Personality
While Sylvia is usually the most law-abiding of the generally corrupt prison staff, she is racist and intolerant of homosexuality. She constantly complains about her job and is usually most happy if sitting down with a cup of tea or reading a magazine rather than working.
She hates almost all of the wing governors, usually the younger female ones, with her friend Jim Fenner being her favourite choice to hold the position. She hates all of the prisoners and treats them with contempt, regardless of how severe or tame their crime had been, apart from very rare occasions when she has been somewhat sympathetic towards them; she believes that "happiness is door shaped", showing her view that all prisoners should be on 24-hour lockdown, thus making life easier for the officers and especially her. She also believes that there should be closed visits, thus curtailing the drug problems that constantly blight prisons including Larkhall. She is not a fan of the "touchy feely prison warding" that was a feature of the progressive policies unsuccessfully implemented by governors such as Grayling; in her mind, "a con is a con is a con and they don't get any special treatment". Unsurprisingly, three attempts were made on her life: the prisoners pushing her down the stairs in series 2, Shell Dockley and Denny Blood almost burning her and her first husband, Bobby, and her second husband, Dr Malcolm Nicholson, attempting to kill her on their honeymoon. Despite her hostility towards the prisoners, two escaped inmates Bev Tull (Amanda Barrie) and Phyl Oswyn (Stephanie Beacham) saved her from being murdered by Dr Nicholson (Philip McGough).
Storylines
Series 1
In the first episode, she is first seen ignoring a pregnant prisoner who is suffering a miscarriage. She despises all the prisoners and is extremely harsh on all the new arrivals. She orders a violent strip search to be placed on Nikki Wade (Mandana Jones). She can't stand religious prisoner Crystal Gordan's constant guitar playing and singing. She is happy when the prisoners are forced to have closed visits. She mocks Rachel Hicks when she is sent to the 4-bed dorm with Denny, who is bullying her. She also makes digs at posh Monica Lyndsey, making derogatory references to her affluent background.
Series 2
She is in trouble with Governor Karen Betts (Claire King) after she places a mental patient, "Mad" Tessa Spall (Helen Schlesinger), onto G-Wing, believing her to be Barbara "Babs" Hunt (Isabelle Amyes), whom she sends to the psychiatric unit, which the prisoners refer to as the "muppet wing". As punishment, Karen forces her to take on a strict fitness regime in the prison grounds; the prisoners ridicule her over this. When she discovers Julie Johnston is illegally receiving a visit from her children - after her husband got a court order preventing her from seeing them - she terminates the visit leaving Julie devastated. The prisoners decide that they have had enough of Sylvia's abuse of her authority and push her down the stairs. Sylvia is demoted from Senior Prison Officer to Prison Officer, because she allows Shaz Wiley (Lindsey Fawcett) and Denny Blood (Alicya Eyo) to lock her in their cell and enter the canteen kitchen. She and her husband, Bobby, (Geoffrey Hutchings) later celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary in the Prison Officers' Club, where a drink spiked with ecstasy causes her to reveal her true feelings to him. Later that night, her close friend Jim Fenner (Jack Ellis) is stabbed in the stomach by Shell Dockley (Debra Stephenson).
Series 3
Sylvia is determined to make Shell pay for nearly killing Fenner. She is furious when Shell is allowed back on G-Wing, so has her transferred to the mental health wing. She makes Shell share a cell with "Mad" Tessa; however, Tessa appears to become infatuated by Shell. When Sylvia sees her plan is not working, she tells another mental patient, "Podger" Pam (Wendi Peters), that Shell has stolen her medication and then lets Pam into the shower where Shell is. Pam brutally beats up Shell, while a delighted Sylvia looks on.
