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Bad Girls (TV series)

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Bad Girls
Bad Girls title screen.
Created byMaureen Chadwick,
Ann McManus
Starringsee below
Country of origin United Kingdom
No. of series8
No. of episodes107 (list of episodes)
Production
ProducerShed Media
Running time60 / 90 minutes
Original release
NetworkITV
Release1 June 1999 –

20 December 2006

Bad Girls was a British television drama series that was broadcast on ITV from 1999 to 2006. It was produced by Shed Media, the company which later produced Footballers' Wives and Waterloo Road . It was set in the fictional women's prison of Larkhall, and featured a mixture of serious and light storylines focusing on the prisoners and staff of G Wing.

On 11 January 2007, Channel Five's sister channel Five Life won the rights to air Bad Girls along with fellow popular, axed ITV series Footballers' Wives. They have now finished showing the fourth series, and they plan to air the fifth series later in the year, ITV3 has also finished its repeat run of Series 1 - 3 and currently have no plans to repeat any more episodes.

Series

The first series of Bad Girls was shown on ITV in 1999, lasting 10 episodes. There have been eight series in total, ranging from 10 to 16 episodes. Christmas specials were produced in 2005 and 2006 and are now established as the final episodes of each of Series 7 and Series 8, respectively. All series have been shown on ITV, at 9pm, on varying days but primarily Tuesdays and Thursdays. The 100th episode, part of Series 8, was shown on Thursday 3 August 2006 at 9pm.

Shed recently closed a deal with US channel FX, for them to create their own version of Bad Girls. A script has been looked at, and the first season of the American version of Bad Girls is likely to air in 2008. It is still unknown if the American version will remake the UK version (with the same storylines and characters), or if they'll start afresh, with new ideas. This at least means that Bad Girls has not been completely axed globally.

Bad Girls around the world

 Australia

Seven Network only aired two series and have no have plans to air the show again.

UK.TV are currently repeating the first four series every weekday morning at 2.20am. There no plans to air beyond the fifth series.

 Belgium

VTM has aired the first two series and aired the third in the Summer of 2007.

 Canada

OUTtv will begin to air the series on November 7, 2007.

 Estonia

Kanal 2 has aired all eight series and have rights to show repeats and plan showing First Series in January 2008.

 France

AB1 has aired only series 1-6, series 7 is planned to start Tuesday October 30 link title and the 8th Series in April 2008.

 Finland

Nelonen has aired all eight series.

 Ireland

TV3 has aired all eight series.

 New Zealand

TV One has aired all eight series.

 Sweden

TV4 (Sweden) aired the first two series; screening of the third was axed due to low ratings.

 South Africa

M-NET has aired all eight series.

 United States

BBC America aired the first series and 10 episodes from series 2. HBO has plans to show the first series from Christmas 2007.

LOGO has acquired all eight series and is currently airing series 3.

Cast

Note that this list is not complete

Major Prisoners

Minor Prisoners

Officers

Others


Plot description

Series 1

From the beginning, Bad Girls dealt with controversial subject matter. Early episodes of the first series included particularly shocking moments such as a pregnant prisoner miscarrying in her cell, another prisoner being viciously strip-searched by fellow inmates for concealed drugs and another inmate committing suicide. The central story arc of the first three series revolved around the developing romantic relationship between Nikki Wade, a prisoner serving a life sentence for the murder of a policeman who attempted to rape her girlfriend, and Helen Stewart, the Wing Governor who spent much of series one engaged to her boyfriend. The story depicted this same-sex relationship naturally, with the same amount of complexity and explicitness as in the heterosexual relationships depicted. Many viewers regarded the subtlety and emotional resonance of the portrayal of the relationship as one of its strongest assets.[citation needed] For this reason, Bad Girls has attracted a significant following within the lesbian community.

Other storylines to feature prominently in series one included the pregnancy of a young drug addict Zandra Plackett, the tragic story of teenage prisoner Rachel Hicks and her bullying by the other inmates, and the illicit relationship between Jim Fenner, the male senior officer and Shell Dockley, the resident bully and drug dealer, serving life for murder. Produced by Brian Park.

