kisses her. Vera walks in on them and reports him. A new prisoner, who is reputed to be really tough, is admitted; she and Bea turn out to be old friends, dashing Vera's hopes. Lyn is returned to prison. Doreen and Frankie have disguised themselves as nuns to beg money on the street, but decide to find an older person whom they can rob and perhaps take over their home.

Episode 16 • Apr 16, 1979

Episode #1.16

Marilyn and Mum are released; Mum will help her pregnant granddaughter. Eddie and Marilyn are going to have a chance to run a milk bar owned by the new inmate, thanks to Bea's intervention. Bea and her friend Ferguson hatch a plot to get rid of Vera by accusing her of assault on a prisoner. Frankie and Doreen stay with the elderly woman they found, and she turns out to be aware of who they are--and doesn't care; she just wants company. Karen's lawyer files for a retrial, but he so discourages Lynn that she attempts suicide.

Episode 17 • Apr 17, 1979

Episode #1.17

Lyn is found with her wrist cut and taken to hospital. A new inmate arrives: the niece of the governor. She is not wise to the way prisoners think; she reveals her relationship, promises to get her aunt's help for prisoners, and "snitches" on Bea's plot against Vera. Doreen and Frankie share the birthday of their "hostess" and are interrupted by a visit from her nephew Trevor. Karen's lawyer finds the woman who was present when Karen stabbed her husband and also finds out about Karen's abortion.

Episode 18 • Apr 23, 1979

Episode #1.18

Frankie and Doreen have to go on the run again. The governor's niece involves Vera in planting drugs in Ferguson's cell and then attempts to blackmail her into getting special privileges. The prison is put on a tight security mode when the drugs are found. A young teenage girl is abducted by a man claiming to be a family friend and is raped; police offer little hope in finding him.

Episode 19 • Apr 24, 1979

Episode #1.19

Doreen hooks up with a bloke with a room, leaving Frankie to fend for herself, but he leaves Doreen bruised. Frankie gets revenge before they leave. Barbara Davidson, the governor's niece, is revealed as the drug smuggler thanks to Lyn's searching of her cabinet; Bea vindicates Ferguson. The rapist is seen by the girl in a neighborhood store, and her mother attacks him with her car.

Episode 20 • Apr 30, 1979

Episode #1.20

Karen's barrister, Mr. Wilson, is retained to represent Mrs. Roberts who killed the man who raped her daughter. She is remanded to prison and finds the adjustment hard. Doreen and Frankie must find a way to get money; Franky favours a bank robbery. Karen receives the letter from Frankie; Lyn gets assurance she will get a light sentence. On their way to a robbery, Franky is shot and killed; Doreen walks back to prison and turns herself in because she blames Karen for Franky wanting to escape and plans revenge.

Episode 21 • May 01, 1979

Episode #1.21

Doreen's hostility boils over; she blames Karen's rebuff for Frankie's death. She attempt to become the bully Frankie was. Barbara is in solitary for bringing in drugs, and Vera has the upper hand. Lizzie gets a day out to see her dying brother, escorted by the governor, which coincides with Barbara's hearing. The Roberts struggle with whether her plea should be temporary insanity. Lyn's father visits her and the result is her feeling that her only hope is to get tough. Meanwhile Vera is selectively ignoring violence among the inmates.

Episode 22 • May 07, 1979

Episode #1.22

Barbara's hearing manages to cast doubt on her aunt's impartiality, thanks to Vera's innuendos. A departmental investigation is planned. Lizzie's brother dies after a bitter row with her. Lyn's father blows hot and cold about supporting her at trial; Lyn herself flips back and forth between cooperation and rebellion. Mrs. Roberts does not allow her daughter to testify and is convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 3 years in Wentworth.

