08x00 - Behind the Bars

Episode transcripts for the TV show "Wentworth". Aired: August 2013 to present.*
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"Wentworth" is a dynamic, often confronting, drama series that begins with Bea Smith's early days in prison. Set in the present day, it's a modern re-imagination of Prisoner.
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08x00 - Behind the Bars

Post by bunniefuu »

Wentworth is full of twists and turns and it constantly strives to surprise its audience.

At any given moment, anyone could... just come to a grinding halt, yeah.

The stakes are always so high.

Top dogs, screws, laggers and back stabbers.

Every double-crossing, heartbreaking, jaw-dropping moment from the very beginning.

It is worth the binge, it's completely addictive.

Coming back to Wentworth is like slipping on an old glove.

Join us as we celebrate Australia's most epic drama, the critically acclaimed, multi-award winning global phenomenon.

I feel like I'm jumping on to the shoulders of giants in this show, there's some just bloody extraordinary people on it.

I'm Celia Ireland, you may know me as Liz, and this is Wentworth: Behind the Bars, seasons to .

Since its premiere on Foxtel's SoHo channel back in ,

Wentworth has become a global franchise syndicated around the world and a proud recipient of countless awards, including seven shiny Logies.

I even pinched one of those myself.

It's such a professional privilege to work with Foxtel.

Yeah, when you look back at the drama production, it's of such high quality.

It is special. Like, I know a lot of people say that, but there's somethin'... there's something down here that's really special about the crew, the production, and the cast which makes it part of a great team.

I think the thing that Foxtel does, and we know for a fact, is it puts females in the centre and up in the lead.

There's a great diversity to their characters and their stories and Foxtel's commitment to that is second-to-none.

There is a universality to the stories that we're telling, but also, in the capable hands of these great actresses it resonates across the world.

The US, UK, France, Canada,

Macedonia, Israel,

Wentworth plays in a whopping territories worldwide.

Some countries even remake their own versions.

Wow...

Please.

Wow.

That wasn't so hard, was it?

I think audiences were crying out for interesting representation, and Wentworth provided that.

We provided a full cast of females who were not just limited to love interests, or the girlfriend or the wife or the sexual object, we actually said, "These women are human, and, here's a story that you'll wanna watch", but also the LGBT representation I think, came at a time, where it was needed and it was wanted and I think the fans have gravitated because of that.

Before we look at the highly anticipated eighth season...

Home sweet home now.

Let's go back to day one.

They think it takes a strong woman to rise the top in here but it doesn't... it takes a smart one.

In walks our central character, Bea Smith, a victim of domestic v*olence.

She's been sentenced to Wentworth for the attempted m*rder of her husband.

And look out ladies, this prison will never be the same again.

We try to set up a very bold, very strong characters that are living in this world that is Wentworth, and within that, it is about survival.

You know, life and death, and I think that was pretty gutsy to start where we did.

Kyia!

The fact that the end of the first episode, we k*ll Catherine McClements who was playing the governor, we showed to everybody, "ooh, this was gonna be different."

"Ooh, they're not afraid to k*ll a main character."

- Sierra to Sierra ...
- Someone call an ambulance!

No!

So Bea was lucky to make it through episode alive but she's about to learn just how dangerous her enemies can be.

Your husband found Debbie in her bedroom unconscious.

Someone just tell me if she's OK.

Please! Anybody!

Just tell me!

I go to the morgue for Bea,

'cause she couldn't go, and I say to Debbie:

"Your mum, loves you to the moon and back."

No!

The heartbreaking death of Bea's daughter is the turning point for her.

Now, she has nothing left to lose.

Oh, you're gonna pay for what you've done.

I'll never forget the end of season , that shock of seeing Jacs have that...

Bea stabbing her in the neck and that sort of bleeding out moment was like, oh my God.

But of course, when one villain falls, another one takes her place.

Season sees the introduction of The Freak and boy, does she bring a whole new level of terror.

Each and every person here will know their place.

- And who are you?
- My name's Ms Ferguson... but you can call me Governor.

The nature of villainy is that it's complex, and I was relishing the opportunity to be unleashed... on The Freak.

I would often ask the directors of a particular scene, "can you see my moustache twirling?"

