Prisoner: Season 3
The third season of Australian drama television series Prisoner (commonly known as Prisoner: Cell Block H) premiered on Network Ten on 4 February 1981. It consists of 81 episodes and concluded on 11 November 1981. The season is notable for the conclusion to the tunnel escape storyline which ended the previous season; the departure of Vera Bennett ("Vinegar Tits") when she accepts the position of governor of Barnhurs
Season 3 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of Prisoner Season 2.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Season overview
The third season of Australian drama television series Prisoner (commonly known as Prisoner: Cell Block H) premiered on Network Ten on 4 February 1981. It consists of 81 episodes and concluded on 11 November 1981.
The season is notable for the conclusion to the tunnel escape storyline which ended the previous season; the departure of Vera Bennett ("Vinegar Tits") when she accepts the position of governor of Barnhurst; the kidnapping of Erica Davidson; the arrival of new prisoners Sandy Edwards, Kate Peterson and former inmate and top dog of H Block – Marie Winter; Bea Smith's amnesia, and later, her mysterious illness which sees her step down as top dog, only to be replaced by Sandy Edwards.
Episode Guide
Season 3 Progress Shield
Episode 166
Feb 4, 1981 · 47 min
Judy and Mouse dig in the rubble with their bare hands, but they only turn up Irene's dead body . They shout for help and hear Bea's voice on the other side of the cave-in: Bea tel
Episode 167
Feb 10, 1981 · 47 min
Jim overhears Mouse and Margo discussing the escape and what might have happened to Doreen and Bea, and Irene's death in the cave-in. Anne is also listening as they pass her cell a
Episode 168
Feb 11, 1981 · 47 min
Wally tells Judy he saw her photo in the newspaper, but tells her he has no intention of telling the police where she is, inviting her to stay as long as he likes. He is surprised
Episode 169
Feb 17, 1981 · 47 min
Vera gives Lizzie mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while the women wait for the ambulance to arrive. Meanwhile, Hazel removes the bucket of booze from the store room behind Vera's back
Episode 170
Feb 18, 1981 · 47 min
Wally tells Judy he's concerned that Micki is getting too involved in Judy's campaign to improve conditions, and Judy agrees to talk to Micki. Erica tells Meg that Lizzie won't be
Episode 171
Feb 24, 1981 · 47 min
Graeme Hopkins arrives at Wentworth threatening to expose the contents of Judy's tape if Erica won't agree to grant him an interview. Helen Smart comes home to find Judy waiting fo
Episode 172
Feb 25, 1981 · 47 min
Jock tells Judy she's now going to work for him: he wants $300 every time he visits - if not, he'll bash her and turn both Judy and Helen over to the police. Doreen is noticeably m
Episode 173
Mar 3, 1981 · 47 min
Doreen tries to take the blame as Jim returns her to her cell, but he obviously doesn't believe her. Bea and Lizzie are both in favour of letting David take the blame. Next morning
Episode 174
Mar 4, 1981 · 47 min
Bea orders the women to send Sandra to Coventry so she can't get any more information. Judy overhears Sandra ask Jim to be allowed to make a phone call and using considerable knowl
Episode 175
Mar 10, 1981 · 47 min
Bea tells the women they can use Sandra to feed her information which supports their cause. Meg gives Lizzie the news that Sid has had a stroke, and promises to ask permission for
Episode 176
Mar 11, 1981 · 47 min
Bea dashes off to make Evelyn reveal what was in the the mixture she gave Doreen. When Evelyn finds out that Doreen heated up the mixture, making it toxic, she says she can take no
Episode 177
Mar 17, 1981 · 47 min
A doctor arrives to carry out tests for tropical diseases: Evelyn scoffs at him from her bed in the infirmary. Dr Granger warns Erica that if Sally was the contact there could be a
Episode 178
Mar 18, 1981 · 47 min
Sandra is persuaded to come back inside. Evelyn seems worried that her medicine isn't working on Meg. Sandra is told she could be charged with attempting to escape: Erica tells her
Episode 179
Mar 24, 1981 · 47 min
Dr Granger says he wants to carry out further tests on the women to confirm his suspicions. Jim reports Georgie's attack on Judy, but Erica tells him to put Georgie in solitary for
Episode 180
Mar 25, 1981 · 47 min
Sandra protests to Meg when her breakfast is brought to solitary that she didn't cause the fire. In the dining room, the other women are speculating about where Evelyn is, and what
Episode 181
Mar 31, 1981 · 47 min
