Episode 7.12
Written by Paul Mousley
Produced by Rachel Snell
Directed by Jim Loach
Di is placed on remand. She contacts Neil and pleads with him to pull some strings in order to get her sent to Larkhall and G-Wing, convinced that she will be able to ferret out Fenner’s killer. It looks like her stay at Larkhall might be very short when Julie J immediately confesses. However, Di’s bid for freedom takes a wrong turn when Julie flips out after lock-up and physically attacks Joy. Neil is convinced that Julie J is experiencing a severe mental breakdown, but Joy is sure that it’s all an act – a night on the block and a cold shower in the morning will sort Julie J out.
Natalie’s is out for her long-awaited visit with her brother Clive in a nearby hotel. Spiers knows that Clive is no more her brother than he is, but being out of Larkhall gives him the ideal opportunity to get to know Natalie a lot better. Natalie encourages Spiers’s attentions, waiting for the optimum moment to mace him in the face and make her escape. Her well-laid plans come to nothing when she runs into a wall of protesters picketing the hotel. Tipped off by Pat, they bar Natalie’s escape route until Spiers catches up with her.
In order to combat some of the more troublesome elements on G-Wing, Joy has decided that inmates with long sentences will now share cells with inmates nearing their release date. Pat is top of Joy’s list and she’s appalled when she is told that she will be sharing a cell with Sheena on the last night before her release. Pat is determined not to give into her feelings, but the two women are unable to help themselves and passion quickly takes over.
In cahoots with Pat, Spiers arranges for Natalie to speak with Iga Lukasiak, a Polish woman who was brought to England and then forced into a life of prostitution. Showing her true colours, Natalie tells Iga that she doesn’t give a damn about what Iga or any of the girls she forced into prostitution went through. The only thing that bugs her is the fact that she provided them with food, work, and a roof over their heads without receiving a word of thanks. As she smugly watches Iga storm out of the room, Natalie has no idea that the conversation has been caught on tape.
Natalie still cockily believes that her conviction will be quashed at appeal, but her attitude drains away when Pat plays Iga’s tape for the benefit of the whole of G-Wing. Natalie runs back to her cell with the other women’s chant of “nonce” ringing in her ears. Spiers follows Natalie up to her cell. She tries to threaten him but he turns the tables – now that she’s public enemy number one, she’d better work extra hard at keeping him sweet.
At the instigation of Di’s solicitor, a psychologist assesses Julie J. Later, Di is distraught when she is informed that Julie is mentally unfit to make a statement and that her earlier confession has been dismissed as unsafe. The psychologist also insists that Julie J be transferred immediately to a secure psychiatric hospital for treatment. Devastated by the news, Julie S begs to be allowed to say goodbye. She is heartbroken when Julie J flips out again and punches her in the face.
Sheena is overjoyed to be reunited with her baby son, Dylan, and grateful to Colette for putting her up. However, her happiness quickly turns to despair when her ex, Brendan rolls up with her belongings and asks her to look after a package of heroin for him. Sheena flatly refuses – she wants nothing to do with drugs – but Brendan stashes his gear in the house anyway. Colette notices what Brendan is up to and immediately calls the police. Pat doesn’t know how to react when Sheena is sent straight back to G-Wing.
As Di tries to deal with the very real possibility of being convicted of a murder that she didn’t commit, Julie S weeps as she looks over at Julie J’s empty bunk. Shipped out and isolated, all poor Julie J can see is the haunting face of Jim Fenner.