Freak!

It was teetering that fine line all the time.

Ferguson is a master manipulator and she's soon using Bea to get to Frankie.

It's in your best interest to strike first.

I'll do it when I'm ready.

There was a Kn*fe fight, in... just in this laundry, between Frankie and Bea which was a six hour fight, and in the process, Nicole Da Silva broke her wrist.

I came away from that scene feeling like I had been in Fight Club.

Done?

My favourite moment in the series, and it still thrills me to think about was where Bea escapes and she emerges from the hospital doors to the outside world and the camera spins around to her as she puts on her hoodie ready to enter the world as this escaped criminal... and to this day, that moment gives me goosebumps.

Now on the outside,

Bea's on a mission to seek revenge for Debbie's death.

All right.

So, I wanna know why you k*lled my daughter.

In that scene, what we have is the... the exploration of one of the major themes of the show for me, you have Bea coming into prison as the hairdresser who attempted to k*ll her violent husband but couldn't go through with it, and then she's confronted with the prospect: this bloke has k*lled her daughter.

Can she pull the trigger?

And if she does pull the trigger, does it change her forever?

With her new-found badass status,

Bea returns to Wentworth and assumes the burden of being Top Dog.

- Freak.
- Which marks the beginning of The Freak's unravelling.

You don't run this prison...

I do.

Of course, Wentworth isn't all v*olence and vengeance, there's also a whole lotta love.

Aww, bless.

Oh, love...

- darling, he's beautiful.
- Oh, my God.

At its heart, Wentworth is about a family, and it's about these women from very disparate parts of life being thrust together and having to work out how to get on, how to create a community and live and exist together.

When they're not k*lling each other, it's a really nice family.

But with The Freak in charge, well, let's just say... some people just wanna watch the world burn.

They call me a freak, a monster, they're right to be afraid.

Shh. It's all good.

- f*ck!
- No!

So what do you do when you've b*rned your set to the ground?

You build a bigger one, of course.

- Here we are, girls.
- Yeah, home sweet f*cking home.

Whoo!

It's an incredible set, that actually exudes a personality and a depth of darkness that invades you when you're here and you're sh**ting.

The details in everything, everything is so beautifully thought out that it brings you to this place that it just gives you your character instantly.

f*ck you! f*ck!

All the cells are identical but if you walk in into all of them, they each have such a different vibe, and walking into mine, it taught me a lot about who Boomer was.

You're way better than this place.

Some days I don't know if I am.

Well, you are.

I was struck by how small it was, and I thought, "Oh my God, she's been here for seven years, and this is her life, this room is her life."

With a whole new set to play with, we really had some fun in season .

Especially when the latest inmate turns out to be...

The Freak.

A very tricky thing to try to pull off.

How in the world the person who'd been running that prison would end up in teal... in that environment, and stay alive.

Certainly she would have been kept in isolation, but, isolation is no help to a master Machiavellian like Joan Ferguson.

- Freak!
- Oh, that's for sure.

Before long, The Freak's pulling the strings from the inside and has Kaz, a new inmate, and Jake, the crooked new guard, doing her bidding.

I've been warned about you, Joan.

Don't be too sure of anything anyone tells you, Jake.

Bea starts to lose her influence with the women...

I can see the cracks, Smith, and that means Ferguson can too.

You need to remind everyone who's in charge.

... because she's too busy

- falling in love.
- Everyone I care about ends up dead!

- You care about me?
- Oh, we should get back for the count.

She was in... in a domestically violent relationship and then she also encountered a relationship that she was a little bit confused by, she fell in love with another woman, even though she had defined herself as heterosexual.

I'm not gay.

I don't care what you are.

Looking back on four seasons of Wentworth,

I think my favourite scene is looking up at the clouds and the clouds are forming seahorses.

Did you know that seahorses like to swim in pairs?

- Do they?
- Yeah, they do, they link tails so they don't lose each other.

We didn't realise at the time but it became such an iconic theme for that relationship.

I get sent seahorses all the time from my fans which is so incredibly sweet.

Aww.

The big shocker arrives at the end of season and there's no doubt, no-one saw it coming.

It wasn't difficult to keep Bea's death a secret because we didn't have that much warning.

