Initially conceived as a stand-alone miniseries of 16 episodes, its popularity meant it was developed into an ongoing series.
It follows the lives of the prisoners and staff of the fictional high-security wing of a women's prison, called "H Block" within "The Wentworth Detention Centre", which was set in a fictional suburb called "Wentworth" in Melbourne, Victoria, numerous scenes also took place outside the compound exploring the lives of the inmates and staff outside of the centre, and in particular "Driscoll House", a half-way house where inmates were housed after being released, or neighbouring correction institutions like "Barnhurst" and "Blackmoor".
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The series is loosely based on British prison drama series Within These Walls, although it focuses more on the prisoners or inmates, rather than the prison staff led by officious governor Faye Boswell, played by Googie Withers, who was even approached by producers of Prisoner to play the governor
Ian Bradley served as original producer and then executive producer, from series 2, Whilst Associate producer and screenwriter was Ian Smith, who appeared as an actor in the series as Head of the Department Ted Douglas, prior to becoming famous as the character Harold Bishop in Neighbours, another screenwriter Anne Lucas also acted in the series as Faye Quinn.
Prisoner (known in the UK and North America as Prisoner: Cell Block H) is an Australian television soap opera, created by Reg Watson, which broadcast on Network Ten fromįebruary 1979 to December 1986, lasting eight seasons and 692 episodes.