Read more about the article Wentworth may be getting a spin-off series!

Wentworth may be getting a spin-off series!

How Wentworth held us captive until the very end

Wentworth finished filming – forever – on September 4. A few days later the set, in the western suburbs of Melbourne, started being demolished.

“The Victorian Government have plans for that site, we always had to move out of there this year,” Wentworth producer Jo Porter tells SMARTdaily. “But we’ve relocated sites once before (the show’s first three seasons were filmed in Coburg.)”

The big question – is this really the end of Wentworth? The show returned to film 20 episodes to bring the hit drama to a conclusion. The first 10 episodes (filmed pre COVID) aired this year – episode 10 airs tomorrow – with the final 10 (filmed under COVID-safe restrictions) airing in 2021.

While the show’s intensely passionate fanbase still have another year of episodes to come, there’s already wishful thinking from fans about a spin-off.

Even Pamela Rabe, who returned as Joan ‘The Freak’ Ferguson this season told Smart “to be honest I think there’s still life in it yet. I wish those stories would keep going.”

Porter is leaving the door slightly open for some kind of continuation in the future.

Behind the scenes of Wentworth – Kate Jenkinson and Pamela Rabe. Pic: Jane ZhangBehind the scenes of Wentworth – Kate Jenkinson and Pamela Rabe. Pic: Jane Zhang

“Never say never,” Porter says. “It feels like this chapter of the show has finished. This season has had a big spike in audience domestically. We’re getting new audiences all the time. There’s a few characters who survive, there are possibilities but at the moment we’re focusing on this being a beautiful bow to draw a close to this chapter.”

Next year’s final episode will be episode 100 – Wentworth began in 2013 as a reimagining of Prisoner, which ran between 1979 and 1986 with a remarkable 692 episodes – back then they’d film between 80 and 100 episodes a year. (more…)

Continue ReadingWentworth may be getting a spin-off series!
Read more about the article TV Week Interview “It’s fun being evil” – Pamela Rabe on The Freak’s reign of terror

TV Week Interview “It’s fun being evil” – Pamela Rabe on The Freak’s reign of terror

‘Scaring people is wonderful’
Pamela Rabe, the woman behind “The Freak”, speaks out

The make-up room on the set of Wentworth, has a row of headshots of all the cast. At some point during shooting the latest season, the cast started replacing the photos of themselves with photos of themselves as young children. Pamela Rabe, who plays Joan “The Freak” Ferguson, stuck up a photo of herself as a four-year-old. “I’m gazing at the camera with a very Joan Ferguson expression with a lollipop in my mouth,” Pamela, 61, tells TV WEEK with a laugh. “I’ve just realised that look has obviously been in my arsenal for a very long time!”

That expression has terrified and enthralled Wentworth fans ever since Joan arrived as the prison’s new governor in the show’s second season. She’s quite possibly the scariest woman on TV, something Pamela thinks is “wonderful”.

“You try to tell stories that people can be engaged with and entertained by, but also to feel something,” she says. “So if people feel scared, that’s as good as anything.”

There are times when Pamela has witnessed the fear on people’s faces when they’ve seen her standing in front of them.

“Just occasionally you get a little squeal, a little hand clasped over the mouth,” she says.

Growing up in Canada, Pamela was still very young when she realised that baddies were the most fun to play on stage or screen.

“I played Goldilocks in kindergarten and that didn’t go well,” she remembers. “In second grade, I was handed the Queen in Alice In Wonderland, and I thought, ‘Oh, there’s no turning back from this.”‘ (more…)

Continue ReadingTV Week Interview “It’s fun being evil” – Pamela Rabe on The Freak’s reign of terror
Read more about the article Pamela Rabe teases villain’s payback plot after returning from the dead

Pamela Rabe teases villain’s payback plot after returning from the dead

Exclusive interview for Daily Star: Wentworth star Pamela Rabe has teased her terrifying character Joan ‘The Freak’ Ferguson’s payback plot on those around her after being buried alive and left for dead

Wentworth season eight is will under way, with UK fans getting to watch the third episode on Wednesday night – however Joan Ferguson was nowhere to be seen.

The last fans saw of her was her being unconscious on the floor after being attacked by a homeless man, though it was clear she had some sort of dastardly plan in store for Vera and baby Grace.

However Pamela Rabe has suggested Joan doesn’t want revenge, despite the fact that Vera was one of the “terrible trio” that tried to get rid of her.

The iconic actress exclusively told Daily Star Online: “I’m not so sure that Joan Ferguson sees these things as revenge. She sees something that she wants or needs.

“There certainly might be a sense of retribution in terms of payback, or that someone is collateral, and in her mind Vera’s value may have slipped somewhat due to her complicity in Joan’s fate in that box.”

Pamela Rabe had to have a code name on set to film Ferguson's return (Image: Fremantle) Pamela Rabe had to have a code name on set to film Ferguson’s return (Image: Fremantle)

She teased: “Frankly, Joan’s got something else on her mind. It changes a little bit as we go on down the track.

“Vera Bennett is someone who’s clearly very important to Joan Ferguson and there’s business that needs to be finished there.”

Despite Joan going through challenge after challenge – managing the prison, being a prisoner, being buried alive, to living on the streets – the character keeps bouncing back.

Pamela spoke of Ferguson’s terrifying resilience, saying: “One of the wonderful things is she’s not always in control – each wobble probably teaches her something new, but that’s the strength of the character.

“She is a cockroach. Every challenge, every opponent, every dilemma, is something to be climbed out of, crawled over, and the fact she never gives up is also one of her greatest strengths.

“It’s also what makes her terrifying in the kind of B-movie villain way, it’s the thing we fear most. The ghoul, the evil force, the uninvited guest. That person or your greatest fear that just will not go away.” (more…)

Continue ReadingPamela Rabe teases villain’s payback plot after returning from the dead
Read more about the article Pamela Rabe about “Freakytits” – ‘It’s very deliberate!’

Pamela Rabe about “Freakytits” – ‘It’s very deliberate!’

Duncan Lindsay posted an exclusive interview with Pamela Rabe about Wentworth and the “FreakyTits” relationship for Metro.

Ever since Joan ‘The Freak’ Ferguson donned her leather gloves and strode into Wentworth Prison, there have been definite and undeniable vibes between her and Vera Bennett – and Pamela Rabe, who plays the returning former governor, has revealed that they love playing with that side of the relationship. With an almost Killing Eve edge to their cat and mouse relationship, the pair don’t only loathe each other but also seem to almost enjoy the chase, have a warped mutual respect and a real co-dependency. With some fans even shipping the pair as an end game couple, Pamela smiled when speaking with us at Metro.co.uk: ‘It was born out of the relationship that Kate and I found in the very first scenes we shot. We enjoyed each other as fellow performers and a dynamic was set up. ‘It was interesting and oddly co-dependant as a mentorship relationship. They found a level of trust and shared secrets. Kate and I get off on performing with each other so the fact we enjoy each others’ company probably fed into the writer’s room. So in time yes, it became very deliberate and we’re all very aware of it and enjoy playing with that.

(more…)

Continue ReadingPamela Rabe about “Freakytits” – ‘It’s very deliberate!’