Talking Prisoner

Talking Prisoner Cell Block H EP 32 Interview with Steve Bastoni (Peter McCormack) Wentworth (Don Kaplan)
Welcome to Episode 32 of Talking Prisoner Cell Block H. Hosts Ken Mulholland and Matt Batten sat down with the talented Steve Bastoni. Steve is one of the small handful of Actors to spear both in Prisoner and Wentworth. Steve has a stellar career and has appeared in many well known TV shows and movies such as The Magistrate, G.P, Frankies House, The Heartbreak Kid, Police Rescue, Blue Murder, Stingers, The Crocodile Hunter, The Matrix Reloaded, The Alice, Neighbours, Underbelly, Fat Tony and Co, He is also a writer and producer. We spoke to Steve about his life growing up in Italy and then as a teenager growing up in Carlton, Melbourne and when he decided he wanted to be an actor. Steve shared with us his memories of working on Neighbours playing the role of Steve Parker and why he took the role, We also discussed in great length about his portrayal of Undercover Officer Michael Drury in cult classis series Blue Murder and the danger that came with shooting this series. Steve told us about his time on Prisoner and what it was like for him on the first day of shooting Prisoner working with Julia Blake. Steve also played Detective Don Kaplan in the hit Foxtel drama Wentworth which he shared his memories of working with the likes of Sigrid Thornton and Celia Ireland. Steve is the founder of the Peninsula Film Festival and told us about how that all started for him and why he created the festival. Steve also shared with us about his time on Police Rescue playing Yiannis “Angel” Angelopoulos and what it was like to do all his own stunts. Steve also starred along side Keanu Reeves in the Matrix Reloaded and was able to share his memories working on that movie. Steve answered all fan questions. Please like and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
 
#stevebastoni #wentworth #cellblockh #prisoner #keanureeves

Talking Prisoner Cell Block H EP 31 Interview with Sally Bourne (Kay Desmond)
Welcome to Episode 31 of Talking Prisoner Cell Block H. Hosts Ken Mulholland and Matt Batten sat down with Sally Bourne who played Myra Desmond’s daughter Kay Desmond. Sally is not only an actress of film and television but also an accomplished theatre actress and known for many productions such as Annie, Les Mis, My Fair Lady, Jesus Christ Superstar, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Beautiful Game and Jerry Springer the opera. We spoke to Sally about her life growing up in an entertainment family and what it was like for her school. Sally’s Dad is Ernie Bourne who also starred in Prisoner as Mervin Pringle, We spoke in great length about Sally’s father and learned so much more about the legendary Ernie Bourne and some very funny stories. Sally discussed with us her current project she is working on called Mrs Prime Minister which also stars Jane Clifton (Margo Gaffney). Sally shared with us her memories of working with Julie Andrews and Judi Dench and what it was like to work with them both. We spoke about Sally’s special friendship with Prisoner and Neighbours icon Lucinda Cowden. Sally also appeared in the first ever stage production of Annie as Annie in Australia working with Nancye Hayes and what it was like to appear on the Don Lane show singing “Tomorrow” in front of 3 million people at the age of 12. We spoke about Sally’s time on Neighbours, and her time working with American singer-songwriter Madonna on 1996 film “Evita”. We discussed in great length about Sally’s time on Prisoner and what it was like to play those drug addiction scenes and working with Anne Phelan, Sally shared lots of special memories of her time on Prisoner and how hard it was to film those scenes at Wally’s house in the bush. Sally also answered all fan questions for us.
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#sallybourne #madonna #cellblockh #prisoner #erniebourne #evita

Talking Prisoner Cell Block H EP 30 Interview with Sally McKenzie (Top Dog Roo Morgan)