Fenner eventually helps Shell escape, along with Denny and her girlfriend, Shaz; however they lose Shaz, who is subsequently caught and returned to prison. Shell and Denny wear wigs to conceal their identities and break into the Hollamby residence. When Sylvia returns home, they take her hostage and force her to dress as a French maid and serve them cocaine on a tray. When her undertaker husband returns home, they take him hostage, too. They also take some of the Hollambys' money and Shell wrecks Sylvia's priceless ornaments, before Sylvia tries to explain to them that what she does is just a job and that she doesn't really enjoy tormenting the prisoners. Shell and Denny laugh hysterically at this, knowing that Sylvia loves her authority and, that night, they tie Bobby and Sylvia up. The next morning, when Shell discovers Bobby has tried to break free, she places him in a coffin in their garage, and forces Sylvia to nail the coffin shut and to pour petrol over it. After tying Sylvia to the garage door, Shell sets the coffin on fire. As the police arrive, Shell and Denny make a run for it in Bobby's hearse and leave to go to Spain with false passports. After Sylvia eventually returns to work, she receives a phone call from Shell, impersonating a mattress saleswoman, and asks Sylvia if her husband would prefer to sleep in a black coffin instead. Sylvia becomes terrified, as she realises Shell is on the other end of the phone. The call is traced and Shell and Denny are arrested on a boat; however, they make one last escape and jump into the sea, being presumed dead afterwards.
Series 4
Sylvia is overjoyed when she discovers Denny and Shell were never found in the sea, and believed to be dead; she and Bobby holiday in the same place where they "died". Much to her horror, Denny is found alive and extradited back to G-Wing. Sylvia is less afraid of Denny, and warns her she will get revenge on her and that she will wish she was as "dead as Dockley". Sylvia is briefly promoted to Wing Governor, and, on the day when inspectors arrive at Larkhall, she discovers Maxi Purvis (Kerry Norton) dead; not wanting the inspectors to see, she hides the body in the prison chapel, but it is later discovered. Although Al McKenzie (Pauline Campbell) helped Maxi kill herself by giving her toilet roll to choke herself on, Maxi's enemy Shaz becomes a suspect. Sylvia immediately has her transferred to another prison; however, she has done this as more of a punishment for Shaz's girlfriend, Denny. Denny runs to attack Sylvia and is sent down the block; Sylvia then throws toilet roll at her and tells her to do the same as Maxi.
Series 5
Sylvia's worst fears become reality, as Shell is found alive and heavily pregnant in Amsterdam; she is extradited back to G-Wing. Things go from bad to worse when she discovers Bobby is badly in financial debt. Bobby commits suicide by gassing himself in his own hearse. Two new inmates, Bev Tull and Phyl Oswyn - who have tricked Denny into believing Bev is a medium and has contacted her dead girlfriend, Shaz - trick Sylvia into thinking they can contact Bobby, as long as she pays them with gin. Sylvia later develops feelings for the Rev. Henry Mills (Michael Elwyn); however, Henry falls in love with prisoner Babs Hunt, who is due for release. Henry and Babs get married in the prison chapel on Babs' last day inside.
Series 6
Sylvia constantly makes racist remarks about Jamaican prisoner Darlene Cake (Antonia Okonma). When new Wing Governor Frances Myers (Eva Pope) discovers this, she forces Sylvia to make a public apology to Darlene in front of the other prisoners; this, once again, makes Sylvia a laughing stock. When Frances sparks a war with Phyl over drugs, Sylvia is forced to take Phyl's breakfast to her. Phyl is infuriated to discover that her meals will be reduced to bread and water from now on, so throws the glass of water in Sylvia's face. She then tells Sylvia she wants to speak to Frances. Sylvia then develops feelings for Dr. Malcolm Nicholson; at the wedding of Fenner and Di Barker (Tracey Wilkinson), she catches the bouquet and asks Nicholson if he believes in fate.
Series 7
Sylvia finally gets some good news when she discovers that her Aunt Margaret has died and left her a palatial, antique-stuffed house in Hampstead in her will. Nicholson hears about this and pretends to reciprocate her feelings for him. They later get married, and honeymoon on the Costa del Sol, unaware that Phyl and Bev, who recently escaped from Larkhall are staying in the hotel room next door. Nicholson ties her up and attempts to inject her with an empty syringe thus creating an air bubble and bringing on an embolism. Phyl and Bev, despite their hatred towards her, save her, and Phyl shoots Nicholson dead while describing him as a "loathsome little man". After the murder, Bev and Phyl are on their way out of the hotel with the diamonds they found with the gun that Phyl killed Nicholson with. Just as they are about to exit the hotel, Sylvia appears on the balcony screaming, leading to a startled Bev to drop the diamonds, and she is violently arrested. Phyl, however, escapes. A few weeks later, Phyl is captured again and is sent back to Larkhall. Following both Bev and Phyl's returns, Sylvia pays them both back with a bottle of gin each.