Series 2

Nikki and Helen's relationship deepens with Helen resigning from the Wing Governor's post and working as a new liaison officer for prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, encouraging Nikki to continue her education and appeal against her sentence. Shell's background was examined in some detail, with harrowing scenes describing childhood abuse. Zandra's tragic story finally comes to a close when she dies from a brain tumour. For light relief, Yvonne Atkins, the gangster's moll, set up "Babes Behind Bars", a sex-hotline staffed by the prisoners with smuggled in mobile phones, playing such characters as "Whiplash Wanda", "Saucy Sonia" and "Vicky the virgin bride". Series two ended on a double cliffhanger, with Nikki escaping from Larkhall to be with Helen, leaving Helen to agonise over whether to contact the police, and Shell luring Fenner to her cell for sex, where she tries to kill him by stabbing him with a broken bottle. Produced by Brian Park.

Series 3

This series picks up from where it left off at the end of Series 2. Jim and Shell are in bed together and Nikki, dressed in a nurse's outfit, is at Helen's house after escaping. Shell stabs Jim with a broken bottle that she had brought back from Sylvia's party.

The third series saw a high turnover of short-term characters and storylines, but also chronicled the spectacular escape of Shell and Denny Blood to the Costa Del Sol in Spain; Yvonne's top dog status being challenged by Maxi Purvis, the head of the "Peckham Boot Gang"; prison officer Di Barker's struggles as a home carer for her invalid mother and an upbeat finale of Helen and Nikki finally committing to their relationship when Nikki's appeal is successful and she is released from prison. Produced by Claire Phillips.

Series 4

Series 4 introduced new characters such as Neil Grayling, the gay Governing Governor of Larkhall, who developed an attraction to Jim Fenner. Also introduced were Roisin Connor and Cassie Tyler, imprisoned for fraud and in a lesbian relationship complicated not only by their being behind bars, but by Roisin's being a married mother-of-two. The series tackled domestic violence within the relationship of Di Barker and Barry Pearce and teenage junkie Buki Lester's battle for the right to see her disabled son, Lennox. The fourth series ended with the prison library being obliterated as part of an escape plan by the devious Snowball Merriman, resulting in a fire that left several inmates trapped and fighting for their lives. Produced by Claire Phillips.

Series 5

The fifth series of Bad Girls saw the brief return of a recaptured and pregnant Shell Dockley to G-Wing. Devious Jim Fenner ensures Shell is designated mentally unstable and her newborn baby son is taken into care. The "Costa Cons", Bev Tull and Phyl Oswyn arrive. There is good news for Denny, who is transferred to an open prison. The ongoing feud between Jim Fenner and Wing Governor Karen Betts reaches its climax as Fenner ruthlessly frames Karen for a hit-and-run accident in which a man dies. Julie Saunders is diagnosed with breast cancer and takes the decision to take her chances without chemotherapy treatment. Barbara Hunt marries the former prison chaplain, Henry - bad news for Sylvia, who had set her sights on Henry after she was widowed when her husband committed suicide. New prison officer Selena Geeson and new inmate Kris Yates are in a relationship. Kris is taking the rap for killing her abusive father in order to spare her younger sister, the real culprit. Fenner's nefarious ways continue as he kills Yvonne Atkins as she tries to escape Larkhall, by ensuring that she will be trapped in the "hanging cell", a small room beneath the main prison that is was blocked off from the outside world. Produced by David Crean.

Series 6

With G-Wing thinking there ex top dog has escaped HMP Larkhall Kris finds Yvonne's corpse after she tries to follow the same way out. But as it is all blocked off she tells Selena who she found. Selena then tells Neil she found Yvonne. Yvonne's death shocks G-Wing. In her absence, Phyl Oswyn is G-Wing "top dog" for a short time before being stopped in her tracks by new wing governor Frances Myers.

Frances Myers soon begins a feud with new inmate Natalie Buxton, in prison for organising a prostitution ring using underage girls. But Natalie soon makes the other girls believe she is innocent.

The series features a crossover with Shed Productions' other hit series, Footballers' Wives, with the glamorous character of Tanya Turner enduring a spell on G-Wing for three episodes. Where we see the death of Al McKenzie. Later Tanya is soon released.