Welcome to Episode 30 of Talking Prisoner (Cell Block H). Hosts Ken Mulholland and Matt Batten sat down with the talented Sally McKenzie who played Blackmoor Top Dog Roo Morgan. Sally is a NIDA graduate and has appeared in many Australian TV shows such as Special Squad, Rafferty’s Rules, Mother and Son, Cop Shop, The Flying Doctors and many more. We spoke to Sally about her life growing up as a child and her school life and how she broke into acting from a young age. Sally is also a Churchill Fellow and explained to us how she became a Churchill Fellow. Sally also played Elanor Rigby in Tv show Fat Cow Motel and spoke to us about her time on that show. Sally trained at The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and also directed a documentary called the acting class of 1977 which featured Mel Gibson, Judy Davis, Steve Bisley and Debra Lawrance. Sally is also has an extensive career in the theatre and has written and appeared in many plays which we also spoke about. We also spoke about the awards Sally has won and the Logie that she won for one episode of Cop Shop that she starred in. We spoke to Sally about her time on Prisoner and how she got the part of Top Dog Roo Morgan and what it was like to film the intense Riot scenes and her scenes with Ray Meagher who played Governor Craven. Sally answered all fan questions.

#sallymckenzie #cellblockh #prisoner #melgibson

Talking Prisoner Cell Block H  EP 29 Interview with Will Deumer (Crime Boss Lionel Fellowes)
Welcome to Episode 29 of Talking Prisoner. Hosts Ken Mulholland and Matt Batten sat down with the talented Will Deumer who played several roles in Prisoner but his most notable role Crime Boss Lionel Fellowes. Will has an extensive list of TV credits to his name such as Homicide, Division 4, Matlock Police, Cop Shop, Sons and Daughters, Carson’s Law, One Way Ticket, Stingers, Blue Heelers and Prisoner. We discussed with Will his life growing up in the Melbourne suburb of Northcote, his childhood growing up and how he broke into acting and what his school life was like. Will is also an amazing cook and shared his favourite meals with us that he likes to cook. We spoke about Wills time on Sons and Daughters playing Mr Bates and what it was like to work on that show. We also spoke to Will about his thoughts on why Prisoner is so popular today and how he is still remembered for his role as Lionel Fellowes. Will gave us some behind the scenes information about the very first episode of Prisoner (Episode 1) which we never knew. Will was able to share with us how he got the part of Lionel Fellowes and what he thought about playing a dangerous Crime Boss and his love for cigars and beautiful suits. Will was able to share a secret about Prisoner that Ken and Matt did not even know about what they were going to do with his character Lionel. We broke down episode 415 and what it was like to work with Maggie Kirkpatrick and Episode 542 working with Lois Ramsey and what his favourite storyline was. Will was generous with his time and answered all fan questions. Please like and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
#willdeumer #lionelfellows #prisoner #cellblockh #wentworth

Talking Prisoner Cell Block H EP 28 – Part 2 Interview with Maggie Kirkpatrick (Joan “The Freak” Ferguson)
Welcome to Episode 28 – Part 2 of Talking Prisoner. Hosts Ken Mulholland and Matt Batten sat down with Maggie Kirkpatrick who played officer Joan “The Freak” Ferguson. In part 2 Maggie answered all fan questions. Maggie answered questions such as what it was like to  work on stage in the west end, working on Prisoner Cell Block H the musical with Lilly Savage (Paul O’Grady), her close relationship with Elspeth Ballantyne, Judith McGrath and Carole Skinner who played Nola McKenzie, Maggie discussed what it was like working with the different top dogs of Wentworth, questions about her book The Gloves are off, her work with the Aids events and helping raise money for these organisations that help people with Aids, the scene with Joy Westmore and the laughing gas balloons, and what she thought about being crowned one of the nastiest villains on TV. Talking Prisoner also launched the official Maggie Kirkpatrick Memorabilia collection which is exclusive to Talking Prisoner.
#cellblockh #prisoner #maggiekirkpatrick #joanferguson

