Prisoner characters - Background Prison Officers

A list of background prison officers at the Wentworth Detention Centre in the television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

series Prisoner
Prisoner (TV series)
Prisoner is an Australian television soap opera which was set in the Wentworth Detention Centre, a fictional women's prison. The series was produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation and ran on Network Ten for 692 episodes from 27 February 1979 to 11 December 1986.The series was inspired by the 1970s...

.

Sue Bailey (Maureen Edwards
Maureen Edwards
Maureen Edwards is an Australian actress, who remains best known for her role as Matron Rosemary Prior in the television series A Country Practice....

), frequently seen background prison officer. Unlike other background officers, she usually has a speaking part each time she appears.

Joan Barfield (Kate Fell, Delva Hunter), prison officer seen throughout the series often blending into the background, usually with a confused look on her face. Played by Kate Fell in the early episodes before Delva Hunter takes over for the most part. She made herself very useful during the fire (episodes 326 and 327) where she was seen pulling a hose to extinguish the fire. She is mainly a non-speaking officer but gets a few words in here and there during the series. Is the officer doing the evening rounds in the show's end credits sequence from episode 295 until 481. This officer had it lucky from the prisoners as she was able to dodge most of the trouble.

Gail Brown (Geraldine Girvan), frequently seen non-speaking background prison officer. Credited once in the duration of the series (episode 446) for lying unconscious in the staff room after drinking from the drugged tea urn. Can be seen in the final credit sequence from episode 482 until the finish of the series.

Officer Carter (Dawn Klingberg). Klingberg appeared as an officer initially named Officer Edwards in the earlier episodes of the series. Her most notable moment was when she is on night shift when terrorists break into the prisoner for prisoner Janet Dominguez (episodes 82, 83). She is the only officer who had not drunk the drugged coffee. She is referred to as Carter from episode 156, probably due to a scripting error.

Officer Davies (Cheryle Ballantine) seen occasionally in a limited number of episodes.

Officer Grahame (Susan Arnold
Susan Arnold
-Life and career:Susan Arnold graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts degree, and from the University of Pittsburgh with a Master of Business Administration degree....

), background officer in the earlier episodes. Can be seen in the final credit sequence from episode 5 until 294.

Officer Green (John Allen
John Allen
-Politicians:*John Allen , U.S. Representative from Connecticut*John B. Allen , first U.S. Senator from Washington*John Clayton Allen , U.S. Representative from Illinois...

) occasional non-speaking background officer who speaks in episode 533 saying, "Get your things together" to prisoner Frank Burke. Seems to be the only male background officer.

Di Hagen (Christine Andrew), minor officer seen towards the later part of the series. She was attacked by prisoner Frank Burke (episode 502) and had a conversation with Officer Pringle (Joyce) in episode 530.

Paddy Maguire (Jean Cain), minor officer seen in the early episodes usually credited with just 'Officer'. She manages to get a line in episode 64, warning deputy governor Jim Fletcher that trouble is brewing amongst the women.

Officer Manson (Anne Phelan
Anne Phelan
Anne Mary Phelan, OAM , is a much awarded Australian actress, who has appeared prominently in Theatre, Australian television productions and soap operas, including Prisoner where she played the role of 'Top Dog' Myra Desmond and Monica Taylor in Something in the air...

), the sole purpose of this officer, described in dialogue as being new in the job, was to threaten to resign over the favourable treatment given to Barbara Davidson (episode 17). She does not reappear in any subsequent episodes so she must have carried out her actions.

Officer Morgan (Betty Hargrave), seen in early episodes of the series.

Helen O'Shea (actress unknown), frequently seen non-speaking background prison officer often to be found on dining room duty.

Officer Owen (Kate Fell, Anne Sutherland), this is a minor officer who, through a series of scripting errors, was played by different actresses who were know by other names again: Anne Sutherland previously being Officer Williams and Kate Fell being the first actress to be referred to as Officer Barfield. These extras all featured in later episodes.

Officer Parsons (Margo McLennan
Margo McLennan
Margo McLennan was a British actress known for her role in the Australian soap opera Prisoner. Born Eileen Marguerite McMenemy in Peckham, London she originally trained to be an ice skater before becoming an actress....

), only seen in three episodes. First was episode 235 where she was on dining room duty and taking Bea to the library for her Braille machine instruction. Second was where she tells Doreen to stop bothering the guard dogs. Her final episode showed her incompetence as her role was collecting Susie Driscoll from hospital, and allowing her to escape. Perhaps never seen again because of that last incident.

Officer Phillip (Lise Rodgers), minor officer in the early episodes. Sees Doreen put a fork through her foot in episode 55.

Andrea Radcliffe (Marion Dimmock, prison officer seen frequently as a background officer. On the majority of her appearances, she receives a lot of verbal abuse and is even taken hostage during a riot (episodes 600 and 601) and knocked out by Janet Williams (episode 615).

Joanne Riley (Kathy Gordon), junior prison officer seen only on occasion during the series. Has a small speaking part and sadly never seemed to progress further than junior officer level.

Wendy Sharpe (Caroline Quist), background officer who was found dead in the laundry after catching the lassa fever (episode 393). Notably, she was the only background officer who died.

Gail Ward (Jacqui Jackson
Jacqui Jackson
Jacqueline Carol 'Jacqui' Jackson is a writer on autism issues with a background as the single parent of seven children, three girls and four boys, of whom 2 boys and one girl are on the autism spectrum. Jackson and her family appeared in a BBC documentary, My Family and Autism, screened in 2003...

), frequently seen non-speaking background prison officer often to be found on dining room duty.

Officer Williams (Anne Sutherland), minor officer and does something useful as she found valium during a cell search (episode 40). Sutherland was later referred to as Officer Owen.

There were also a few background characters that did not have names. Due to completeness of this topic they are also listed below:

Officer (Jan Friedl), answers the phone in reception in episode 4.
Officer (Margaret Younger), only ever seen in episode 9. She is never seen again.
Officer (Sue Silver), seen in early episodes.
Officer (Lorraine Kindler), tries to break a B block fight up in episode 462. One of the very few times another block is featured.