Kris Yates's sister, Milly, commits suicide after Selena puts her under pressure to confess to her father's killing (in self-defence) in order to free her sister. Kris and Selena split and Kris sleeps with Natalie Buxton but the couple are reconciled and the series ends with the cliffhanger of Kris and Selena protesting in London about the injustice of Kris being behind bars.

Jim Fenner marrys Neil's ex wife Di. As Neil and Karen are sure Jim has something to do with the hit and run Karen was accused of, they hire a private investigator to prove Karen's inoccent Jim is proven to be the person who drove the car that night. He is later arrested on his and Di's wedding day. Produced by Cameron Roac. (This is full summary of Series 6)

Series 7

This series does not follow up on the Series 6 cliffhanger and Kris and Selena neither feature nor are mentioned in this series. Di Fenner, Jim Fenner's wife, lies to ensure he is released from prison and Fenner returns to G-Wing. When the Costa Cons escape to Spain, Neil is demoted to G-Wing Governor and Fenner promoted to Governing Governor. His tenure does not last long; he is murdered in the "hanging cell" the same day, during a memorial service for Yvonne Atkins. The police have a host of suspects to choose from, including new lifer prisoner Pat Kerrigan, who is a recent transfer from another prison but has already managed to develop a feud with Fenner. The increasingly mentally unstable Julie Johnston later reveals that she committed the crime to exact vengeance against Fenner for all his past crimes, in particular, the death of Yvonne. However, it is Fenner's widow Di who is arrested, charged and remanded in custody for the offence. New Governing Governor Joy Masterton arrives and indicates she will instigate a tough regime at Larkhall.

Meanwhile, Natalie Buxton has taken over as G-Wing's new top dog. When Natalie and the other imates find out that new inmate Arun Parmar is a transsexual, Natalie makes her life hell until Pat Kerrigan, annoyed by Natalie's bullying of Arun, beats Buxton in a fight and demands she leave Arun be. Pat develops a romance with recovering drug addict and single mother Sheena Williams before managing to expose Natalie, despite her denials to the contrary, as having been involved in the prostitution of underage girls. Produced by Rachel Snell.

Series 8

The series begins with the arrival of Emira Al Jahani, a Muslim whose husband is a suspected terrorist. When Neil Grayling and a prisoner die and other prisoners fall ill, Emira is accused of biological terrorism. However, it is later established that Neil has died of a previously undiscovered heart condition and the sickness on the wing has been caused by an outbreak of Legionnaire's Disease caused by a faulty air-conditioning unit. New G-Wing governor Lou Stoke (Amanda Donohoe) develops a romance with the prison doctor Rowan Dunlop (Colin Salmon) not knowing he is married, and tries to find her missing sister. Meanwhile, Pat is sickened by Natalie's use of a child in smuggling drugs into the prison and plans to get rid of Natalie for good. Pat devises a plan in which she will trick Natalie into trying to escape, but Natalie realises she is being tricked and a fight ensues in which Pat and Natalie fight to the death. With the help of the two Julies, Pat disposes of Natalie's body in the sewers beneath the prison, making it seem as if Natalie has indeed escaped Larkhall. Inmate Janine Nebeski and new prison officer Donny Kimber embark on a romance that leaves Janine pregnant. With help from Bev, Phyl and Tina Janine gives birth in her cell who then names the baby after Bev. Longterm inmate Tina O'Kane is released for the second time but as before, struggles to adapt to life in the outside world and commits another crime as she takes a bank hostage with a toy gun where a man suffers a heart attack she is again reimprisoned. Joy Masterton's long-lost daughter Stella Gough turns up as an inmate at the prison. But then is shipped out after taking her mother hostage. Darlene Cake is tricked into killing a new inmate Catherine Earlham's husband and tries to commit suicide, but is saved by Donny.

