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The following interview took place in 1995 on ITV's "The Richard Whitely Show" when Maggie was in the UK promoting Prisoner: Cell Block H - The Musical in one of her rare UK television appearances. Click the highlighted text to download quick clips of the interview, or download the pictures to your PC!
 [Richard]Well, let's look at you - not at all a Freak!
[Maggie]No, no, just... a pussy cat!
Oh yes, a pussy cat! But, The Freak, you have terrified us all for years now!
Good, well I did my job properly didn't I?! 
You certainly did! But interestingly, those episodes of Cell Block H - the ones we're currently seeing now, you finished doing it all in 1986. That's ten years ago!
I did, I was a mere girl at the time!
How many years were you doing it for?
I did it for four and a half years. There were 692 episodes altogether and I probably did 500 of those. 500 hours of being vile!
There were 692 episodes?
692 hours, yes!
 And we're still seeing them here on Yorkshire Tyne-Tees and I presume we've not come to the end yet?
I'd say not, I don't know what you're up to. It's on in all sorts of different places at different times all through the British Isles. I have no idea! People keep saying to me 'what happens next' and how do I know? It was nearly ten years ago, life has moved on!
Now it's a real cult and I suppose to be honest with you it is laughed up a bit for acting and sets that wobble...
Hey - acting?
Not you of course Maggie, we don't laugh at you!
You wouldn't dare would you sweetheart? 
I'm terrified of everyone called Maggie believe me! But it has become a cult because of the slender production values and that sort of thing, but people in Australia took it very seriously, as a serious drama didn't they?
Well, when it first started in the late 70's it was on at 8:30pm at night and it was not called a soap, it was just a drama series. But the most important thing about it was that it gave female actors a real chance. I mean character actors not bimbos, and we had some wonderful women pass through those cell doors for the 8 years or so that it was in production. So it was the only show that really gave women a bit of a say on television and it hasn't happened since... Infact if you're over 25 they don't particularly want you on Australian television - or over 40 certainly...
 You can be a mother-in-law in one of the soaps though?
Well that's all they do. Stereotypes, you know. Vaccuous silly old women and nagging mothers-in-law and things like that.
But Cell Block H has never been afraid to tackle issues though has it?
No, long before it's time. It's shown here late at night, and British television isn't frightened to tackle issues either but always late at night it seems. Whereas in Australia in the early 70's there was another show called 'Number 96', in the black and white days, which dealt with extraordinary topics - we had homosexuality, we had rape, we had nudity... all at 8 o'clock at night. There wasn't much left to do but take a valium and go to bed after that!
 I know that in a way you've left it all behind but you haven't because you've been involved in the Musical with Lily Savage and they had rickety sets on purpose didn't they?
Oh yes on purpose! It was wonderful, and it was just so bizarre to come back all these years later and do an all singing, all dancing Joan Ferguson! Now that really is silly isn't it? And with Lily Savage - that was the whole spoof of the thing, and it was great fun and we had an enormous amount of fun doing it on the West End.
Was it tightly scripted?.. or knowing Lily Savage was there a bit of ad-lib in it?
It wasn't too tightly scripted no! I tried to remain tightly scripted but I felt that towards the end there were just moments when I had to go with the flow, you know that Liverpool wit just swept me along and I had to do the best that I could!
So is this it or is there going to be a proper stage show?
Well, this is it. I don't know about a straight play. I would love to say to you 'On May 13th we will open Prisoner The Musical at Sheffield', but I don't know. I'm waiting to be told, my Visa is waiting to be told, the Home Office is waiting to be told, and the Real Estate agent is waiting to be told about my flat in London. It could well be that we are touring up here from May onwards.
I hope we do see you up here in the North. I tell you I'm so less frightened of you now in real life!
Well of course!
And can I just wish you a very happy birthday for tomorrow?
Thank you so very much!
Well done, Maggie Kirkpatrick everyone, a big soft pussy cat!
Images and sound & video clips © Yorkshire Tyne-Tees Television.
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