Welcome to Episode 28 (Part 1) of Talking Prisoner. Hosts Ken Mulholland and Matt Batten sat down with the talented Maggie Kirkpatrick who played Officer Joan Ferguson. Maggie appeared in over 400 episodes of Prisoner but also has a career spanning several decades appearing in shows such as Cop Shop, Jonah, Richmond Hill, Home and Away, All Saints, Eden and Prisoner, also a veteran of the Theatre playing Madame Morrible in Wicked for seven years and 1600 performances. This is Part 1, we spoke to Maggie about her life growing up as a child and losing her dad at such a young age and when she first broke into acting. We discussed the many TV shows that she has appeared in such as Richmond Hill which was created by Reg Watson who created Prisoner and working alongside Ross Higgins, Paula Duncan, Tim Elston, Gwen Plumb and Amanda Muggleton on Richmond Hill and her shock at the show being axed at the time. We also spoke to Maggie about one of her first jobs as an Usherette at the Civic Theatre. We spoke with Maggie about the Beach Hotel which at the time was owned by Arthur Greenhalgh. Maggie shared with us how she got one of the most iconic roles on Australian TV Joan “The Freak” Ferguson and that Prisoner Producer Ian Bradley created the character and Maggie being his first choice for Joan Ferguson and how she first auditioned for the role of Vera Bennett which ended up going to Fiona Spence. Maggie shared a very funny story with us about the late great Sheila Florance and what it was like working with her and Gerda Nicholson. Maggie told us about the storylines that she did not agree with and the ones that she suggested to the writers and what it was like to work with Prisoner Director Kendal Flanagan. We discussed Maggie’s hair change and the time that Sammy Davis Jr visited the set of Prisoner and what it was like to celebrate her birthday with him in Las Vegas. Maggie shared with us her thoughts on Wentworth and Pamela Rabe playing the role of Joan Ferguson. We broke down some episodes with Maggie including 413 where Joan is sent on a horrible acid trip and kills her dog, which Ken was able to share some behind the scenes information that we did not know, more to come for Part 2 of this amazing episode.
#joanferguson #maggiekirkpatrick #cellblockh #prisoner

Talking Prisoner Cell Block H EP 27 Interview with Kylie Belling (Inmate Sarah West)
 
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay my respects to them and their cultures; and to Elders both past and present.

Welcome to Episode 27 of Talking Prisoner. Hosts Ken Mulholland and Matt Batten sat down with the very talented Kylie Belling. Kylie played inmate Sarah West in the last year of Prisoner and had some very heavy storylines. Kylie spoke with us in great length with us about her life growing up in Melbourne with her adoptive parents and siblings, and what her time at school was like. Kylie is also a qualified secondary school teacher and spoke with us about that part of her life. We spoke about the part of playing “Ruby” in the indigenous Australian play “Stolen” and what it was like to tour internationally. Sarah graduated from the Victorian college of the arts along with her Prisoner castmates Philip Hyde (Rodney Adams) and Taya Stratton (Spider Simpson) and spoke with us about her time at VCA. Kylie also told us about the time she spent at the Dame Phyllis Frost Correctional Centre. Kylie played Sharon Herbert in the TV show The Flying Doctors and told us what it was like working with Maurie Fields (Len Murphy Prisoner) and Val Jellay, we also touched on Kylies time as the Co-Founder and Artistic director of the IIbijerri Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Co-Operative and more recently her time as Senior Manager for First Peoples for Creative Victoria. Kylie was also in the hit movie the Sapphires along with Jessica Mauboy and Deborah Mailman, she spoke in detail about her time on this movie. We then spoke in great length about her time on “Prisoner” and how she got the of Sarah West and how Justine Saunders (Pamela Madigan) was pivotal in having the role of Sarah West created. Kylie spoke with us about the iconic scene in the Rec Room and her famous line “Rec Room, eh ? Lets wreck it and how fans would say it to her outside of Prisoner, we broke down some of the episodes that Kylie appeared and what it was like working with her friend Taya Stratton and filming those racist scenes with her and shared a funny behind the scenes story about Maggie Kirkpatrick. We also spoke about the racism issues still facing Australia today. Kylie was also able to answer all fan questions.
#kyliebelling #sarahwest #cellblockh #jessicamauboy

