Memorabilia – 21-22 November - NEC Birmingham

Prisoner celebrates 30 years behind bars!



This autumn’s Memorabilia show at Birmingham’s NEC is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the first broadcast of one of Australia’s best-loved exports, gripping women-behind-bars drama Prisoner Cell Block H, with a trio of very special guests.



Following the friendships, rivalries and power struggles between the inmates and warders of the fictional Wentworth Detention Centre, the groundbreaking show continues to enjoy a massive worldwide following to this day – and Memorabilia is proud to give fans the opportunity to meet three of the classic series’ main stars:



VAL LEHMAN – ‘BEA SMITH’

Val Lehman played self-styled queen of Wentworth Bea Smith for 400 episodes, making her one of the show’s longest-running and most popular characters. Bea ran H Block with an iron fist and was renowned for her hatred of drug pushers and people who harm children – resulting in one of the show’s most iconic scenes when she burned the hand of a fellow inmate in a laundry steam press.



FIONA SPENCE – ‘VERA BENNETT’

Acid-tongued senior prison officer Vera Bennett, played by Fiona Spence, was one of Bea Smith’s chief antagonists, famously refusing to give Bea permission to attend her daughter’s funeral. Embittered by years of caring for her demanding invalid mother, Bennett was loathed by the inmates for her unforgiving disciplinarian attitude, with Spence creating an unforgettable character that viewers loved to hate.



GERARD MAGUIRE – ‘JIM FLETCHER’

One of a handful of men in a series dominated by strong female characters, Gerard Maguire portrayed firm but fair Jim Fletcher, Wentworth Detention Centre’s Deputy Governor. A stern ex-army man, Fletcher was also known as ‘Fletch the Letch’ for his tendency to fall in love with some of his more attractive charges.



Join the cast of Prisoner Cell Block H and many more stars of TV, film and sport at Memorabilia, held at Birmingham’s NEC on 21-22 November. We’ll be making lots more special guest announcements during the run-up to the show, so be sure to check out our website – www.memorabilia.co.uk – for all the latest news and information.