Prisoner: Cell Block H - Joan 'The Freak' Ferguson's Introduction

[@jbarnett1222]

Wow, Pamela Rabe was cast perfectly in the remake!

[@jubileebaby9787]

Maggie Kirkpatrick was brilliant as The Freak

[@roundtheloopandback]

yup can't really imagine anyone else in that role, fairly terrifying :)

[@TheRichmondTiger]

Funnily enough Joan was only originally written into 16 episodes of the show, then Channel 10 saw major potential and extended the contract.

[@GinaSigillito]

I can't believe I used to watch this show when I was 10 years old. The memories!

[@jaywest3734]

It's awesome. Wenteorth is great too.

[@hairynews1973]

Me too!

[@CARETAKER89able]

The Freak Rules.Should have made a Movie of her.Brilliant Villian!!

[@specialunit0428]

Perhaps a film about her life and how she came to be a Prison officer?

[@nickmorrell3559]

Best TV baddie of all time

[@darraghwright8780]

My grandmother loved this show and i love the new version wentworth

[@justmadeit2]

She was terrifying, you didnt mess with joan !!

[@kelrebec]

I still say Joan Ferguson is Fred Savage's gran. Especially profile ways.

[@jmajesty79]

LOL!!! I always said that!!!!

[@kzbxvz]

Even migthy Dart Vader is nothing compared with true evil namely Joan Ferguson aka the freak :)

[@bradford_shaun_murray]

5:10 the dreaded gloves make their first appearance.

[@colonelflagg9669]

Vader still had good in him.

[@jimmy27paul]

The writing is brilliant and full of dark humour.

[@Fronika]

I would have loved to see Vinegar and The Freak working at the same time.

[@andrews6341]

Vinegar would have hated the Freak as Vera hated corruption and lesbianism and bashings.

[@libertyordeaf]

@@andrews6341 Yes, Vera was a bitch but the Freak was, well, a freak.

[@MrX-X-X]

Vinegar tits!

[@djaminc]

Absolutely brilliant television- good to see after all this time.

[@ajs41]

This was first shown on 29th June 1982. Probably filmed in March 1982.

[@MrBooojangles]

I always thought prison screw Meg looked like Bjorn from ABBA.

[@mrtheo7680]

😅😅

[@sb6678]

Yea, with her Lego hairstyle

[@jeffreyhathaway2800]

She's Alice from The Brady Bunch's evil twin!!

[@farrellmcnulty909]

She probably should've played Alice in the Brady Bunch movies.

[@TheJoker27780]

Enter Prisoner's best character.

[@andrews6341]

Why did not Meg wonder why Joan was taking out black leather gloves from the bag ?

[@musicfan8048]

Hmm idk

[@momo-hw1ot]

I love her so much

[@Jynx0999]

It's crazy that the original Joan Ferguson also played as the mother in the theater to the recent Joan Ferguson, Pamela Rabe.

[@laminage]

Yes and The Actress who played The Queen Mother in The TV Movie Bertie & Elizabeth also played The Queen Mother in The Crown.

[@jimmy27paul]

Great actor.

[@teralmiles]

The head wobble gets me every time in her first few episodes.

[@jimmyodriscoll9273]

It Wasn't her head wobbling it was the prison it's made of cardboard..🤣🤣🤣

[@peterwilliamskelhorn6675]

​@@jimmyodriscoll9273Maggie said that the menacing stillness was because of being scared in her first episode

[@jimmyodriscoll9273]

@@peterwilliamskelhorn6675 thanks for that...😉

[@peterwilliamskelhorn6675]

@@jimmyodriscoll9273 i heard about that on a where are they now video about prisoner with Maggie Kirkpatrick (Joan "the freak" Ferguson) Val Lehman (Bea Smith) Carol Burns (Franky Doyle) Peta Toppano (Karen Travers) and Amanda Muggleton (Chrissie Latham)

[@jimmyodriscoll9273]

@@peterwilliamskelhorn6675 I'm watch prisoner at nights I'm up to episode (684) it's nearly the end of the (Freak) I used to watch it in the 1990s.. I always think the stories was very powerful.. rape murders you name it they add it all.

