Episode 4.13 - True Colours
Written by Jaime Caruana
Produced by Claire Phillips
Directed by Di Patrick
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The sudden departure of Shaz has left a vacant cell on G-Wing and it’s immediately filled by a mystery blonde, the highly glamorous Snowball Merriman. She claims to be a Hollywood actress and naturally, Fenner is soon falling over himself to become her personal officer. He is surprised when he learns that Snowball is an avid reader and, ever the opportunist, he offers to try and get her a job in the library. Yvonne is quick to realise what Fenner is up to and doesn’t like it. She makes a point of taking Snowball aside and warning her that any decision to ally herself with him could cost her dearly.
Hollamby smugly informs Denny that Shaz has been shipped out. Predictably, Denny freaks out and ends up being dragged down the block. Poor Henry is left reeling when Barbara tears a strip off him and takes a trip down to the block to visit Denny. He is appalled when he discovers that it is her 21st birthday and makes an effort to speak with her. Denny is hostile at first, but begins to soften up when Henry shows interest in her background and her concerns that she hasn’t seen her mother in over a year. Worried about Denny’s state of mind, Henry goes to see Neil. Hollamby is furious when Neil orders her to return Denny to the wing and then instructs her to locate Jessie’s whereabouts.
Neil has been blackmailed and manipulated into asking Di to move in with him, but when it comes to the crunch, he can’t go through with it. Di is remarkably understanding – she knew all along that Neil was gay – and suggests that they should get married, an arrangement that would provide them both with the perfect front. Back on G-Wing, Snowball makes a pact with Fenner. Little does he know that Snowball has her own little scam set up and is receiving contraband concealed inside the books that she is requesting through the Inter Library Loan Scheme.
After being put under extreme pressure by Cassie, Roisin decides to tell Aidan the truth when he brings the children in for a visit. However, Cassie gets in there first and drops the bombshell. Aidan is furious and drags the children away, but not before telling Roisin that she’ll never see them again. Roisin convinces Cassie that she’s relieved now that the truth is out, but it’s not long before she goes in search of a little something to take the edge off her despair, eventually settling for a syringe full of heroin.
Yvonne is convinced that there’s something not quite right about Snowball and sets out to prove it. On the Internet, she discovers that Snowball is not the Hollywood actress she claims to be – she’s a porn star! But when Yvonne tries to humiliate Snowball by passing this information around the wing, Snowball proves that she’s no pushover. Dropping her American drawl, she tells a sob story about following her dream to the States only to be manipulated into starring in porn movies. The other women are sympathetic and Yvonne is left feeling out in the cold.
The Julies stand trial for GBH. Their story is self-defence, but when Hollamby takes the witness stand, they don’t have a hope in hell of being believed. Even Rhiannon is determined to punish them for pouring hot water on her ‘boyfriend’s’ lap and viciously demolishes her mother’s character. However, it’s Damian’s evidence that really cooks their goose when he graphically describes the extent of his injuries to a sympathetic jury. The jury are definitely on Damian’s side and waste no time in finding both Julies guilty of GBH with intent.
Read the factsheet written by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies to accompany this episode:
Episode 13 - Personal Officers