Episode 23 • May 08, 1979

Episode #1.23

Barbara is being bullied by Doreen; Vera eggs it on, hoping it will somehow get Mrs. Davidson in trouble. Lyn's father gets her a job if she gets work release, and she reverts to her normal attitudes (her trial results in 12 months with remission). The governor's husband tries to convince her that Barbara is being treated too harshly by the staff. Mr. Wilson has represented Roberts and Lyn and tries to find Karen's mother to be a witness for the appeal who isn't interested, as she is planning to remarry and determined to put her daughter's problems behind her. Barbara barricades herself in her cell, threatening to set herself on fire; her aunt decides to wait her out.

Episode 24 • May 14, 1979

Episode #1.24

Barbara's aunt talks her out of the cell, but feels she must transfer her ASAP. Doreen attempts to apologize but Barbara ignores her. Because of the costs of defense, the Roberts have been forced to sell their business, rent their house and send their daughter to live with an aunt, as the father has had to take a job elsewhere. Lyn is okayed to do work release at a plant nursery. Karen's retrial drags up all the memories and seems hopeless the first day. The second goes better, but Karen must now be cross-examined.

Episode 25 • May 15, 1979

Episode #1.25

Karen's appeal seems to be going badly since there is no corroboration for her husband's abuse. Lyn goes off happily to her nursery job and is left alone while the owner runs errands. The office is locked, and when a customer hands her money, she puts it in her pocket. A woman is caught shoplifting and sent to Wentworth on remand; she refuses to give her name although her fingerprints will identify her as a repeat offender. Karen's mother reconsiders, testifies to hearing the husband demand Karen get an abortion, and the jury reduces her conviction to manslaughter. The judge reduces her sentence to 2 years. Lyn is accused of taking the money by her boss, although she had forgotten it; she walks off the job and police are notified. At the appointed time, Lyn walks up to the prison gate.

Episode 26 • May 21, 1979

Episode #1.26

The shoplifter's name is found (Susan); her mother reveals that the husband has filed for divorce and she has custody of Susan's children. Susan dashes the expectations of inmate fans when a TV heartthrob appears on screen by claiming he is the reason her husband is abandoning his family. Vera meets a former prison officer in a bar and is impressed with her flat, clothes, and other possessions; she does not suspect there is an illegal activity involved. Knowing Vera's loneliness seems to make it easy for the "boss" to draw her into his net.

Episode 27 • May 22, 1979

Episode #1.27

Susan's erratic behavior continues: writing on the cell walls with lipstick, tearing her bedclothes to shreds. Lyn's work release employer calls, offering her job back. Mr. Wilson encourages Karen to take college classes during her prison term so that she will be prepared for another career other than teaching. Susan's husband sues for custody of their children, and Wilson is his attorney. Though troubled by not knowing how he makes a living, Vera continues to see George. When he reveals he deals drugs, Vera feels used; she feels so unattractive she can't believe he could like her for herself. He pursues her, claiming he truly cares for her. The former "screw," Ann Yates, is arrested for dealing, and he asks Vera to try to protect her.

Episode 28 • May 28, 1979

Episode #1.28

Bea hates drug dealers so much the administration tries to conceal the reason Ann Yates is in Wentworth. Lyn has a good day at work and realizes her boss hasn't told her coworker that she is in prison (which leads to complications). Susan is interviewed by a psychiatrist who sees her as normal, needing only marriage counseling, although she has been violent in the social worker's office. Lizzie and Doreen want to go on work release so bad that they break into the governor's office in order to get applications and let Doreen forge Mrs. Davidson's signature. For her help, Bea asks for Yates' file since she suspects her of bringing in the drugs that killed her daughter.

Episode 29 • May 29, 1979

Episode #1.29

Susan's court date results in her release; her husband gets custody of their children; she leaves home. When the camera scans the audience at a TV show where Jason Richards is appearing, Susan is sitting there zoned out. Suddenly she runs up on stage and throws acid in his face. She is returned to Wentworth and is fantasizing about her husband coming for her. Meg reads the newspaper and learns that Jason Richards is the stage name of Susan's husband Frederick. Susan has "split" the man in two: Jason Richards as the one causing her husband's absence from his family and Frederick, her loving husband. The inmates have learned Yates is a drug dealer and are making her life miserable, especially Bea Smith. When she corners her, Yates pulls out a knife she hid from the cafeteria and stabs Bea. The prison is locked down but Yates is nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, the son of Lyn's boss is attracted to her, and his dad warns him off: "She's a crim, son."