I didn't see that coming.

We had to work really hard at keeping that under wraps and a lot of the crew didn't even know that that was gonna be the final moment for that character.

I don't think anyone was expecting that.

It was such genius television making.

I'm gonna finish this.

The whole point in... in... in making a show is to... is to move people, is to get a response out of them... and we certainly did it with that, but it was a big shock.

I win.

After k*lling off their main character, everyone was waiting to see where the writers would take Wentworth in season .

Even when I read the scripts I'm, "Ooh, oh, my God, I can't wait to see what happens."

You know, it's exciting television.

- f*ck!
- Oh!

Poor Allie.

She has one very focused idea in her mind and that is to... to k*ll The Freak... and she tries.

A lot more goes into a fight scene than... than you might think, because, it kinda looks so seamless.

Hours and hours worth of rehearsals and stunt choreography is kinda reduced to maybe two minutes of... of fight on screen.

Everyone's fears would be realised when with Bea out of the way...

Who's next?!

... Ferguson really steps up her villainy.

Top dog!

Top dog!

They gave me such constant gifts.

You can almost hear uh, the writers room, you know, quivering with glee as they come up with some of those things.

You've licked your last p*ssy.

Woah! That really brings new meaning to cat got your tongue.

It wasn't just the script we had fun with, we also tackled our most ambitious stunt yet, the car accident that happens to be a real turning point for Kaz.

The most challenging scene was definitely the brawler scene...

They had this big van in a rotisserie, and then there was guys just pulling it, 'cause Tammy was in there doing her thing and I went, "Wow!"

sh*t! Argh!

... and then we had a day in a t*nk while Will saves Kaz.

A man saves her and that was such a turning point for Kaz, and it was a beautiful moment to play.

It was a really hard moment to play.

Will?!

All I wanted to do was go, "Woo-hoo, spshh!".

Will?!

But not all the action on Wentworth takes place on the road, or in the water,this season sees Vera in bed with the enemy.

I feel safe with you.

So many times I've picked up scripts and gone, "Vera, you're an idiot... " "don't do it!"

In many ways, the fans of the show have loved to hate Jake, kind of thing, in the same way that they love to hate Ferguson.

Ah, Ferguson, what a sweet, sweet treat it is when she finally gets her just deserts at the end of the season.

Wish I could have taken credit for that one.

That whole time, as I was burying her, she was screaming.

- She was screaming at me the whole time.
- No!

Get me out of here!

Get me out of here!

And you know, you can never ever get rid of something like that.

- Never. That'll always be there.
- No!

Am I happy with where they left my character? No!

No, of course not. Appalling, appalling behaviour.

So, in season , with Ferguson out of the picture, could the writers introduce someone who'd give The Freak a run for her money?

You betcha!

You're never gonna f*cking believe who's here.

In walks Marie Winter.

Mother, madam, m*rder*r.

How come everyone knows you?

Well, I mean, hardly everyone.

Well, a few women may know me through my businesses.

- Oh, yeah? What do you sell?
- Sex.

Ooh, wasn't expecting that.

So, it's the most complex character we've had in the series in that she's a villain... and she's adorable at the same time.

I really missed you, Allie.

Marie soon finds a formidable foe in Rita, another newbie... who's hiding the kind of secrets you really don't want on the inside.

Good work, Detective.

It was very daunting.

I'm really glad that I had Rarriwuy Hick with me, 'cause we'd worked together before.

It's better if nobody knows about us.

They ain't gonna hear it from me.

To protect her sister,

Rita's eventually forced to take down Marie's muscle.

Ruby's out. You're fightin' me.

- Bullshit.
- Let's go!

When we did the big fight with Drago, it was a whole... it was twelve hours, and I said, "I wanna do my own stunts".

One take, I turned around and said,

"You wanna go again?!"

I was tired,

I was sore, and I just said, "I'm gotta take this bitch out."

And I did.

Myself, as Rarriwuy, I wish I had a big sister like her, you know?

And how could we forget that healthy dose of blackmail...

Who is this?

... that raised some really disturbing questions.

Could it be The Freak blackmailing from the grave?

- Or even worse... is she still alive?
- _

How do you know she didn't...

Oh, God!

