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I remember once reading a comment in the UK press that said Prisoner featured "more lady love than a DH Lawrence novel" or something similar, which got me thinking. Where did all the lesbian inmates go..?
It seems to be a well-known fact that, in institutions like prisons where contact with the opposite sex is cut off, there is an unusually high level of same-gender sexual activity. There have certainly been lesbian characters in Prisoner, but is this reflective of real life?
Homosexuality is a theme that recurs throughout the series. In the very first episode, we're introduced to a tough lesbian inmate, and 692 episodes later, there's a lesbian inmate at the end of the series too. By process of elimination, let's see how many there actually were.
Joan Ferguson was a lesbian officer who initially seemed predatory - taking a fancy to inmate Hannah Simpson (who was not gay, and rebuffed her advances), and giving disturbing body searches to Doreen Burns and Paddy Lawson. But very soon this part of her character softened, and later she became involved with fellow officer, Terri Malone. However I'm not looking for gay officers here, and they can't be included in my total, neither can the officer whose unwanted advances caused Jackie Nolan/Sarah Forest to escape from Barnhurst. By the same token, Angela Jeffries, a civil rights lawyer and friend of Karen Travers, was also a lesbian but not an inmate, and isn't included.
Quite a few occasions where lesbianism was mentioned were mistaken assumptions. For example, Bob Morris heard about his daughter Tracey's friendship with "notorious" Judy Bryant and wondered if she were also becoming a lesbian. Lexie Patterson mistook Jessie Wyndham's constant interest in her as sexual. (In fact it was far more horrific - she turned out to be her mother!) Lou Kelly almost provoked Anita Selby into un-Christian violence by implying that being a nun meant being a lesbian. And even poor Judy misread the signals from Georgie Baxter, resulting in a very embarrassing misunderstanding which nearly got her a smack on the lips, but not in the way she'd have liked.
There have also been incidents of people who faked it too. Undercover newspaper reporter Sandra Hamilton tried several ways to get information, including pouting and flirting in the most revolting manner in front of poor Judy Bryant. And Helen Smart, for some bizarre reason that I really can't remember, pretended to be a lesbian when she was hiring a van to help with an escape plan. (Presumably you'd be less conspicuous doing this if you were a lesbian..?)
Some inmates were not strictly gay, but were open to persuasion. Man-hungry Chrissie Latham had a brief affair with Sharon Gilmore, and at the beginning of the series Doreen Anderson was having an affair with Franky before developing a crush on Lynn. However, in Doreen's case, she was child-like, Franky was intimidating, and her relationship was probably her way of feeling protected. Her crush on Lynn was also innocent and more a sign of friendship than sexuality. Besides, this part of her was soon forgotten and she went on to more conventional things, like marrying Kevin Burns.
Later in the series, when good old psychologically unbalanced Anne Griffin (who had talked of a husband and baby, in between ramblings about putting Meeegan in the tumble drier) found out Judy Bryant was gay, she mentioned a previous relationship with a woman, which Judy took to be a proposition, and declined it.
It might also be worth mentioning the implied relationship between Willie Beecham and May Collins, who squabbled like an old married couple most of the time, but couldn't bear to be apart. (Their eventual "separation" was a very moving demonstration of good drama.) Though it was never stated that their relationship was more than friendship, I'm sure mine wasn't the only head the thought went through.
The first bona fide lesbian who had appeared in the series was Franky Doyle. Right from the first episode, she was with Doreen, but had also taken a fancy to Karen Travers. (Although Karen was strictly hetero at this stage, I seem to remember she briefly questioned it during her friendship with Angela Jefferies.) When Franky left the series, it was a full 70 episodes before another principle lesbian character arrived - and in fact two turned up.
Sharon Gilmour was childish and spoiled, and was put inside on drug charges. Her girlfriend Judy Bryant got herself arrested so that she would be with her selfish partner, but it was Judy who went on to become a main character for a considerable part of the series, providing the main lesbian inmate presence. She also provided a good, positive role model, as a maternal and caring figure, whose sexuality was mostly incidental. The only other inmate who fits the description (despite only appearing in a brief flashback) might be Audrey Forbes, Joan's inmate lover from her last prison who was murdered. But as she was never in Wentworth, I don't think I'll count her.
Which means the grand total of lesbian inmates is three. But if you count all the prisoners in Wentworth who indulged in a bit of same-sex mischief, that brings the total up to about 5. Hmm.. Over 692 episodes, covering an eight-year period, and several hundreds of inmates, is this number realistic..? If compared to a real prison, I suspect not. But hey, since when has realism spoiled our enjoyment of Prisoner..?!
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