That Christmas, new Governing Governor of Larkhall, Joy Masterton (Ellie Haddington), orders for all the staff to come to work in fancy dress. Sylvia comes to work as Florence Nightingale. Joy then orders Sylvia to take Phyl down to the cellar to fix the boiler and electricity as they are not working. There, Sylvia thanks Phyl yet again for saving her from Nicholson's evil clutches. They encounter dozens of rats, and, while in the room with the boiler, Sylvia suffers a panic attack after finding a rat underneath her dress. She subsequently falls down the steps to the cellar, knocking herself unconscious and blocking the door, leaving Phyl trapped. After the boiler and electricity are fixed, the flickering lights force Sylvia to come round and let Phyl out of the room. When they return indoors from the freezing cold snow storm outside, Joy then gives Sylvia orders to find Chaplain Christy Mackay (Gaynor Howe), who has been murdered in the shower by new inmate Miranda Miles (Nicola Redmond). Sylvia's screams alert the entire prison, leading to Joy and Kevin Spiers (Andrew Scarborough) to investigate. Following this, Miranda is sent to a psychiatric hospital.
Series 8
Sylvia has been promoted once again to Wing Governor. As Christmas approaches, she keeps the women locked in their cells, making them hate her even further. She also disapproves of her openly homosexual son Bobby Darren's relationship with a man, which causes a further rift between her and her son. She is unaware that evil inmate Natalie Buxton (Dannielle Brent) was recently killed and her body dumped in the prison sewers. She suffers a Scrooge-like dream when the ghost of Natalie appears to her and shows her that she is just as hated as she was; she shows Sylvia how happy everyone, including her son, would be after hearing she was dead, she then takes Sylvia down to the sewers, where her own decomposing corpse is, but the corpse Sylvia sees is that of herself. She later makes peace with her son and gives the prisoners a happy Christmas, but tells them not to get too used to her good nature, as it's "business as usual" tomorrow. She then dances with her son and the inmates. This was the last episode.
Bad Girls is a British television drama series that was broadcast on ITV from 1 June 1999 until 20 December 2006. It was created by Maureen Chadwick and Ann McManus of Shed Productions, who initiated the idea of developing a series primarily focusing on the inmates and staff of the fictional women's prison, Larkhall, located in the South London region. Following the success of previous series Within These Walls and the Australian-imported Prisoner: Cell Block H, both of which screened on ITV, Bad Girls was commissioned by the network and was viewed as a realistic, modern portrayal of life in a women's prison. The series featured a large ensemble cast, including Linda Henry, Claire King, Simone Lahbib, Mandana Jones, Debra Stephenson, Jack Ellis, Alicya Eyo, Helen Fraser, Kika Mirylees, Victoria Alcock, James Gaddas, Victoria Bush, Dannielle Brent and Liz May Brice.
Alicya Eyo is an English actress, best known for her roles as Denny Blood in the ITV prison drama series Bad Girls and Ruby Haswell in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale.
Nicole Faraday, is a TMA Award-winning actress, best known for her leading roles on British television series Bad Girls, Casualty and Emmerdale.
The Weak and the Wicked is a 1954 British drama film directed by J. Lee Thompson based on the autobiographical novel Who Lie in Gaol by his wife, Joan Henry, starring Glynis Johns and Diana Dors.
James Graham "Jim" Fenner is a fictional character in the British television series Bad Girls, portrayed by Jack Ellis. The character was a prominent feature on the show for seven series, and played the role of a prison officer, temporary prison governor and a villainous figure who schemed and made life for inmates difficult. He was at one point imprisoned for death by dangerous driving but was released when his wife, Di Barker, falsified evidence to clear his name. He returned to his job at Larkhall as G-Wing Governor, and shortly before his death was promoted to Acting Governing Governor. Ellis left Bad Girls at the end of the seventh series when his character was murdered by inmate Julie Johnston.