Talking Prisoner Cell Block H EP 26 Interview with Debra Lawrance (Officer Dean/Daphne Graham)
Welcome to Episode 26 of Talking Prisoner Cell Block H. Hosts Ken Mulholland and Matt Batten sat down with the amazingly talented Debra Lawrance who played three roles in Prisoner – A Nurse, Officer Sally Dean, and Inmate Daphne Graham. Debra shared with us her memories of growing up as a child and where her love for acting came from. We spoke to Debra about her time at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) training alongside Mel Gibson, Steve Bisley, Judy Davis and Robert Menzies. Debra shared with us how she got the three roles on Prisoner and what it was like working with the cast of Prisoner and being a part of the Barnhurst five, we broke down some episodes of Prisoner with Debra and she spoke to us in depth about Episode 553 in where Daphne Graham was threatening to jump of the roof of the prison and gave us all the behind the scenes information about that emotional scene. Debra spoke about her thoughts on the PMS storylines for Daphne and working alongside Kevin Summers who played her Lawyer. We were also very fortunate to speak to Debra about her time on Home and Away playing Pippa Ross and also found out that a cast member from Prisoner also auditioned for the role of Pippa, Debra told us what it was like to play the third Pippa (Behind the scenes information that we never knew about Pippa) and working alongside Katie Ritchie and Ray Meagher and what it was like to work with her on screen husband who became her real life husband Dennis Coard who played Michael Ross. Debra also starred in Wentworth and was able to talk to us about her time on Foxtel’s highest rating drama.
#debralawrance #homeandaway #prisoner #cellblockh #Pippaross

Talking Prisoner “Presents” EP 1 Interview with Mal Walden
Welcome to Episode 1 of Talking Prisoner “Presents”. Hosts Ken Mulholland and Matt Batten sat down with legendary news reader Mal Walden. Mal has a media career spanning six decades and was the main presenter of Melbourne’s Seven national news and Ten Eyewitness news. We spoke with Mal in great length about his childhood growing up, school life, and the start of his career at radio station 3YB in Warrnambool. Mal spoke to us about how he started at Network 7 and what it was like to be a reporter in the 1970s and replacing Brian Naylor as the chief news presenter at Seven and working with his mentor John Maher. Mal flew to Darwin to cover the news of Cyclone Tracy in 1974 and told us how he was sending the footage back to Melbourne via a Private Jet so channel seven could run the story. We spoke in length about Mal’s sacking from channel seven and the huge public outcry that followed with his sacking from Seven and a very funny story about a taxi driver driving Mal’s replacement to channel seven. Mal was able to share a story with us about his time meeting Princess Diana and a funny story that she had told him, We also spoke about Mal’s time presenting the news at channel 10 and what he thinks about the news now. Mal was one of the first people to broadcast the news in Australia about the assassination of John F Kennedy and told us how he found out that JFK had been assassinated. We spoke about the 8 Million dollar defamation law suit that was against Mal and how it all started and his special friendships with Brian Naylor and David Johnston. Mal told us about the time he did a favour for Chopper Read and what it was like to cover the news of the Ash Wednesday fires in 1983. Mal had many more story’s for us, please enjoy and subscribe to our page.
#malwalden #news #jfk #princessdiana

Talking Prisoner EP 25 Interview with Alan Hopgood (Wally Wallace)

Welcome to Episode 25 of Talking Prisoner. Hosts Ken Mulholland and Matt Batten sat down and spoke with Actor, Author, Producer, Writer and leading playwright Alan Hopgood who played Wally Wallace on Prisoner. We spoke in great length to Alan about his life growing up, how he got into acting from a very young age and about his time at the University of Melbourne and his first television play The Sound of Thunder. Alan spoke to us about his time on Bellbird in which he appeared in 872 episodes as Dr Reed and told us lots of behind the scenes information about Bellbird. Alan is a leading playwright and wrote a play called “And the Big Men Fly” which also starred Elspeth Ballantyne and was able to give us all the behind the scenes about this successful play. We spoke in great length about a movie Alan wrote called Alvin Purple which was a box office smash hit back in 1973 and where he got the idea to write it. We spoke in length about Alans time on Prisoner playing Wally Wallace and working alongside Betty Bobbitt and Gerda Nicholson and how he got the part of Wally and what he thought about his character Wally. Alan spoke to us about his time on Neighbours playing Lassiters Hotel owner Jack Lassiter and working alongside Stefan Dennis (Paul Robinson) We also spoke to Alan about him receiving an order of Australia for his services to the performing arts and raising awareness in Men’s health through his book and plays. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel.

#alanhopgood #prisoner #cellblockh #neighbours #bellbird