Episode 30 • Jun 04, 1979

Episode #1.30

Yates is missing and the search begins for her. Next morning Lizzie finds her dead in the dryer. Vera realizes she was to blame but keeps quiet. With Bea in hospital, Monica decides to take over as 'Top Dog' and clashes with Noeline Burke. They both blame each other for killing Yates, but Noeline is packed of to the pound for lying to Erica Davidson, about it. Meg Jackson tells Mum about Bea being in hospital Mum goes to visit her but is not allowed in, as Judith-Anne lets slip to Jean that Meg Jackson has been visiting them. Steve invites Jean to dinner to meet Clara Goddard, who if interested in funding a halfway house. Later Clara turns up to ask Steve for legal advice, saying she is about to be arrested. With Yates dead, Vera plans to flee the country with George but he goes without her, leaving her with an envelope of money.

Episode 31 • Jun 05, 1979

Episode #1.31

Bea learns she will be going back to Wentworth soon, so she drugs her police guard and escapes from the hospital. Mum is shocked when Bea turns up on her doorstep but agrees she can stay for a few days, against Judith-Anne's protest. Panic ensues when Meg turns up to visit Mum. Noeline continues to throw her weight around with Bea absent so Monica, Lizzie and Doreen give her an extremely hot shower furious, Noeline pinches Lizzie's smoke's and rips the arm's and legs of Doreen's teddy. Syd fires Lyn without warning. George Lucas turns up at Vera's place and forces her to turn him into the police. Clara Goddard tells Steve she has been charged with embezzling a lot of money. she cannot afford to pay her bail and is sent to Wentworth on remand, were she is a big hit with the other women.

Episode 32 • Jun 11, 1979

Episode #1.32

Meg is suspicious when she finds a packet of Bea's cigarettes and Mum has to make excuses. Meanwhile, Bea has hidden in the next room. Later, Bea asks Mum to go see Val and get some cash so she can buy a dress and a wig. Judith-Anne goes instead, but Val has moved. She buys the dress and wig herself so that Bea will leave. Meg realises Mum must have been hiding Bea. She and Jean go back to the flat, and narrowly miss bumping into Bea. Jean has to tell Lynn she has been fired, but Jean eventually manages to talk Syd into taking her back. Noeline tries to bully Clara, and bashes Karen when she stands up for her. She then recruits thick Martha as her offsider, but Monica thumps her anyway and threatens to spin dry her. Jean moves out of Meg's unit. Vera pays George's bail but he ties her up in her flat and skips the country.

Episode 33 • Jun 11, 1979

Episode #1.33

Bea returns to Mum's flat, furious over Judith-Anne lying to her. Judith-Anne finally agrees to find out where Val is, but after she contacts Val, Val calls the police. Bea spots the police in time and turns up on Val's doorstep, forcing her to let her stay. Later, a policeman arrives at Val's house looking for Bea. Erica finds Vera tied up in her flat and calls the police. Vera admits it was Lucas who tied her up. She learns she may face charges for associating with known criminals. Erica wants to demote her, but Meg gets her to reconsider. Monica tries to show her dominance over the women with a sit-in but Karen breaks it. Doreen tries to stand up to her but nobody backs her up. Clara refuses Steve's offer of bail. Noeline is moved in to share a cell with Karen.

Episode 34 • Jun 18, 1979

Episode #1.34

Bea hides in Val's garden until the cops leave, and is spotted by nosy Yvonne, the girl who lives next door. She tells Val that she knows who Bea is and wants to know more about her. Monica gets Lizzie to start making home brew, and they get Lynn to smuggle in the yeast for it. She is very nearly caught by Vera, but manages to hide it in the garden, from where Lizzie retrieves it. After the booze is made, Monica sells it on to the other women and leaves Lizzie with none. Steve's acquaintance Marianne de Vere says she's interested in funding the halfway house. Karen gets permission to get out on study leave. Noeline's brother, Col, tells her the family are in trouble and have no money. She suggests he robs a house where their mum worked but he is disturbed by Mrs Woods, the pregnant occupier. He panics, takes her hostage and shoots at a passing cop car.