Vera wants to censor a letter from Ken Pearce to Bea when she sees it contains praise for Bea for setting his daughter straight, but Meg persuades Vera to let Bea have the letter u
Episode 182
Apr 1, 1981 · 47 min
Hazel comes to Judy's cell to see if she's all right, and has to listen to a tirade against Georgie for her trouble. Bea cuts Georgie short for crowing over Judy's humiliation, but
Episode 183
Apr 7, 1981 · 47 min
Meg is also injured and the women are locked in the dining room: Judy asks for the gate to be opened so that Bea can get medical attention. Erica wants Bea taken to hospital for X-
Episode 184
Apr 8, 1981 · 47 min
Det. Insp. Thorne arrives to control the handling of the siege, and snipers and gunmen take up position all around the building. Margo tells Wayne she's worried that Bazza will sna
Episode 185
Apr 14, 1981 · 47 min
Georgie interrupts the TV news about the siege to tell the women her own news about David's decision on her parole. Bea won't accept Judy's defeatist attitude that there's nothing
Episode 186
Apr 15, 1981 · 47 min
Erica tells Sally she's fallen for the oldest trick in the book and warns her that her work must improve. Vera sympathises with Sally, but only as a means of impressing on her once
Episode 187
Apr 21, 1981 · 47 min
Vera thinks that Lizzie hasn't escaped at all and that the women are hiding her to play a joke on the officers. Jim says the same thing to Erica, and Erica throws a fit of pique an
Episode 188
Apr 22, 1981 · 47 min
Bob tries to apologise to Meg, but he still wants her to change her job. Lizzie is interviewed by the police about her escape and is warned she may face some serious charges. Meg t
Episode 189
Apr 28, 1981 · 47 min
Chrissie returns to the laundry sobbing and Bea makes veiled remarks to Vera to indicate that she holds her responsible. Doreen predicts Meg will be back soon as an officer, just l
Episode 190
Apr 29, 1981 · 47 min
No-one will talk to Bea in the rec room, though Hazel and Chrissie pointedly talk about her as if she wasn't there, provoking Bea to speak up in her own defence, but this only lead
Episode 191
May 5, 1981 · 47 min
Bea refuses to talk to Ken on try to persuade him to give up his work for the PRG, but Debbie says she won't allow Bea to stand in the way of her parents getting back together. Liz
Episode 192
May 6, 1981 · 47 min
Chrissie lays into Mick as soon as she's through the front door of the new flat , accusing him of only being nice to her as a way of getting her to have sex with him. She changes h
Episode 193
May 12, 1981 · 47 min
Bea and the others are keen to know how Doreen's day out went. She tells them Peter wasn't what she expected, and that Erica had taken away her phone privileges, but not the rest o
Episode 194
May 13, 1981 · 47 min
Judy urges the women to stick together and support the strike: only Doreen mutters grumpily that she can't why they should put themselves out when it seems to be largely for one pe
Episode 195
May 19, 1981 · 47 min
Chrissie phones Meg at work to tell her about Mick's arrest and that she is in danger herself of being charged with harbouring a fugitive. Colleen tells the women that none of the
Episode 196
May 20, 1981 · 47 min
The corridors are silent when Jim and Colleen check up later, though the din resumes after their dialogue. The women are taken for their showers a few at a time next morning and ar
Episode 197
May 26, 1981 · 47 min
Chrissie tries to convince Meg that the half-naked man fleeing her flat is an old friend, but Meg suspects she is back on the game and threatens to report it if Chrissie doesn't ag
Episode 198
May 27, 1981 · 47 min
At breakfast Judy, Hazel and Phyllis all "vie" for top dog, but it is only a ploy to make the staff feel that there will be too much unrest if Bea is not returned. Margo, who is go
Episode 199
Jun 2, 1981 · 47 min
The driver of the police van is dead and the officer unconscious. A very disoriented Bea stumbles out of the van and walks away. Lizzie brings Judy breakfast in solitary and tells
Episode 200
Jun 3, 1981 · 47 min
Meg goes to phone the police but Mum tells her Bea needs medical attention. Meg agrees to go see Bea before alerting the authorities. In Erica's office, Judy and Doreen explain tha
Episode 201
Jun 9, 1981 · 47 min
Terry finds Bea weeping hysterically in the corridor. She begs to see Meg. Bea tells Meg that she almost killed Margo, but doesn't understand where the violent urge came from. In t
Episode 202
Jun 10, 1981 · 47 min
Bea finds Mum unconscious and stays with her while Jim runs for help. Margo comes in tossing Mum's pills in her hand. Bea asks for them back but Margo refuses. When Jim and Erica c
