Read more about the article You’ve Got Blackmail

You’ve Got Blackmail

Twist and bombshells keep the shocks coming

The pressure has been building for weeks and a series of explosive storylines are set to ignite in this week’s tense and explosive Wentworth finale.
The gritty Aussie prison drama never fails to deliver – and the dramatic end to season six is no exception. It even took the cast by surprise.
“The whole episode – as a fan and as an actor in it – is unreal.” Leah Purcell 48, who plays Rita Connors, tells TV WEEK.

After teasing it out – and ramping up the tension – across the season, Vera’s (Kate Atkinson) blackmailer is finally revealed in a jaw-dropping twist.
Is it Joan “The Freak” Ferguson (Pamela Rabe)? Is she still alive and tormenting her? The chilling revelation leaves the governor stunned. We also learn Vera has been keeping another secret of her own. Will (Robbie Magasiva) and Jake (Bernard Curry) are equally dumbfounded. And the shocks continue in the moments that follow the unmasking, especially as Will is just seconds away from confessing his involvement in The Freak’s disappearance to the investigating officers.

The deadly post-reveal twist cleverly paves the way for the trio to potentially extricate themselves from the criminal predicament they’ve found themselves in. But they might not be in the clear just yet. (more…)

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Read more about the article The TV Guide July 2018: Dead or Alive?

The TV Guide July 2018: Dead or Alive?

SECRETS STAY BURIED

Kiwi actor Robbie Magasiva says few people would have expected his Wentworth character, prison guard Will Jackson, to be capable of burying The Freak alive in a makeshift coffin. So what will happen next in the latest series of the Australian prison drama?
Being a crucial figure in last season’s cliffhanger episode of prison drama Wentworth was a dream role for New Zealand actor Robbie Magasiva.

When we last saw prison guard Will Jackson (Robbie Magasiva) he was busy with a shovel, burying alive Joan ‘The Freak’ Ferguson in a makeshift coffin. So will The Freak (Pamela Rabe) really die a slow, agonising death being trapped underground? (more…)

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Read more about the article TV WEEK Interview (July 2018)

TV WEEK Interview (July 2018)

Wentworth’s Pamela Rabe on fans and playing Joan ‘The Freak’ Ferguson

Freak in a box | Pamela Rabe takes us through THAT scene

In last year’s season five finale, Joan Ferguson was buried alive in a coffin in the bush by Will Jackson, played by Robbie Magasiva.

What was going through The Freak’s mind in her final moments?

“There was an extreme anger with herself for not seeing this coming,” Pamela says.

“Joan is proud of being the smartest person in the room. She’s the one who can see all eventualities and be prepared for them.

“She would think she’d trapped herself – that she hadn’t anticipated something and now was going to suffer the consequences.

“Filming that scene was intense. There’s the imagined box you put yourself in, knowing it would be the ultimate nightmare for people, particularly Joan.

“And there’s the real box, which has an open side and is surrounded by 30 members of the crew. It’s a mad kind of chaotic war zone.”

‘I was excited they would consider me!’

People can’t get enough of Pamela Rabe. And not just here, but around the world.

You can put that down to the fascination – and in some cases, obsession – with her Wentworth character, Joan “The Freak” Ferguson.

But not everyone loves The Freak. Canadian-born Pamela, who won the 2018 TV WEEK Logie Award For Most Outstanding Actress, says one of her siblings has stopped watching the show.

“One of my sisters found it too distressing seeing a family member do terrible things,” Pamela, 59, says.

Pamela was born into a large family near Toronto and was raised in Vancouver, The actress trained in her homeland before moving to Australia in her early 20s. What would motivate a young woman to move to the other side of the world?

“Love,” Pamela says. “I met an Australian (theatre director Roger Hodgman) in Canada. He was offered a job back in Australia and asked if I wanted to come, I said, ‘Sure.’

“That was the beginning of this adventure. We have since married, we’re still married.”

Moving to Australia wasn’t a tough decision, she says. It was the 80s, and in the US and Canada there was a fascination for all things Aussie.

“Australian movies were popular,” she says. “And Men At Work were on top of the charts.”

From Canada to Oz – and now to the UK. The rabid love for Pamela’s character Joan will this year take her to a Wentworth fan event in the UK.

“They’re incredibly loyal and protective of Joan there,” Pamela explains. “I couldn’t be spending my time with a nicer group of people.”

Such is the level of fandom in the UK that some excited Wentworth fans yell “Joan!” at Pamela from across the street.

In general, however, she calls the fans “really respectful” – although, she adds, “that may be a version of fear”.

(more…)

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