Episode 35 • Jun 19, 1979

Episode #1.35

The home brew causes friction amongst the women, as Monica sells it on but won't give Lizzie any. Clara gets permission to have a birthday party and the women are allowed into the kitchen to prepare for it. Lizzie takes yeast from the kitchen and makes more booze in a cupboard, but Noeline muscles in on the scheme. The party goes well, until Noeline sneaks away and gets roaring drunk in the Laundry, where she's found by Erica and Meg. Col Burke's siege continues, but he doesn't know what to do next. He asks to see Noeline and she arrives with Vera, somewhat the worse for wear after her booze exploits. Noeline sneers at Col, dismissing him as useless and while he is distracted, Vera rescues Mrs Woods. Col runs out of the house after them all and is shot dead by the cops. Noeline is distraught. Yvonne spitefully calls the cops on Bea after she breaks up a rowdy party the girl is throwing.

Episode 36 • Jun 25, 1979

Episode #1.36

The police turn up at Val's place and arrest Bea, but she persuades them Val didn't have any choice but let her stay. She is brought back to Wentworth and welcomed back by Doreen. With little effort, Bea reclaims the press. That night after lights out, Noeline punches her, but next morning it is Noeline who wakes up worse for wear. Bea goes to the Governor and admits she walloped her. Monnie is still adamant she's in charge, leading to a brawl between them, during which Meg is knocked out. They finally declare a truce. Erica furiously cancels Lynn and Karen's day releases when no-one will say where the booze came from, so Clara takes sole blame for the alcohol and is sent to Solitary. Steve tells Karen he has feelings for her but is rebuffed. Greg looks after Meg after her accident and they end up spending the night together.

Episode 37 • Jun 26, 1979

Episode #1.37

Meg and Greg are nervous around each other after spending the night together. Doreen appears to be developing a crush on Lynn and is upset to realise Lynn's parole is looming. Noeline learns that she will be released in a week's time and is warned to keep out of trouble, but both Erica and Meg know she will be back before very long. Marianne de Vere agrees to fund the halfway house and wants to throw a garden party for the women, to which the media will be invited. Despite Vera's reservations, both Erica and the Department agree to it. Marianne also donates a new colour TV for the Rec Room. Clara is given permission to do the catering for the garden party, at which Lizzie and Doreen start a food fight. Everyone later gathers in the Rec Room for the unveiling of the new TV, only to find it has been smashed by Noeline.

Episode 38 • Jul 02, 1979

Episode #1.38

Erica cancels all privileges, including Lynn's work release and Karen's study release, and tightens security following the disaster at the garden party. Bea is feeling increasingly left out as Clara proves a big hit with the other girls and suggests she is thinking of stepping down as Top Dog. Meg realises that Noeline must have been the one who smashed the TV. A Greek woman called Irene Zervos arrives on prostitution charges; she speaks very little English and is very distressed at being inside. Karen offers to act as communicator for her. Monica shows her racist side by bullying Irene and abusing her. It turns out that she and her family are illegal immigrants and are likely to be deported.

Episode 39 • Jul 03, 1979

Episode #1.39

Erica announces that a Visiting Justice has been appointed to investigate her running of Wentworth; Vera is thrilled, planning what she will change when Erica is sacked and she is appointed Governor instead. Clara cements her popularity amongst the women by getting Monica to leave Irene alone and successfully asking Erica to resume the work release. Karen and Steve try to help Irene further. Irene's brother, Alex, and his wife, Tessa, learn that they are allowed to stay in the country and mistakenly think this means Irene can also. The VJ transfers Clara to another prison. Vera and the prisoners lay it on thick to the VJ but it backfires on Vera in spectacular fashion: rather than being promoted to Governor, she is to be demoted to make way for a new male Deputy Governor.

