Back with a bang! Wentworth returns to our screens this week, with a drama-filled premiere that will leave you wanting more.
Fans will finally see the fallout from the eighth season finale, with the show picking up three weeks after Allie Novak (Kate Jenkinson) was stabbed by Judy Bryant (Vivienne Awosoga) and left for dead.
Meanwhile, Lou Kelly (Kate Box) is more menacing than ever before, and Joan ‘The Freak’ Ferguson (Pamela Rabe) has remembered who she really is – and all the terrible things she’s done and had done to her.
“The stakes are very high,” Kate Atkinson, who plays former governor Vera Bennett, tells TV WEEK of what viewers can expect this season.
So, what can we expect from the prisoners of Wentworth when the show returns with its second episode next Tuesday? Scroll through to see what’s in store for the inmates.
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Lou: “I’m declaring myself Top Dog!”
Ever since she landed in Cell Block H, former Top Dog Lou has been vicious, volatile and intimidating. But in Wentworth this week, she’s howling like a wounded animal. What has happened to leave Lou so anguished?
Initially, Lou is on the warpath this week, and an outburst sees her subdued with pepper spray by the wary prison guards.
But Lou’s mood shifts over the course of this enthralling episode. At one point, she sobs uncontrollably as Marie (Susie Porter) tries to comfort her.
Marie tries to support distraught Lou.
(Image: Foxtel)One thing we’ve known since we encountered Lou is she’ll do anything for her transgender partner – and fellow inmate – Reb Keane (Zoe Terakes).
Lou was furious when someone in the prison stole a mobile phone and money set aside for Reb’s surgery.
“Reb is the one thing that connects Lou with her humanity,” Kate explains to TV WEEK.
“She still feels an incredible amount of guilt for the way Reb ended up in prison, and that would drive her to do anything she could to make Reb as happy as he can be.
“Lou has her own set of morals and Reb is at the centre of those.”
Reb is the most important person in the world to Lou.
(Image: Foxtel)She pointed the finger of blame at Allie, attacking her in her cell, despite Allie vehemently denying she was the thief.
And in the latest episodes, Lou certainly hasn’t yet given up the fight to get back the money taken from her.
But what Lou doesn’t know is that the real culprit was jailed hacker and activist Judy, who used the cash to pay a hitman to murder a politician who wanted to extradite her to the US. Yep, she’s one dangerous woman.
And then Judy shivved Allie in the showers because Allie knew she’d stolen the phone and money and wanted to cover her tracks.
This week, Judy strikes a deal that could delay her extradition for up to six months. But how long will her secrets stay hidden, especially from Lou, who stands up at one point and says, “I’m declaring myself Top Dog!”?
Boomer: “I want a baby!”
Boomer has a plan to fall pregnant, but it involves some risky business with someone from outside Wentworth.
Last year, Boomer (Katrina Milosevic) met with Gavin (Huw Higginson), who asked if she’d be interested in writing for his prison porn website.
Gavin is so impressed with Boomer’s literary efforts, he’s pushing for more – something to really ramp up the raunchiness.
Together they hatch an idea to smuggle a camera into the prison so Boomer can record the lusty action.
Boomer has an ultimatum for Gavin.
(Image: Foxtel)But this involves organising a conjugal visit for her and Gavin, so he can hand it over. Boomer leans on prison guard Jake (Bernard Curry) to bend the rules so she and “boyfriend” Gavin can have some alone time.
Once in the room, Gavin gives her the camera, but Boomer wants something surprising as payment for illegally filming the other inmates: Gavin’s sperm!
“I want your baby!” Boomer tells Gavin, who’s thrown when he’s asked to produce the goods on the spot.
Will he come to Boomer’s surprise baby-making party?
Sheila: “She’s playing a dangerous game”
In Wentworth prison, you always have to be careful who you confide in. Things you say behind bars might just have a way to come back and bite you when you least expect it.
This week, Sheila Bausch (Marta Dusseldorp) has a quiet word with Marie to ensure they’re on the same page.
But it’s Marie we’re talking about here, and as we’ve seen throughout her time in Cell Block H, she’s not the most trustworthy person.
And without spoiling things, Marie spills someone’s secret this week, which has devastating consequences for this person.
Sheila is looking for allies to help prove her innocence.
(Image: Foxtel)Sheila, meanwhile, is up on charges of mass murder and arson relating to the deaths of the members of the conversion therapy cult The Truth Path, run by Sheila’s partner Dr Brian Mendel (Brian Vriends).
She hoped Lou and Reb, who were at True Path at the time of the incident, would help prove her innocence.
Since arriving at Wentworth, she’s tried talking to Reb about what happened at the cult, even telling her that Lou watched some of Reb’s therapy.
Lou, of course, has her own agenda in lock-up – and she’s definitely not someone you want to cross.
Wentworth airs Tuesday, 8.30pm on FOX Showcase.