Bad Girls: The Musical

See also: Bad Girls: The Musical

A musical comedy adaptation, based on the characters and storylines of series 1, including the events of the death of inmate, Rachel Hicks, and the relationship between Wing Governor Helen Stewart and lifer, Nikki Wade. The musical originates with the same creative staff which worked on the television program. Maureen Chadwick and Ann McManus, of Shed Productions, are the book writers of the musical, and Kath Gotts, composer for Bad Girls series 2 - 4, is the composer-lyricist. The first full production of the musical premiered at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in May - June 2006. A West End production has been running at the Garrick Theatre since August 2007, and opened in September 2007 to mostly positive reviews.

Recurring elements

Weapons
The bar of soap in a sock has been seen twice. It was first seen when Maxi Purvis and Al MacKensie beat up Tina Purvis in her cell in Series 3. Next seen when Natalie Buxton and Janine Nebeski beat up Arun Parmar in the library in Series 7.

Weapons II
The razor blade (often embedded into a toothbrush handle) makes frequent appearances. It was first seen when season two newcomer Renee Williams removes it from her mouth after her induction to the prison. She tries using it on Yvonne Atkins in one of the bathrooms but Nikki intervenes. Next seen when Al MacKensie threatens Shaz Wiley in Series 3. Next seen when Maxi Purvis uses one in her fight with Shaz in Series 4. Shell returned in series 5 with a razor blade and threatened Snowball Merriman with it. Next seen with Arun Parmar shaving in Series 7. Most recently in Series 8 Pat Kerrigan used one to force Natalie Buxton to take a handful of pills.

Homosexuality in the Hollamby Bloodline
Ironic considering Sylvia's disgust with any homosexual behaviour. First hinted at after Bobby Hollamby's death in Series 5 when we learn from Sylvia that their son, Bobby-Darren "lives with a pal". Series 7 fleshes it out completely when we learn Sylvia's Aunt was a lesbian and Bobby-Darren is still not married. He later became sexually involved with Governor Neil Grayling but with the abrupt death of Neil at the start of Series 8 this subplot has probably ended. In the 2006 Christmas Special, Sylvia became annoyed at her son Bobby-D for getting with a new man.

Letters to Mrs Fenner
Twice we've seen letters written to Jim Fenner's wife telling of his affairs and twice they've helped bring about the failure of those marriages. Shell Dockley wrote to Marilyn Fenner at the end of Series 1. Natalie Buxton wrote to Mrs Di Fenner in Series 7.

Top Dogs
There has always been a 'top dog' of G-Wing and every top dog has eventually fallen from grace in some (usually violent) manner.

Niki Wade/Shell Dockley, Yvonne Atkins, Maxi Purvis, Phyl Oswyn, Natalie Buxton & Pat Kerrigan. First, Shell Dockley was initially considered to be Top Dog through her bullying and manipulative ways. But Niki Wade often proved to be the voice of the inmates when dealing with the screws. Niki and Shell never actively fought over the position but when Shell got Lorna Rose sacked Niki was quick to take advantage of this and used it to undermine Shell's position. Shell still considered herself Top Dog, but was not long before Yvonne Atkins knocked her off her perch at the end of the first series then became top dog herself slowly as her character progressed during the second series. Yvonne always seemed reluctant to be 'top dog' like fellow respected inmate Nikki Wade. However all the inmates respected her and many feared her if they crossed her. Throughout this period, Shell Dockley still claimed to be top dog despite her repeated downfalls. Shell won her status back by stabbing Jim Fenner at the end of series 2, but even Shell never challenged Yvonne and for the most part kept out of her way. Yvonne was eventually locked by Fenner into a disuesed cell deep under the prison. She either died of starvation and dehydration or she suffocated due to lack of oxygen beneath the prison (as Fenner stated: "Don't bother screaming, you might want to save on the oxygen). Her death was probably the most gruesome. At the beginning of the next series, her heavily rotting body was found by Kris Yates. In series 3 and 4, Maxi Purvis contested Yvonne's authority, but when she loses a fight with Shaz, she choked herself to death by swallowing toilet paper. Phyl Oswyn briefly laid claim to the title in the early episodes of series six, following Yvonne's death, in particular heading the trade of drugs within the prison, but she was quickly put in line by the arrival of no-nonsense, ball-breaking Wing Governor Frances Myers. The next conventional 'Top Dog' was Natalie Buxton. Like Shell Dockley, Natalie was manipulative and used her position more to exploit the others rather than help them. She was knocked off her perch by Pat Kerrigan, who beat up Natalie during a fight to secure fragile inmate Arun's safety within the prison. Although most of Natalie's gang stuck by her after this, everyone turned their back on Natalie when Pat set up a scam to trick Natalie into revealing her crimes of selling children as sex slaves. Natalie had always vehemently denied these crimes, and for the most part she was believed by her fellow inmates. After Pat played back a tape to the wing containing Natalie's confession, Natalie was jeered at and ostracised. Now, Pat Kerrigan appears to be in hold of the title, although she is clearly reluctant to accept it. In series 8, Natalie and Pat battled again, and Pat killed Natalie by slamming a rock into her head. With the help of the Julies, Pat eventually managed to dispose of Natalie's quickly decomposing corpse, shoving it down a manhole in the laundry room.

