Bad Girls

1 9 9 9 – 2 0 0 6 (UK)
107 x 90 minute episodes

Owing much to Australia’s Prisoner: Cell Block H, this ITV post-watershed soap opera – devised by Ann McManus, Eileen Gallagher and Maureen Chadwick – focused on the female inmates of G-Wing at HMP Larkhall.

Michelle Dockley (Debra Stephenson) was feared by most. A lifer in for murder, ‘Shell’ bullied, stole or – where necessary – gave all of herself to get what she wanted.

Corrupt prison officer (later governor) Jim Fenner (Jack Ellis) was more of a criminal than most of the women incarcerated in the prison.

The prisoners also had to put up with the constant sneering of Officer Sylvia ‘Bodybag’ Hollamby (Helen Fraser)

New wing governor Helen Stewart (Simone Lahbib) faced hostility from prisoners and prison officers alike as she set out to destroy the old order.

Her staff felt increasingly under threat, while the inmates felt that life in Larkhall was about to become a real sentence.

Episodes were often thought-provoking and revealed the characters’ backgrounds and the relentless spirals of misfortune and bad judgment that made them fall foul of the law.

Some episodes also packed a powerfully unpleasant punch in their consideration of inmates who were not far short of evil, such as child trafficker Natalie Buxton (Dannielle Brent).

There were few happy endings in Larkhall’s G-Wing. Even the most sympathetic characters suffered, and it was definitely not a show for the faint-hearted, with drugs, rape, torture, child abuse, miscarriage, suicide, murder and decomposing corpses liberally strewn throughout eight seasons.

No subject was off the table: lesbianism, bisexuality, and transsexuality – and the prejudices these attract – were all part of the show.

Bad Girls was filmed in East London on the largest free-standing set ever used for a British drama. The vast three-floor prison took over three months to build and was housed in one of the country’s largest sound stages.

ITV eventually cancelled the series after seven years and 107 episodes due to declining viewership.

Michelle (Shell) Dockley
Debra Stephenson
Officer Sylvia ‘Bodybag’ Hollamby
Helen Fraser
Yvonne Atkins
Linda Henry
Julie Johnston
Kika Mirylees
Officer Jim Fenner
Jack Ellis
Governor Helen Stewart
Simone Lahbib
Maxine (Maxi) Purvis
Kerry Norton
Nikki Wade
Mandana Jones
Julie Saunders
Victoria Alcock
Natalie Buxton
Dannielle Brent
Officer Di Barker
Tracey Wilkinson
Tina O’Kane/Tina Purvis/Julie O’Kane
Victoria Bush
Daniella (Denny) Blood
Alicya Eyo
Governor Karen Betts
Claire King
Governing Governor Neil Grayling
James Gaddas
Barbara (Babs) Hunt
Isabelle Amyes
Crystal Gordon
Sharon Duncan-Brewster
Alison (Al) McKenzie
Pauline Campbell
Beverley Tull
Amanda Barrie
Phyllida (Phyl) Oswyn
Stephanie Beacham
Buki Lester
Kim Oliver
Darlene Cake
Antonia Okonma
Sharon (Shaz) Wylie
Lindsey Fawcett
Colin Hedges
Tristan Sturrock
Dr Nicholson
Philip McGough
Janine Nebeski
Nicola Stapleton
Josh Mitchell
Nathan Constance
Officer Dominic McAllister
Joe Shaw
Mark Waddle
Paul Opacic
Pat Kerrigan
Liz May Brice
Zandra Plackett
Lara Cazalet
Kristen (Kris) Yates
Jennifer Ness
Rev. Henry Mills
Michael Elwyn
“Snowball” Merriman
Nicole Faraday
Officer Lorna Rose
Luisa Bradshaw-White
Selena Geeson
Charlotte Lucas
Simon Stubberfield
Roland Oliver
Roisin Connor
Siobhan McCarthy
Cassie Tyle
Kellie Bright
Arun Parmar
Rebecca Hazlewood