After almost two months of broadcasting in Australia, the wait is finally over for fans of Wentworth Prison in the UK, with the prison drama series returning tomorrow night (June 27) for one of its most explosive seasons to-date.
Danielle Cormack as Bea Smith / Credit: Foxtel
We got the chance to chat to Danielle Cormack from the show, who plays 'Top Dog Queen Bea', to talk all about what we should expect, typical days on the set and more!
What should fans of Wentworth Prison in the UK expect from the new episodes?
As they know, The Freak has been carted away, and at the beginning of season 4, the Wentworth family haven't actually been in Wentworth, they've been at Walford, the male prison because, obviously their wing had suffered fire damage.
So, they can expect a new Wentworth, new characters, new relationships, new alliances, but still within the same vein of which the previous seasons have been. In my opinion, I think this is probably one of the best seasons we've created, so I'm really happy about that.
The new season has already started in Australia - how have you found the response so far?
It's been phenomenal so far. It's always a nerve-wracking experience creating a long-running show. You always hope that the next season is going to live up to the expectations of the other seasons and live up to the expectations of the fans who enjoy watching the show. So far, it's been a really generous response. People have been very invested in the show which is great, and the numbers have been testament to that - they keep rising every week.
What do you make of modern day fan culture with the likes of social media, creating memes and videos and such?
I think it's just an evolution of fans. The fans have always been there, but now everything is more visual. People take photographs and edit together their own little movies. To me it's just evidence that people love the show and I think that's one of the desires for any creative body - whatever you're creating, that it reaches out to people and people form an attachment to it. All the love that you receive through letters, people tweeting about our show or sharing their videos is just, to me, shows us how much people do love our show.
Kate Jenkinson's joined the show as Allie Novak this season, what was Kate like to work with?
She's wonderful. I had to be in the audition process with Kate, so right from the word 'go', I knew that she was so right for that role. She's an incredibly bright, very intuitive actor and a wonderful human being. She was really easy to work with. We were able to really flesh out the storyline of Bea and Allie together with the writers as well, once we'd founded their connection. Just to be able to chart their connection and just to look after it, to see where it goes over the series, I really enjoyed working with her.
I really enjoyed working with Tammy Macintosh (who plays Kaz Proctor) who has been in the series before, but on the other side of the bars. She's an incredibly dynamic actress and she plays the character, I think, with such an amazing verve. She's so frightening and then incredibly fragile. I've loved watching her character's arc over the series.
Then of course we've had a few other introductions that don't happen until later on in the season. It's good that there's new blood, they keep investing in the show, which is great.
Bea's still 'Top Dog' in Wentworth, so will she be facing some big challenges this season?
I think that Bea does face some huge challenges this season, but they don't come in the form of what people might expect. Bea is challenged more by her inner conflicts in a way, than what's happening in the 'actual world' of Wentworth. I think that she tries to emancipate herself from all of the prison politics, because she's bored of them and she's exhausted. She can't really see the point anymore. Keeping in mind, I have to keep reminding people, Bea never really wanted to be 'Top Dog' - she vyed for that mantle because it served her agenda. After she managed to escape and get to Brayden, then she felt such a hefty responsibility towards the women, that she stayed in that position as 'Queen Bea', but it's a crown that's never felt comfortable.
Can you tell us a little bit about a typical day on the set? If indeed there are any 'typical' days!
Well, a typical day - I have a very short time in makeup thankfully because there's not a lot of glamour in Wentworth! We lost a day filming so we were filming very fast this season. You might spend maybe an hour, an hour and a half on every scene. Sometimes there'll be 8-10 scenes in a day. [You've got to be] prepared to be shivved and punched and abused, and be part of mind games and so forth! We've become a well-oiled machine now, and I think it shows. The production value, the show just looks better, there's a depth to it, that's a given, we've now done four seasons so you'd hope that it feels more rich.
I imagine there's an incredible chemistry on set now then?
Yeah. Everyone that I work with has such a great work ethic. All of them are good at what they do! They know what they're doing. Great relationships have been forged on the set as well, it's a very supportive environment. We do have a lot of fun together as well, you do become family. That's what you are in the story as well, so there's a beautiful, wonderful reciprocity between the character's world and also our real world in the green room. They serve each other really well.
I can't think of any other show right now that I'd be more proud to be part of, considering there's a global conversation about female stories, or primarily female-driven stories, and crews, and writers, and people who are producing shows. There has been a long-standing patriarchy within the industry and to help break down those walls and to create pathways for strong female characters, where you're not just the function of another male character is great. I wouldn't wanna be anywhere else right now.
Also, it's not just about the female characters but the diverse casting as well. Having women from all different social backgrounds and ethnic backgrounds as well. People have really responded to that, because I think it encompasses all of them.
Finally what's next for you in the coming weeks and months?
Well I'm actually at the moment doing a play called Straight, which is a play based in the UK. It's an adaptation from a film called Hot Day, and it's based around the HUMP! Fest. Dan Savage, he started a very famous festival, a small indie festival, which was a sexual festival dedicated to people who wanted to create their own porn films, amateur porn.
I've just gone back to doing a bit of choreography, and doing a miniseries where I played a crime scene investigator. So, going from Bea Smith to a crime scene investigator was kinda fun! I got to work with Yael Stone who of course plays Morello in Orange is the New Black, so we got to have some time on set. It was really wonderful to work with someone who's on one of the only other shows that I know in the world that's based around a female prison, and our shows come out around the same time, so it was really lovely to work with her.
Wentworth Prison returns Monday, June 27 at 10pm on Channel 5.
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