Episode 203
Jun 16, 1981 · 47 min
At meal time, Margo acts terrified of Bea. Both Mum and Vera notice. Bea later tells Margo not to act frightened of her. Margo then bashes Doreen in front of Bea and the other wome
Episode 204
Jun 17, 1981 · 47 min
Bea tells her counsel that she wishes to change her plea to guilty. On the stand, Bea testifies that she only had amnesia for a few hours immediately following the accident but tha
Episode 205
Jun 23, 1981 · 47 min
Lizzie's book is officially "opened". Mr. Muirhead visits Meg at home and tells her that Nick absolutely must move out. Lizzie does very well with her first race. Terry moves in. V
Episode 206
Jun 24, 1981 · 47 min
Bea bails Lizzie out of trouble by having her give the women back their original bets and IOUs for the rest. Terry brings in a bottle of scotch for Margo. Her information - that Li
Episode 207
Jun 30, 1981 · 47 min
Jim runs for help. Margo comes to in the infirmary, but has no idea who hit her. Bob tells Meg that he has no interest in Arna and invites Meg to have lunch with them that afternoo
Episode 208
Jul 1, 1981 · 47 min
Judy asks Bea what she intends to do with the cassette, but Bea is not yet sure. Meg gets to Nick as he is being escorted to prison. She says how sorry she is for the misunderstand
Episode 209
Jul 7, 1981 · 47 min
Jim finds Vera sobbing in the rec room. She asks to be excused for the afternoon and Jim agrees. The family doctor phones Erica and informs her that her mother has collapsed and is
Episode 210
Jul 8, 1981 · 47 min
Judy is stunned at meeting Lori and asks how she found her. Lori explains that her adoptive parents, the Youngs,were afraid that Judy was going to try and contact her during her es
Episode 211
Jul 14, 1981 · 47 min
The Keep-Fit class ends with Jim about as winded as the women. Meg visits with Erica, who thanks her for the dinner. Erica then tell Meg that she must go to the country to sort thr
Episode 212
Jul 15, 1981 · 47 min
Bea and Judy search for Doreen. Bea tells Lizzie to keep an eye on Lori. Lori claims she isn't at all frightened and that Doreen is too stupid to know what to do with a knife. Lizz
Episode 213
Jul 21, 1981 · 47 min
While running in the park, Jim comes across Amelia and speaks with her. He shows her a photograph of Michelle and she recognizes her. Amelia says she hasn't seen Michelle in a coup
Episode 214
Jul 28, 1981 · 47 min
Terry is not happy to see Kathy. He advises her to keep quiet about their marriage as it might put her in danger from other prisoners. Since she has already received a threat, Kath
Episode 215
Aug 4, 1981 · 47 min
Bea and Judy give Kathy's cell a thorough check for any more booby-traps. Inspector Grace arrives to see Kathy. Vera is most unpleasant to him and explains to Terry that she's had
Episode 216
Aug 5, 1981 · 47 min
Doreen leads the verbal attack on Alison until Judy intervenes allowing Alison to run out of the rec room, bumping into Bea on her way out and somehow managing to scratch Bea's fac
Episode 217
Aug 11, 1981 · 47 min
Bea hears Alison howling and rushes to the rescue, using a chair to break the circuit. Jim gives Alison mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Vera is delighted by Terry's proposal, and acc
Episode 218
Aug 12, 1981 · 47 min
The gunman, Harry, is looking for Terry, and forces Vera to ring him at work, but Vera tricks Harry by telling Terry that she's gone down with the same virus as her mother. Terry k
Episode 219
Aug 18, 1981 · 47 min
Jim warns Alison not to be so stand-offish with the other prisoners. Wendy is pleased with Alison's quickness in picking up the job in reception. Kathy's parole comes through. Eric
Episode 220
Aug 19, 1981 · 47 min
Don is furious with the security after the assault on Alison, and takes it out on Jim. A repair man comes to fix the washing machine. Judy is a little put out that Alison has read
Episode 221
Aug 25, 1981 · 47 min
The gate guard sees what has happened, and finds Kathy dead in the road. He calls for an ambulance, while Wendy in reception rings the police. Wendy tells Erica about the accident,
Episode 222
Aug 26, 1981 · 47 min
Vera find Terry sweeping up the fragments of his broken mug. Bea warns the other prisoners about Terry, and tells them never to be alone with him. Wendy offers to teach Alison typi
Episode 223
Sep 1, 1981 · 47 min
Terry is forced to go with "Wacka" and Dinah in his car: two men watching his flat see them drive off. Don is told he has a slipped disc after the accident on building site, and mu
Episode 224
Sep 2, 1981 · 47 min
