To be known as the most hated character on television doesn't worry actress Maggie Kirkpatrick one little bit.  During her four-and-a-half years as Officer Joan Ferguson - "The Freak" in Prisoner: Cell Block H, Maggie's was the character everyone loved to loathe.  Her icy stare and cruel treatment of inmates, particularly Bea Smith (Val Lehman), guaranteed "The Freak" sacks and sacks of hate mail. 
 
Maggie herself couldn't be more different from the rotten warder she made famous and that's why she's happy "The Freak" was so widely hated. 

"I knew she was going to be a nasty piece of work from the first talks I had with the producers.  It was very cut and dried and I accepted the part with absolute alacrity," she says. 

"I saw it as a great challenge.  I'm happy people hated her so much because it means I succeeded in making the character work." 

Maggie says she never grew tired of playing Joan Ferguson because the quality of the storylines was so high, but she admits leaving "The Freak" behind when filming finished was often difficult. 

"It was a very tough and tiring part.  It was extremely distressing sometimes not only because of the physical setting of the show - I mean, spending all day in a prison is hardly pleasant - but also having so much hatred directed at me by  the other characters." 

"Sometimes it would take a couple of hours for me to come back down to earth and get rid of all that tension." 

But playing a nasty can have a more serious consequence, as Neighbours actress Vivien Gray discovered recently.  Playing the Erinsborough gossip Mrs Mangle, Vivien found herself on the receiving end of a torrent of abuse and comments from the over-enthusiastic Neighbours fans in her private life, eventually becoming a major factor in her decision to leave the series. 

"I have heard of the problems Vivien had and I thought it was extraordinary.  Never, ever did I receive any abuse personally," Maggie says.  "There were a couple of nut cases.  I remember one incident when I was abused in a pub by someone calling me Joan, but really, that was it." 

Maggie did consider joining the Cell Block H theatre production which toured recently, but opted instead to make a children's mini-series called Betty's Bunch in New Zealand. 

Since Prisoner: Cell Block H finished in late 1986, Maggie has had a steady run of theatre and television work in Australia.  Her first acting job at 19 was in a Shakespeare play, and after such a long stint in TV, she was keen to get back on to the stage. 

"I've had some terrific roles in so many good productions since Prisoner.  Right now the most important thing is that I've become a grandmother for the first time.  That's exciting!"

Stars Of Oz Magazine
1990