Episode 40 • Jul 09, 1979

Episode #1.40

Vera is livid as former Vietnam vet Jim Fletcher arrives to start work as the new Deputy Governor. Fletcher wastes little time before he manages to annoy both the officers and the women. Lynn is caught supposedly trying to smuggle letters out but claims she has been framed. Her work release is cancelled. Monica throws a fit when her parole is turned down. Irene gets released, then promptly rearrested for being an illegal immigrant. New prisoner Joyce Martin arrives and Jim knows her husband from Pentridge. She tells the women that she is the only one who knows where the proceeds from their robbery is and so she has thousands of dollars waiting for her when she gets out.

Episode 41 • Jul 10, 1979

Episode #1.41

Lynn frets about her parole as she protests the letters were planted on her. Fortunately, she has Meg and Erica on her side. Doreen steals some pills from the surgery and plants them under Lynn's pillow, where they are found in a cell search. Lynn is sent to Solitary, but Lizzie suddenly realises that Doreen set her up. Joyce's husband Harry comes to visit her, anxious to get his hands on the robbery money. She refuses to tell him. He returns later with some men in a truck and tries to abduct her from the prison grounds. Jim intervenes and is injured in the scuffle. Meg asks Greg to consider giving up his job at Wentworth. Monica decides to sell her milk bar to Marilyn and Eddie.

Episode 42 • Jul 16, 1979

Episode #1.42

Jim recovers from his minor injuries as Joyce recovers from her narrow escape at the hands of her husband. Not wanting Harry to get to the money, she asks Monica to help her move the money somewhere safer after she is released. Erica learns that Jim and his wife, Leila, are separated. Lizzie tells Erica that she framed Lynn: Lynn is let out of the pound and Lizzie suffers loss of privileges. Meanwhile, Lizzie confronts Doreen, telling her she knows it was her who did it. Doreen spitefully tells Lynn that it was Lizzie who set her up and Lynn turns on the old woman. However, Monica soon works out the truth about the whole incident and tells Lynn the truth. Lynn is furious and calls Doreen a worm, rubbing mud in her face. Steve is invited to lunch by an old flame, Jennifer Collins, who proposes they go into partnership together.

Episode 43 • Jul 17, 1979

Episode #1.43

Lynn refuses to forgive Doreen and learns she is to be released. She and Doreen sort of patch things up before Lynn leaves, but Doreen is still distraught over the whole thing, and confused over her feelings for her. Monica refuses to get involved in Joyce's troubles, especially as she has just got her parole and will be leaving along with Lynn. However, when Monnie's husband Fred turns up to tell her he has huge gambling debts, she agrees to help Joyce in order to pay them off. What Monnie doesn't know is that Fred's lying through his teeth and he wants the money to live it up with his girlfriend, Blossom Crabtree. Dimwit Martha Eaves overhears Monica and Joyce discussing their plans, and reports back to Harry Martin and his gang, telling them when Monnie will be released. When the release finally comes, though, Lynn leaves first and is accidentally abducted instead.

Episode 44 • Jul 23, 1979

Episode #1.44

The kidnappers refuse to believe Lynn's insistent cries that she isn't Monica. Joyce is visited by one of the gang, and realises through what she says that they kidnapped Lynn instead. Urged on by Bea, she tells Jim the whole story, and he calls the police. The gang are arrested and Lynn is rescued. Back home with hubby Fred, Monica goes to pay off his debts, only to find he didn't owe as much as he said. When she returns home again, Monnie finds that Fred has stolen all the rest of her money and taken off. Karen's sociology lecturer, Peter Clements, comes to Wentworth to do a study on the prisoners. However, in truth he is studying the staff instead. An elderly couple, Edie and Horrie, are evicted from their home by their landlord. They are turned away from a refuge after refusing to be separated, and sleep rough. Next morning, Edie wakes to find Horrie has died.

