Episode 7.13 - 2005 Christmas Special
Written by Paul Mousley
Produced by Rachel Snell
Directed by Martin Hutchings
It’s Christmas Eve on G-Wing and as a chilling wind whips around Larkhall and heavy snow begins to fall, a disturbing new inmate, Miranda Miles, steps off the van – minus paperwork. Hollamby is looking forward to the end of her shift, the last thing she needs is a mystery newcomer to deal with. But with the bad weather closing in and the phone lines down, it looks like she’s at Larkhall to stay. Also arriving on the transport is Julie J. Julie S is thrilled to see her best mate, but Julie J is still haunted by the memory of Jim Fenner and is convinced that she can still see him lurking around the landings.
Joy loves Christmas and is determined to get everyone on G-Wing involved in the festivities and orders all of the POs into fancy dress. Prison Chaplain Christy MacKay is delighted to assist in Joy’s quest to bring a bit of seasonal cheer to the prison and organises a carol concert, complete with mulled wine and mince pies. Also in a seasonal mood, Spiers decides to take Natalie to the chapel for a bit of Christmas kinkiness. She’s blindfolded and on all fours on the altar when Christy walks in unexpectedly and catches them at it.
While Janine, Tina, Arun, and Darlene assemble for a last minute rehearsal of the G-Wing pantomime, ‘Snow Black’, Phyl and Bev get stuck into their own version of the Christmas spirit – brandy, gin, and vodka that is – smuggled onto the wing inside a hamper from their good friend Oliver. The carol service starts and just as all of the screws and inmates are beginning to enjoy themselves, the lights go out. The whole wing goes into immediate panic – all except Miranda – she rather likes the dark.
With the electricity off and the back-up generator broken, Joy is at a complete loss for what to do. Fortunately, Phyl is a dab hand with electrics and before long she and Hollamby are inching their way into the dark cellars on a quest to repair the generator. But when squeamish Hollamby spots a rat trying to crawl up her skirt, she faints and falls against the generator door, trapping Phyl inside. Back on the wing, it seems that something a lot more serious may be about to happen when knives start disappearing from the servery.
Without lights and heating, G-Wing is spookier than usual. The inmates are cold and scared and the last thing they need is Julie J screaming her head off as once again she sees Fenner’s ghost. With the whole wing in a state of hysteria, Joy has no choice but to allow Christy to perform an exorcism. As Christy sprinkles holy water around the wing, Miranda starts cursing and spitting blood. Although everyone else is convinced that Miranda is the evil presence that has manifested itself on the wing, Julie J isn’t so sure. Sure enough, Fenner is waiting for her in her cell. She reaches for a knife stolen from the servery and in the struggle that follows, stabs herself in the stomach.
Spiers can see his career spiralling down the toilet and gives Natalie the go-ahead to put Christy out of action. With the screws busy watching the inmates involved in a mass snowball fight outside, there’s no one to witness her giving Miranda a knife stolen from the cupboard. As Natalie joins the other inmates outside, Miranda enters the staff showers and stabs Christy to death with a sharpened wooden crucifix. Later, Neil and Joy discover that Miranda was en route to a secure psychiatric unit after a killing a PO and was left at Larkhall by mistake.
In the prison infirmary, Julie J admits to Julie S and the SMO that she stopped taking the pills prescribed to combat her bipolar disorder because they made her put on weight. Relieved to hear that Julie J is on the mend, Julie S makes her promise to start taking them again, even if her bottom does swell up to the size of Clapham! Back on the wing, the staff and inmates begin to put the traumatic events of Christmas Eve behind them. Now that Julie J is back on her medication, has Fenner’s evil presence been banished from Larkhall for good?