Episode 5.4
Written by Guy Picot
Produced by David Crean
Directed by Jim Loach
Watch this episode on SeeSaw now
Di receives another letter from Gnasher – “Your husband is a poof, I seen him in a poof bar. Ask him if he wants to sit on my pointed stick.” – Neil, completely unaware that Di is the true author, is angry but refuses to be intimidated by the threats. However, when he sees that Di’s car has been spray-painted with the word “pervert”, he is forced to take it seriously, especially when Di suggests that Gnasher could be a PO.
The axe finally falls on Larkhall and Neil receives official notification that an offer has been made to a private security firm, Linford Securities. Neil wastes no time in ingratiating himself with Linford’s Chief Executive, Eric Bostock, ditto Jim Fenner who almost falls over himself in his eagerness to stab Karen in the back. Karen knows that her position as Wing Governor is currently rather precarious, but still refuses to jump to Bostock’s tune. As far as she’s concerned, private security firms have no idea about what it takes to run a women’s prison and she wastes no time in telling him so.
Buki is determined to be reunited with the child she abandoned as a baby, and begins her campaign by writing a fake solicitor’s letter threatening to sue Social Services for the ‘theft’ of her baby. Meanwhile, Snowball has contracted salmonella from deliberately eating raw chicken, fully aware that, despite her record of escaping, no screw will want to be handcuffed to someone suffering from projectile vomiting. Her condition quickly worsens and she is transferred to the local hospital, the same hospital in which Ritchie is recovering from his gunshot wound.
Next on Phyl and Bev’s list of suckers is Hollamby – she’s bound to be good for a few bottles of gin in exchange for contacting her late husband. Hollamby is not impressed when Bev suggests that Bobby might be seeing other women in the afterlife, and sets her sights on a man on her own, Henry. Being a man of the cloth, Henry has been offering his support following Bobby’s death, but he’s rather alarmed when he’s invited to a romantic dinner. How can he tell Hollamby he’s engaged to one of the inmates?
Snowball is hamming it up in her hospital bed and making several trips to the toilet in order to be sick. She waits until Di is on escort duty before making another dash to the loo. Opportunity finally strikes and she ties up an old woman and steals her clothes before making a break for Ritchie’s bedside. However, by this time Karen is already on the case, and when Snowball arrives on Ritchie’s wing, she finds the police waiting for her.
Shell gives birth to Ronan Beckham Dockley without complications, and is genuinely besotted with her baby boy. Colin is expecting Shell to carry on ‘business’ as usual, but Shell angrily refuses his advances and then threatens to blow the whistle. In respone, Fenner accuses Shell of trying to smother her baby and she is distraught when he is taken away. Now all Fenner has to do is get Shell out of Larkhall quick-smart and he does this by arranging for her to be transferred to a secure psychiatric unit. Shell is bundled into a waiting van and driven away into the night.
Read the factsheet written by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies to accompany this episode:
Episode 4 - Babies