Wentworth Prison, Wednesdays, Channel 5, 10pm
AUSSIE prison drama Wentworth returned to our screens for a third series this week, picking up in the aftermath of last year's shocking finale.
With escaped jailbird Bea Smith (Danielle Cormack) having finally avenged the death of her daughter in lethal fashion, she's now back in Wentworth and ruling the roost with the backing of recently tamed ex-top dog, Franky Doyle (Nicole da Silva).
Bea is now intent on toppling sadistic governor Joan 'The Freak' Ferguson (Pamela Rabe) from her increasingly shaky perch. However, this Machiavellian mistress is not going down without a fight.
Wentworth's already volatile chemistry is further agitated by the arrival of three new characters: teenage fraudster Jodie Spiteri (Pia Miranda), forensic psychiatrist Bridget Westfall (Libby Tanner) and vigilante Karen Proctor (Tammy MacIntosh).
This award-winning 21st century reboot of Prisoner: Cell Block H pulls few dramatic punches with its sharply written, hard-hitting drama in which the worst villains are often on the supposedly law-abiding side of the bars.
:: Channel5.com/Wentworth.