Dig her way out.

In season , we reached new levels of revenge and betrayal.

Ray!

Shh.

Let me go to him. Please, please...

There's a great scene between, um...

Marie and Rita, where Rita finds out that it was Marie that, uh, ah, put the hit on Ray.

- You k*lled Ray!
- Hey, hey!

- Rita...
- No, it's OK, babe.

- What are you talking about?
- I know it was you.

- You put Ray in this sh*t.
- That's f*ckin' bullshit!

Butchers hit Ray because of what you did.

So we work out that we should k*ll Marie, and we work out how... and we decide we're gonna build a pipe b*mb.

Let me out! f*ck you, Kaz, you... !

Oh, sh*t!

But Marie is like a cat with nine lives.

I've tried to k*ll her a million times.

She just won't die.

You just can't k*ll Marie.

Do you regret what you did... to Marie?

Kaz is actually forced to re-evaluate her entire world view with the help of Greg Miller, the new psychiatrist.

She gets challenged all the time.

When I was a kid, I was the victim.

I was Karen... but I refused to let that be my story.

And just when we thought Kaz had found peace, Wentworth delivered one of its biggest blows.

There was such a sacred, spiritual loving presence on that set that day that I didn't act that scene alone.

I could feel every single crew member...

I love you.

... I could feel them.

I think that the ability to make those bold decisions is what makes this show stand apart and what... what makes it such a roller-coaster of a ride.

What's happening with Kaz's m*rder?

The police aren't getting anywhere with the women.

Have you heard anything?

Only that Miss Bennett thinks I did it.

Vera had her suspicions.

I know, Will.


What do you know?

That you have become totally compromised.

I will not...

- let you destroy him.
- f*ck you all for k*lling Danny!

And it's time for Marie to bring out the big g*ns.

If you don't get me out of here in the next hours, the whole country's gonna find out how you like to spend your holidays.

And it all culminates in this siege at the very end of the season when

Sean locks down the whole prison, takes hostages.

In total we spent about four days with g*ns pointed at us, being screamed at, one by one, people just being sh*t and k*lled.

I k*lled f*cking Proctor!

You let Marie go or I'm gonna sh**t your mum.

There's one scene where I have to sh**t multiple people and that's when it all sort of starts to unravel.

sh**t, hostages, m*rder.

This was a finale with the lot.

- Everyone down! Drop it!
- Hey, Marie...did you forget about me?

Give me the g*n.

- We are leaving...
- Give me that g*n!

With that comes the most uncharacteristic move that I think Allie has ever pulled.

I don't think anyone expected

- that she would be the person...
- For Danny. Oh!

... that grabbed the g*n and saved the day.

But the adrenaline of the siege was quickly tempered by yet another tragic turn of events.

So, dementia wasn't enough for ya, hey?

Had to go and have a bloody stroke too, you greedy bitch?

It was very hard, it was very confronting to see Lizzie making those sounds and just lying there.

I love you.

After we filmed the scene, I had the most incredible sense of peace and calm...

I love you.

... because it was like, "Yes,

I want this, thank you for helping me".

It... I think at that moment, all I had was white noise just going, "Make your arms work, "make your legs move," and just go through the motions, that's what I was having to do, and my arms naturally wanted to start shaking and... and then the other part of my actor's brain was like, "Please don't really smother Celia in this moment".

Emotions truly ran the gamut in season , but there was one more earth-shattering reveal before the credits rolled.

Joan Ferguson has literally risen from the dead.

She has somehow escaped a box.

That's right. Joan, The Freak, Ferguson returns in the brand new season, and she's out for revenge.

Jake, Vera and myself will be her three targets.

They are the people she's after.

Get ready for the biggest season yet.

- Holy sh*t, that was...
- Oh, jeez...

This season is going to be so epic.

Old enemies, new faces... and I think the most twisted plot line.

In season , we open and I have been in isolation.

I've gone from Top Dog to kinda like absolutely dog on the floor type of thing.

One of the themes of Wentworth this series is redemption.

What the f*ck is this about?

Told ya, we're just gonna have a little chat.

I think that all of the characters are worthy of redemption, whether or not they achieve that redemption, I'm not sure.

Now, tell us the truth.

