Episode 227

Meg offers to look after Alison's children. Jim tells Meg that he has resigned, to her great astonishment. Erica phones the Department to try to get a replacement for Jim and makes it clear to Colleen that her promotion might be at risk if she doesn't take back the report on Alison. Colleen tells Erica she regards that as blackmail and won't withdraw the charge. Bea has had enough of Colleen when she threatens to stop them attending the day centre. Meg and Erica discuss how they could get Jim to change his mind. When the prisoners go again to work on the day centre, a neighbour, Thelma Reid, gets very interested in who it is cleaning up the house. Lizzie gets permission from Jim to go buy milk from a local shop, and meets a young boy called Martin, who has just been thrown out of the shop. Lizzie steals some chocolate gives it to Martin. Alison tells Meg that Don hasn't been able to keep up their mortgage payments, so they must sell the house. Meg explains that her children have been put in a home. Bea is angry when she gets to hear about Alison's children, and asks to talk to Erica. Jim tells Colleen that he knows she has her eye on the deputy governor job. Bea gets nowhere with her meeting with Erica, but learns that the Braille machine will be arriving in about a week. Bea suggests Judy as Alison's replacement in reception. Bea tells Colleen the women are on strike until she withdraws the charge against Alison, and in that case it will look very bad for her, as if she is the only officer who can't control the women. The work party go again to the day centre. Alison is miserable and cries in her cell. At the day centre Jim has a chat with Mrs Reid, who asks what organization Jim and the others come from. Mouse and Doreen make sandwiches, but they disappear suddenly while they are out of the kitchen. Lizzie suggests that either the house is haunted, or Mrs Reid has taken them. Judy tries to convince Alison that Bea will "persuade" Powell to drop the report. Colleen