Luck
Jim Fenner has had a lot of this. Helen Stewart described it as 'the luck of the devil'. Interestingly Fenner's brand of cigarette, revealed in Series 7 is 'Lucky Strike'.

£50,000
This large sum of money is used throughout Bad Girls. After Sylvia falls down a flight of stairs, Yvonne suggests a lawyer, claiming a friend received £50,000 as compensation for an accident. At the end of series four, Snowball and Richie try to cheat Yvonne out of £50,000, and in series five, Sylvia and Bobby end up in debt by £50,000. Finally, towards the end of series 7, the amount of money set for Di's bail is £50,000.

Russian Mafia
When Phyl and Bev are convicted in series 5, they claim that it was the fault of the Russian Mafia. Two series later, Phyl and Bev got their own back by stealing diamonds from the same party.

The curse of the Dorm Over the eight series, the four bed dorm was the location for the demise of some of the prisoners. The first inmate to die was Rachel Hicks, who hanged herself in Series 1. She was later followed by Zandra Plackett who died of a brain tumour. Other inmates who suffered the curse of the dorm included Renee Williams, who died from an allergic reaction to nuts put in her food by Yvonne; Shaz Wylie, who died in the fire at the end of Series 4; Maxi Purvis, who choked herself to death, with the help of Al, in series 4; Al McKenzie, who was accidentally poisoned in Series 6; and the last victim, Ashlee Wilcox in Series 8, who died from legionnaires' disease. All of these characters lived at least some of their time at Larkhall in the dorm, and all of them other than Renee and Shaz actually died in the dorm. Ironically all of them at some point had slept in the same bed as Rachel Hicks did.

DVD releases

Main article: Bad Girls DVD Sets

Series 1-8 of Bad Girls are available on DVD in the UK (Region 2). Series 1-8 are also available on DVD in Australia (Region 4) however the series 8 DVD does not include the Christmas special which marked the final episode of the series. Series 1 was released on DVD in the United States on 7 June 2005. A boxset of Series 1-4 was released in the UK on 9 October 2006. Series 5-8 will be released on 22 October 2007.