I am telling you the truth.

In season , we're finally seeing Allie in all of her power and in all of her strength, but pushed right to the very limit.

I don't tolerate v*olence in my prison.

I got the women on my side so if you try something, there's gonna be consequences.

We're also being introduced to a group of new characters who are the cream of Australian talent.

They are so fabulous.

Lou is a former Top Dog of Wentworth.

Oh, hey, look.

She's fierce... .

- Nobody move.
- ... um, she's got a very dark sense of humour.

Stay down! Coming through!

- It's OK everybody, I got the fly.
- Back iin line! Come here!

Stay back! Stay back!

- Come on!
- f*ck!

- I wanna go with her!
- And she's also wildly in love.

- ... medical assistance required to sally port.
- Mr Jackson!

Hey, you can't separate us. Reb needs me.

I'm playing Reb Keane.

He has a pretty rough history.
Um, he's trans, female to male, and you know, the challenges that come with being a transgender man

- in a women's prison are endless.
- Hey.

- Rebecca.
- It's Reb.

Who are you?

I've been a huge admirer of Wentworth...

- I'm Sheila.
- ... and the dedication, commitment, and extraordinary acting that I see in every scene, in every frame, with every character, it's an honour and a privilege to be a part of it.

And another new inmate, Judy Bryant, might be behind bars for the wrong reasons.

We're here outside Wentworth Women's Prison,

- awaiting the arrival of British hacktivist
- Judy Bryant, who faced court...

- and whistle-blower, Judy Bryant,
- just a few hours ago.

- who faced court just a few...
- a government deal

- Hey, that's out the front!
- to establish a m*llitary base...

Oh sh*t, we're on telly. Hey, hey!

Oh, that's that hacker chick. She is amazing.

She lands in Wentworth because she has leaked some precarious secrets about the Australian government online and she kind of has this passion and fire to fight for the underdog.

The staff of Wentworth are also in for a shake-up as the new GM of Corrections is appointed.

The new General Manager, uh, Ann, is at Wentworth now, and she doesn't want me to be the governor.

Someone has to take the rap for that siege, Vera.

The siege wasn't Will's fault.

She's used to getting what she wants, put it that way, and she comes to Wentworth to make sweeping changes.

The decision has been made

- to close the Protection Unit, immediately.
- You're kidding me.

But the key character that I and the whole audience should be excited about meeting is little Gracie.

- Oh, my God!
- Oh, sh*t, it's Miss Bennett.

Oh, she's got the baby!

She is... she's gonna win awards.

- She's delightful.
- Oh, my gawd, she's beautiful.

One take wonder. She's beautiful.

f*ck, I love babies.

Yeah, little Gracie is a cutie all right, and I don't want to give anything away but, someone else has their eyes on her too.

The moment Joan Ferguson comes back into the picture, all bets are off.

I can guarantee you, I can't give anything away, but I can guarantee you that the way that

Ferguson comes back into this story is not what you are gonna expect.

Thank you, Miss Maxwell.

Do I know you from somewhere?

Where has Joan been?

I just have one of those faces.

- And cut.
- It's a great little mystery.

They have no idea what's coming.

Wentworth season is... out of control.

It's just next level.

For seven seasons,

Wentworth has indeed been an extraordinary journey, filled with characters we've come to love and loathe.

Argh!

- I've got a meeing with my lawyer and...
- But the journey's far from over, with a whole new season ready to thrill, shock,

- and excite audiences.
- Hey!

- Here she is!
- Ba-da-boom!

It's bigger, badder, better.

I'd say the holiday's over.

This season covers some pretty torturous and enthralling territory.

It's The Freak, so everybody is a target.

I'm seeing there, "Oh my God, oh my God!

So, it gets pretty hectic.

- Get her in!
- Are you ready?

f*ck!

Is The Freak coming back for series ?

Is she?

♪ Dude, I'm killin' it, killin' it ♪

♪ Smokin' 'em all like a cigarette, cigarette ♪

♪ That sh*t don't know who I'm chillin' with ♪

♪ But now you wanna hold me close ♪

♪ And looks good because you brag a lot ♪

♪ Like on top, mother with no porfolio ♪

♪ Doin' this for years but nothin'...
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