[@MrBooojangles]

And Mrs. Davison the governor looked just like my gran. I still miss PCBH.

[@toniob4174]

MrBooojangles if

[@TheBlackberry36]

What an introduction!

[@anthonycodona1399]

Ferguson is brilliant fearless and hard as nells

[@crevrath7374]

Joan was great but her reign went on for too long. She became too Panto Villain towards the end. It would have been better to see her get her comeuppance earlier by Bea/Lizzie/Chrissie rather than Rita and a brunch of forget ful inmates.

[@NativeMoon]

The Worst Screw on Earth ™️ Brilliantly evil character - only problem with The Freak was that she was infallible for far too long. It would have been very interesting to have her and Vera serving at the same time.

[@ajs41]

They missed each other by 63 episodes.

[@Lushgirl81]

She spoke with a posher accent in the early episodes.

[@samuelturner1092]

Which episode is this?

[@Me-nh1fz]

I like the 2nd version more

[@ajs41]

Why?

[@jaywest3734]

Both are good.

[@amandae8437]

Both are equally perfect

[@sb6678]

I really liked Colleen Powell

[@melbguy1]

Vintage Freak..

[@MrBooojangles]

Yep, looked exactly like Mrs. Davison.

[@paulworgan6599]

Me and my ex girlfriend loved this 😂😂😂😂

[@fulton92503]

although I liked Joan 'The Freak' Ferguson (Maggie Kirkpatrick) I believed they over played her les The Freak would be better

[@care_romes]

INSUBORDINATION

[@amandae8437]

Queen Joan.

[@gavinpuli5190]

Maggie was so young, she was brilliant 4 magic years.

[@ajs41]

She was 41 at this time.

[@andrews6341]

She was much more different than the Wentworth Freak , This Joan was nearly 42 and quite young yet the Wentworth Joan was nearly 60 by time she came into it. I found this Joan much more sinister as well at the time, in the first year at least .

[@shawneecherrypie4331]

@@andrews6341 this one is bad but the one Pamela Rabe plays is a complete psychopath. She's killed like four people.

[@musicfan8048]

@@shawneecherrypie4331 The Freak from Prisoner killed 2 Reb's bf and her 2nd dog accidentally during a drug trip

[@Kblog777]

The Freak did for Prisoner what Bruce Dickinson did for Iron Maiden.

[@lexvt3551]

Bea's voice in Prisoner and Wentworth sound oddly similar.

[@nickmorrell3559]

And from then on...prisoner had their best baddie and she was a screw ...Maggie was perfect ...

[@Fronika]

Well, one of them, certainly.

[@momo-hw1ot]

I am so happy for you to get my married to you

[@rocketrob68]

Reno was a hot governor

[@madwatermelon1316]

Maggie Kirkpatrick aged a lot during her 4 year stint.

[@andrews6341]

She hit the bottle hard even in the early start of her work . Though tbf most of them did .

[@momo-hw1ot]

Wife 2 wife and kids are going on with me

[@Fronika]

You had a pretty Gran then.

[@b1ueocean]

Where’s vinegar?

[@jaywest3734]

She had left the series at this point.

[@GaryNumanfan-uo3nz]

I don’t remember Judy Bryant’s American accent being so shit.

[@jaywest3734]

Erm she's actually American in real life lol, so jokes on you.

[@sb6678]

She was a great big fat tub of lard

[@farrellmcnulty909]

@@jaywest3734 She was American while using British manners of speech - interesting.

[@jaywest3734]

@@farrellmcnulty909 Australian.

[@farrellmcnulty909]

@@jaywest3734 Yeah, that's right - half the time I forget they filmed in Melbourne - sorry

[@momo-hw1ot]

I love you so much we are going on with my friends are so much for me to get married me and my name is bea smith

[@bitlikethat]

The acting was so bad lol

[@amandae8437]

No it isn't..

[@andrews6341]

Low budget but the acting was superb , Wentworth lasted a few episodes. Prisoner lasted nearly 10 years.