Episode 45 • Jul 24, 1979

Episode #1.45

Monica scours Melbourne looking for Fred. Meanwhile, Blossom and her boyfriend Bruce con Fred out of the money, so he goes home again with his tail between his legs. Monnie is livid and beats him senseless, landing herself back inside. However, Blossom is also arrested for having the stolen money, and it isn't long before Monnie and Joyce realise who she is and what she has done. Edie rolls about the town drunk and throws a brick through the window of the refuge that turned her and Horrie away. After shoplifting and attacking a woman with an umbrella, she is sent to Wentworth, where Jim takes pity on her. Dr Clements continues his research at the prison and upsets Doreen by referring to her as a lesbian.

Episode 46 • Jul 30, 1979

Episode #1.46

Lizzie befriends Edie, and she is moved into Lizzie and Doreen's cell. Monica and Joyce try to beat Blossom up when they realise exactly who she is. Monica tells Joyce that Blossom didn't get her share of the money. Jim starts to realise that there is some link between the three women. Blossom wants Vera to protect her, but she refuses; later, Monica bashes Blossom and is sent to Solitary. On the way, she and Jim are intercepted by Edie, who tells them Lizzie is having a heart attack. Doreen loses the plot and attacks Monnie through the bars of the solitary cell, blaming her for Lizzie's condition. She is promptly carted off to a psychiatric hospital. Jim gets slipped a note telling him where the key to Joyce's safety deposit box is. Later, when Joyce goes to check her hiding place, she finds the key is gone. She accuses Bea of stealing it, but Bea suggests that Jim has taken it.

Episode 47 • Jul 31, 1979

Episode #1.47

Monica is let out of solitary and put under close observation to prevent her clobbering Blossom (Denise). The prison is under strict security to prevent the safe deposit key being smuggled out. Edith and Lizzie's friendship deepens; Lizzie almost has an attack when Clement visits her. Jean tells Karen she will soon be released and shares concern that Clement is having an adverse effect on the inmates. Denise promises Fletcher money if he helps and protects her; he sounds out his wife about a reconciliation. He makes a deal with Denise, half the money if he gets the key out of the prison and the money out of the bank; his phone conversation is overheard by Vera and he is suspended. Karen's new tutor is having it off with another student and his wife threatens to kill them both.

Episode 48 • Aug 06, 1979

Episode #1.48

Denise reveals to Fletcher she hid the key in a toilet in the reception area; he calls Detective Grace and is thus eligible for the reward of $14,000. He goes to notify his wife and finds a man in a bathrobe. Clement wants to investigate Fletcher and realizes he should start with his Army files. Tom Burton, the sociology tutor, tries to end the affair with the student; she has pictures she threatens to send to his wife. Tom gets home too late to intercept them. Edith is scheduled for release and realizes the pathetic life she will return to; Fletcher is touched by Edie's plight and harangues Jean, the social worker.

Episode 49 • Aug 07, 1979

Episode #1.49

Tom's wife Carol calls his student and arranges to purchase the pictures; the police arrest her as a blackmailer and she goes to Wentworth. Carol calls from the police station, and Tom must resign his university post; Clement must come back. Fletcher denies Karen a day at university for "backtalk"; she reveals that Fletcher is hemophobic, and the inmates set him up during a first-aid class to see how that plays out. Edith doesn't want to leave Wentworth, and she doesn't have to--she dies in her sleep. Lizzie grieves intensely; Fletcher arranges to pay for Edie's funeral since she reminded him of his grandmother.

Episode 50 • Aug 13, 1979

Episode #1.50

Noeline Burke is returned to Wentworth after a job she does with daughter Leanne goes wrong, and gets a pasting from Bea for smashing the TV set last time she was inside. Jean Vernon, who has moved back in with Meg, tries to help the Burke family by encouraging Leanne to claim the dole, to Noeline's disgust. Leanne and her boyfriend Denny look for a way to get quick cash, and Meg returns home to find her flat has been broken into. Melinda learns she is pregnant. Greg prepares to leave Wentworth for his new practice, but agrees to help out until they get a new doctor. A media blackout surrounds the arrival of a mysterious new prisoner in Solitary, and the women speculate as to her identity.

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