Terry is killed by a gunshot from the car. Erica gets a telephone call from the gate guard about the shooting, and immediately phones Det. Insp. Grace. Doreen tells the other priso
Episode 225
Sep 8, 1981 · 47 min
The women bet on who will replace Vera and tease Jim for not getting the Barnhurst job. Officer Powell is offered a temporary position as Acting Chief Prison Officer, with the poss
Episode 226
Sep 9, 1981 · 47 min
Bea and Doreen comfort Lizzie and convince her to carry on fighting for the house because Sid wanted her to have it. Bea writes a letter to Gordon with a "reminder" about the earli
Episode 227
Sep 15, 1981 · 47 min
Meg offers to look after Alison's children. Jim tells Meg that he has resigned, to her great astonishment. Erica phones the Department to try to get a replacement for Jim and makes
Episode 228
Sep 16, 1981 · 47 min
The "ghost" turns out be a young man called Peter Richards, who explains that he is on the run from the police, as he was involved against his will as the geataway driver for a rob
Episode 229
Sep 22, 1981 · 47 min
Jim believes that Colleen is trying to influence him to forget that he saw her hit Andrea. Judy tells Andrea that she's unpopular with the other prisoners because of her "know-it-a
Episode 230
Sep 23, 1981 · 47 min
Lizzie discovers that Doreen is missing, and starts to go after her. Jim brings Mrs Reid inside the house with the police, who find that there are only five prisoners there, not si
Episode 231
Sep 29, 1981 · 47 min
Andrea's friends take Erica hostage, blindfolding her and bundling her into a delivery van. Linda rings Ted Douglas from a call box and announces that they are holding Erica hostag
Episode 232
Sep 30, 1981 · 47 min
... but she misses and Erica escapes. Wentworth gets a new prison officer, Janet Conway. Jim is disappointed when he finds out that she is only just out of training school. Erica t
Episode 233
Oct 6, 1981 · 47 min
Peter is not angry with Doreen, and tells her it is his fault that Doreen is in trouble. Bea remembers who Officer Conway is, and tells Janet that she knows she had been a remand p
Episode 234
Oct 7, 1981 · 47 min
The shot hits Jim in the arm but he still manages to overpower Linda. Doreen and Judy suspect that the strange way Bea's been behaving recently has something to do with Officer Con
Episode 235
Oct 13, 1981 · 47 min
Meg meets Lizzie to take her to Sid's house and advises her to try to make new friends on the outside. Bea tries to keep Andrea and Linda apart in the dining room. Meg gives Lizzie
Episode 236
Oct 14, 1981 · 47 min
Sandy tells Judy she thinks the importance they all give to the press is childish, and holds Judy's arm in it until she gives in. Jim offers to let Bea work on the Braille machine
Episode 238
Oct 21, 1981 · 47 min
Judy is worried that Hazel might have hit Kate too hard, and asks Doreen to go and find out how she is. Meg asks Janet if the TV hire company is run by someone related to her. Dore
Episode 239
Oct 27, 1981 · 47 min
Meg comes back to work as a prison officer. Sandy gets to hear that Bea is seriously ill and wonders whether she should take over as top dog. Jim explains to Janet that Erica will
Episode 240
Oct 28, 1981 · 47 min
Erica tells Meg that Lizzie's house has burnt down, and that Lizzie has vanished. Erica orders Colleen to return the goods confiscated in the cell search. Sandy manages to give Bea
Episode 241
Nov 3, 1981 · 47 min
Colleen accuses Meg of putting her in a bad light with Erica. Judy thinks can teach herself to use the Braille machine, but Erica tells her it is being moved to Barnhurst. Erica as
Episode 242
Nov 4, 1981 · 47 min
A police officer comes to talk to Colleen. Janet and Meg go out for a night on the town. Sandy tells the other prisoners that if there is anyone who can donate a kidney for Bea, th
Episode 243
Nov 10, 1981 · 47 min
Jim returns to work after a week's holiday. Joyce Barry shows Jim the drawing, and it has the same effect on him as it did on Janet. Erica is discussing the newspaper article with
Episode 244
Nov 11, 1981 · 47 min
There is a cell search, and Colleen tries to get Meg to leave her alone to search Sandy's cell, but Meg points out that the regulations require there to be two officers present. Sa
Episode 245
Nov 17, 1981 · 47 min
Kate speaks with Inspector Grace. Kate wants a witness "found" for her appeal in exchange for information. She tells Grace where Megan Barnett's body is buried. Grace agrees to wor
Episode 246
Nov 18, 1981 · 47 min
Doreen tells Judy about life at Wentworth under Marie's rule before Bea took over and how bad it was. Marie stands outside the cell listening. Janet comes across the forged roster