On The Inside

A to Z of PRISONER
I is for...

Isolation - Prisoners were placed here if the Governor felt it was necessary to separate them from the rest of the women in the prison.

Ice Lady - The nickname that prisoner Sonia Stevens received from the other women due to her cold expression and care for nobody but herself. Sonia was married to police chief Eddie Stevens who was responsible for a lot of the other prisoners being inside and she immediately became an enemy of most of them. Her final storyline left fans wondering if she was alive or dead - we never found out.


J is for...

Judge & Jury - The people responsible for the inmates stay inside of Wentworth.

Judy Bryant - One of the most popular characters in the series. Judy originally was brought into Wentworth on a drugs charge but she was caught on purpose so she could be with her girlfriend Sharon Gilmour who was already a prisoner. Judy was one of the 'good guys' and when she was later released opened the main Half-Way house - Driscoll House. Judy left the series in style as a song writer with Sheila Brady who released "Pixie's Song" that Judy had written in memory of Pixie Mason.

Jail - Wentworth prison was classed a the main high security prison in that particular state of Australia, with Barnhurst being next in line.


K is for...

Keys - An essential tool for Wentworth's Prison Officers and used to great effect by Joan 'the freak' Ferguson as a verble warning to the prisoners of her arrival during her many slow walks down the prison corridors at night.

Kitchen - One of the work places where the women were able to earn some money. The kitchen seemed to have a number of different locations and appearances throughout the series. Mrs O'Regan was the first cook, followed by Ray Proctor and Mervin Pringle.

Kidnap - Wentworth witnessed a number of kidnap attempts throughout the years. One of the most memorable was when Officer Meg Morris and Governor Ann Reynolds were kidnapped and held hostage by the crazy relative of inmate Phyllis Pearce who was beaten so bad that she had to spend the rest of her life with brain damage. Luckily, most of the time the 'good guys' won and everyone lived happily ever after!

Kitten - In one of the early episodes, Lizzie Birdsworth found a kitten in the prison grounds and smuggled it into Wentworth. Unfortunately, Lizzie didn't realise that the the bowl that she had stolen from the hospital to feed her kitten some water with was not clean. Her kitten was poisoned and died. Lizzie was heartbroken.


L is for...

Laundry - Another of the work places that the women could earn a few dollars, and one of the parts of Wentworth where we saw most of the action. The hot steam-press was generally operated by the Top Dog of the prison.

Lizzie Birdsworth - Without a doubt, one of Wentworth's best and most memorable characters. Lovable Lizzie was in her late 70's, an alcoholic and everyone's friend. Wonderfully played by Sheila Florance who died in 1991, the character of Lizzie was someone that the prison could not have been without to help launch the series in the early years.

Love - It didn't happen very often inside the prison but every now and again some of the characters fell in love. Franky Doyle with Karen Travers, Julie Egbert with Steve Ryan and Ann Reynolds with Dan Moulton for example.

Lagging - A prisoner who "lags" on another prisoner to the screws. Someone who tells tales on a fellow inmate. Lagging is the worst thing a prisoner can do. Anyone who lags can expect a bashing - or worse. Just ask Eve Wilder!


Ice Lady - Sonia Stevens



Judy Bryant



Governor Ann Reynolds lives to survive a kidnap ordeal



Lizzie Birdsworth
Lagger Eve Wilder
Click here to continue




Prisoner™ produced by FremantleMedia Australia Pty Limited, a FremantleMedia Company. www.fremantlemedia.com
, FremantleMedia Ltd (Rest of the World).
Website design and all other content (unless otherwise stated).

In memory of Sheila Florance and Gerda Nicolson