While Maggie 'The Freak' Kirkpatrick wows 'em across the UK as the star of Cell Block H: The Musical, she confesses to a 'terrifying' addiction to cure her chronic homesickness.

"I never thought I'd admit this - I've become addicted to Aussie soaps!" Maggie says. "In Australia I never turned on series like Home and Away and Neighbours, but I can't tell you what a comfort they are to me now. And the good thing about being in Britain is there are so many Aussie soaps to choose from. In fact, Neighbours is shown twice a day!" 

Maggie left Australia last year to don her old Wentworth Detention Centre uniform again, 10 years after the hit series Prisoner (retitled Cell Block H in Britain) ended here. The stage send-up has been entrepreneured by Australia's former daytime TV king, Mike Walsh. "I'm having a ball over here. The musical is such fun - the only drawback is I'm missing Australia and all my mates terribly. The Aussie accents and familiar locations on the soaps makes me feel totally at home. Well, I'm now horribly embarrassed to admit I'm hooked. The addiction has got worse, because I've discovered dozens of old Aussie soaps which are shown here. I'm glued to The Sullivans, The Young Doctors, Sons and Daughters, Paradise Beach - even Chances.

Prisoner still screens daily in the UK and has a huge cult following. I'm treated like a goddess - even by big, big names. 

Cher came to see the Prisoner musical and demanded to meet me - little old me from Newcastle, NSW! She said she loved the musical, and came back a second time. Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber was at the opening, as was Vanessa Redgrave, Joanna Lumley, Jennifer Saunders, Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith." Maggie says Sunday nights at her place are the setting for some away-from-home reminiscing with a hearty roast, a good Aussie red wine and ex-pat mates Simon Burke who stars in A Little Night Music with Dame Judi Dench, and Mike Walsh. "We sit 'round and catch up on all the gossip." Maggie is touring with the musical and there are rumours of a Europe tour and a Prisoner movie.

TV Soap Magazine
Vol Two Number Eight