Bad Girls: Series One Uncut
Set Details Special Features
  • 10 Episodes
  • 4-Disc Set
  • 4:3 Aspect Ratio
  • Subtitles: No
  • English (Stereo)
  • Documentary: Bad Girls in Oxford
  • Commentary Track: Episode 10
  • Cast Interviews:
    • Simone Lahbib (Helen)
    • Mandana Jones (Nikki)
    • Debra Stephenson (Shell)
    • Jack Ellis (Jim)
    • Alicya Eyo (Denny)
    • Helen Fraser (Sylvia)
    • Victoria Alcock (Julie S)
    • Kikia Mirylees (Julie J)
  • Outtakes
  • Fan Featurette: Bad Girls Book Signing
  • Photo Library
Release Dates
 United Kingdom  Australia  United States
18 June 2001 24 March 2003 7 June 2005
Bad Girls: Series Two Uncut
Set Details Special Features
  • 13 Episodes
  • 4-Disc Set
  • 4:3 Aspect Ratio
  • Subtitles: No
  • English (Stereo)
  • Gallery 1: Behind The Scenes
  • Gallery 2: The National TV Awards
  • Bad Girls In South Africa: Documentary
  • Outtakes
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Cast Biographies
  • Producer Biographies
Release Dates
 United Kingdom  Australia  United States
1 October 2001 26 May 2003
Bad Girls: Series Three Uncut
Set Details Special Features
  • 16 Episodes
  • 6-Disc Set
  • 4:3 Aspect ratio
  • Subtitles: No
  • English (Stereo)
  • Interactive Map Of Larkhall Prison
  • Outtakes
  • Prison File: Behind The Scenes, Subsidiary Character Profiles and Interviews:
    • Sharon Duncan-Brewster (Crystal)
    • Victoria Bush (Tina)
    • Pauline Campbell (Al)
    • Jack Ellis (Jim)
    • Claire King (Karen)
    • Simone Lahbib (Helen)
    • Nathan Constance (Josh)
    • Helen Fraser (Sylvia)
    • Lara Cazalet (Zandra R.I.P)
    • Kiki Mirylees (Julie J)
    • Lindsey Fawcett (Shaz)
    • Mandana Jones (Nikki)
    • Tracey Wilkinson (Di)
    • Linda Henry (Yvonne)
  • Audio CD: features music from Series 3
Release Dates
 United Kingdom  Australia  United States
25 March 2002 8 September 2003
Bad Girls: Series Four Uncut
Set Details Special Features
  • 16 Episodes
  • 5-Disc Set
  • 16:9 Aspect Ratio
  • Subtitles: No
  • English (Stereo)
  • Series One - Feature Length Version
  • Outtakes
  • Tour of The New Exterior Set - With Jack Ellis (Jim)
  • International Promo Trailer
  • Fan Event With Simone and Mandana (Helen and Nikki) (2000)
  • Gallery
  • PC Wallpapers
Release Dates
 United Kingdom  Australia  United States
9 June 2003 22 April 2004
Bad Girls: Series Five Uncut
Set Details Special Features
  • 16 Episodes
  • 4-Disc Set
  • 16:9 Aspect Ratio
  • Subtitles: English
  • English (Stereo)
  • Outtakes
  • Photo Gallery
Release Dates
 United Kingdom  Australia  United States
23 August 2004 7 March 2005
Bad Girls: Series Six Uncut
Set Details Special Features
  • 12 Episodes
  • 3-Disc Set
  • 16:9 Aspect Ratio
  • Subtitles: English
  • English (Stereo)
  • Outtakes
  • The King In Larkhall
  • Cast Interviews:
    • Tristan Sturrock (Colin)
    • Antonia Okonma (Darlene)
    • Amanda Barrie (Bev)
    • James Gaddas (Neil)
  • Tanya Turner - Ultimate Bad Girl
  • Bad Girls The Musical
Release Dates
 United Kingdom  Australia  United States
25 June 2005 4 July 2005
Bad Girls: Series Seven
Set Details Special Features
  • 13 Episodes
  • 4-Disc Set
  • 16:9 Aspect Ratio
  • Subtitles: English
  • English (Stereo)
  • Photo Gallery
  • Christmas Special
Release Dates
 United Kingdom  Australia  United States
7 August 2006 18 September 2006
Bad Girls: Series Eight
Set Details Special Features
  • 11 Episodes
  • 3-Disc Set
  • 16:9 Aspect Ratio
  • Subtitles: English
  • English (Stereo)
  • Photo Gallery
  • Christmas Special
Release Dates
 United Kingdom  Australia  United States
26 December 2006 3 September 2007
Bad Girls: Series 1-4 Boxset
Set Details Special Features
  • 55 Episodes
  • 18-Disc Set
  • 4:3 Aspect Ratio (Series 1-3)
  • 16.9 Aspect Ratio (Series 4)
  • Subtitles: No
  • English (Stereo)
  • Special features from Series 1-4
Release Dates
 United Kingdom  Australia  United States
9 October 2006
Bad Girls: Series 5-8 Boxset
Set Details Special Features
  • 52 Episodes
  • 14-Disc Set
  • 16.9 Aspect Ratio
  • Subtitles: No
  • English (Stereo)
  • Special features from Series 5-8
Release Dates
 United Kingdom  Australia  United States
22 October 2007

External links

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