The Indiana Women's Prison was established in 1873 as the first adult female correctional facility in the country. The original location of the prison was one mile (1.6 km) east of downtown Indianapolis. It has since moved to 2596 Girls School Road, former location of the Indianapolis Juvenile Correctional Facility. As of 2005, it had an average daily population of 420 inmates, most of whom are members of special-needs populations, such as geriatric, mentally ill, pregnant, and juveniles sentenced as adults. By the end of 2015, the population increased to 599 inmates. Security levels range from medium to maximum. The prison holds Indiana's only death row for women; however, it currently has no death row inmates. The one woman under an Indiana death sentence, Debra Denise Brown, had her sentence commuted to 140 years imprisonment in 2018 and is being held in Ohio.
Bad Girls: The Musical is a stage musical based on the ITV prison drama series Bad Girls, with a book by Maureen Chadwick and Ann McManus, and music and lyrics by Kath Gotts.
Michelle "Shell" Dockley is a fictional character from the award-winning prison drama series Bad Girls. She is portrayed by British actress Debra Stephenson. Shell was one of the lead characters in the series. Shell appeared from the first episode in Series 1 until the last episode of Series 3, and returned for the first four episodes of Series 5. Dockley is the most feared inmate of the prison's ‘G Wing’, and commits several crimes, including smuggling drugs into the prison, stabbing prison officer Jim Fenner, and planning for Denny to set Snowball Merriman's hair on fire.
Yvonne Atkins is a fictional character from the award-winning prison drama series Bad Girls. Portrayed by Linda Henry, Yvonne first appeared in the finale episode of Series 1. She played a prominent role in Series 2, 3, 4 and 5 as Top Dog of G-Wing, until she was murdered by Jim Fenner in the last episode of Series 5.
Natalie Buxton is a fictional character in the prison drama series, Bad Girls, portrayed by Dannielle Brent during the last three series. She mainly featured in an antagonistic role and was killed off towards the end of the final series. She subsequently returned as a ghost in the 2006 Christmas Special, which was also the series finale. The role was originally offered to Danniella Westbrook.
The Dóchas Centre is a closed, medium security prison, for females aged 18 years and over, located in Mountjoy Prison in Dublin, Ireland. It is also the committal prison for females committed on remand or sentenced from all Courts outside the Munster area of Ireland.
The first series of Bad Girls premiered on ITV on 1 June 1999, and ended on 3 August 1999. It consists of ten episodes. The show was produced by Shed Productions as part of Shed Media. After the first episode aired, the show became an instant hit in the United Kingdom. The show also became successful in several countries including the United States, Australia and Republic of Ireland.
The second series of Bad Girls began on ITV on 4 April 2000. The first episode, "Tug of Love", opened with 9.44 million viewers. The ninth episode of series two, "The Leaving", was the highest-rated episode of the entire run of the series between 1999 and 2006, with 9.49 million viewers. The second series ended on 4 July 2000; it consists of 13 episodes.
Bad Girls returned to ITV with its third series on 20 March 2001 and ended on 3 July 2001. It consists of 16 episodes.
The fourth series of Bad Girls was broadcast on ITV from 28 February 2002, concluded on 13 June 2002 and featured 16 episodes.
The fifth series of Bad Girls was broadcast on ITV from 8 May 2003 and concluded on 21 August 2003, it was the third and final series to feature 16 episodes.
The sixth series of British drama series Bad Girls premiered on 14 April 2004. It consists of twelve episodes. The first four episodes were broadcast on Wednesday nights, with episode five moved to Monday and episodes six to eight broadcast over consecutive nights beginning the following Monday. After a 12-week hiatus, due to UEFA Euro 2004, the remaining four episodes of the series were screened Monday nights and concluded on 23 August 2004.
The seventh series of British drama series Bad Girls premiered on ITV on 10 May 2005. The series concluded on 19 December 2005 with a Christmas Special. Series Seven consists of thirteen episodes.
