Prisoner of Melbourne: Willie Beauchamp

Kirsty Child is Willie Beauchamp, a fence, transferred to Wentworth from Barnhurst along with her best friend and partner in crime, May Collins, and others after the fire at Barnurst that killed former Wentworth Top Dog Bea Smith – or so the viewer is told. Willie and May appear to be crafted strictly for comic relief. Only at the very end of their run do the bickering pair rise above silly. Prisoner watchers all seem to agree that the era of Willie and May and their friends in the Barnhurst Five represents the least exciting period of the series. Fans object to Nora Flynn’s decision to organize a small council of fellow prisoners rather than govern as Top Dog with her own might. A ridiculous amnesia storyline for Willie is the low water mark for the show, but is fortunately brief. Helping to shore up memories of the character in the pantheon of Wentworth inmates is Willie’s heart-breaking exit and jaw-dropping late series return.

Kirsty Child played Officer Anne Yates, the original bent screw, years before returning to Wentworth as Willie Beauchamp.

As Child said on stage, she remembers little of either role. “You played the range from A to B,” joked Jane Clifton.

Officer Anne Yates (Kirsty Child) met her maker in the Prisoner laundry room in Episode 30.

Kirsty Child as Willie Beauchamp.