On the day of Nikki's trial, Fenner tries one last time to jepordise her chances by trying to blackmail Di into putting a scalpel into Nikki's bag - luckily, Di refused as they left for court. Virginia O'Kane received a hostile reaction from all the girls except Tina Purvis, who was beaten up by her sister for being so sympathetic. Back at the courthouse, evidence has been given and the jury have their verdict - Nikki's sentence is reduced to three years for manslaughter...time she has already served so she is a free woman! As Di entered the bathrooms to check things are OK when she saw the lifeless body of Virginia - with Yvonne standing nearby...is she capable of murder or has Fenner set her up? In sunny Spain, we finally catch up with escapees Shell and Denny - the Spanish police have found them but we are left to wonder whether they survived after jumping into the sea to escape! In the final scene Nikki was in a club with Trish but no Helen - she walked sadly outside and heare

The action continues from the point where we left off last time - as Yvonne is put down the Block, The officers learn from a news report that Shell's body was nenver found in the Spanish waters but Denny's was...alive! Josh felt it was time to own up to Crystal's 'Virgin Pregnancy' and told Karen the truth and offered his resignation. Karen had second thoughts about her engagement to Jim after facts, items from his locker and Helen's harassment case showed up, resulting in her throwing the ring back in his face! Yvonne was charged with Virginia's murder because Jim had planted Virginia's diary under her pillow! - unable to face life behind bars, she took drastic measures to escape and, with the departing Josh's help, knocked the power out, stole Sylvia's keys and managed it..or did she?

Yvonne's escape bid was foiled by Jim, Karen and PO Blakeson so she spent the week down the block. New PO Barry Pearce arrives on G-Wing, along with new Governor Neil Grayling, who seems to have big ideas for Larkhall...ones that dont involve Karen! Barry caught Di's eye and made such an impression that she asked him to move in with her. Karen tore up Helen Stewart's sexual harassment report against Jim. Sylvia was put in charge of the newly privatised canteen and got off to a bad start by selling out-of-date items. Neil demoted Karen to uniform and promoted Jim to the Wing-governor position! Shaz and PO Blakeson were on the receiving end of Barry's violent temper - are we seeing his true colours?

As Jim continued to play power games over Maxi, he quickly realised that she will not be made a fool of, and more alarmingly that she killed Virginia! Shaz and Barbara tried to stop Di making a big mistake by ringing and cancelling the wedding - they succeeded! After being faced with a computer, computer-phobic Sylvia took credit for Barbara's work, prompting Neil to give her more. On the night of the failed wedding, Barry hit Di at her house; does she now see his true colours? Jim asked Yvonne to help him nail Maxi after being blackmailed by her over 'his' part in Virginia's death.

Denny returned to Larkhall...but without Shell. Two new inmates arrived - City high-flyer Cassie Tyler and Roisin Connor; both found it hard to adjust to prison life. After hearing Di Dump him, Barry violently attacked Barbara and then Shaz - questioned later by Mark, Di refused to back-up his lie and exposed him as a woman-beater! Barry later resigned. Neil asked Sylvia to take a computer class for the inmates even though she is totally computer illiterate! Shaz began digging an escape tunnel in the potting shed. Denny pretended to be interested in Al so that she could get information for Yvonne - she succeeded and taped Al's 'confession', landing Al and Maxi in deep water and to Yvonne finally being cleared!

Tina was visibly distraught after discovering who murdered Virginia. Neil made himself more unpopular by banning the officers smoking and using the Gym. Yvonne had a catfight with Maxi and to her surprise, Tina joined in to help her! - is this the end of the Peckham Boot Gang? Denny and Shaz' tunnel plan took a possibly tragic twist when Buki found out and demanded to be a part of the operation...a tunnel collapse put her life in danger! Julie J's daughter Rhiannon showed up on G-Wing. Karen seemed to be getting close to Mark but Jim, for some reason, warned her off him. Sylvia's computer class was a disaster because of her less-than-basic skills and with the fact that pornography was found on the second-hand machines. Jim moved in with Neil but...shall we say...(as numerous hints suggested) why exactly did his wife divorce him...?!

Jim finally realised that Neil has far more than a professional interest in him. Shaz & Denny sent Buki fake pen pal letters to get revenge for the potting shed incident. Mark and Karen continued their romance. The Julies learned that they would get an additional 4 years for GBH and would lose all their priveliges. Roisin was devastated to learn that she couldn't see her children because she had taken some drugs. Karen learned about Neil's secret but when trying to confront him about it, was shocked to learn that he had photographs of her in the shower given to him ""by Jim""!

Jim tells Neil that he's told personnel that he's been sexually harassing him. Buki slits her wrists in response to Denny and Shaz's bullying. Yvonne, playing the mother figure, told Denny and Shaz to give a months' spends to Buki as 'compensation' - Shaz was very reluctant and unsympathetic. Karen was still furious with Jim for giving Neil the private photos of her. Neil was not going to be beaten by Jim so firstly, got 'romantically involved' with Di Barker to quash Jim's rumours and secondly, he found a back-up of Helen Stewart's sexual assault report against Jim and revealed to Karen that he had been trying to track helen down! He also hinted to Karen that he was considering making her wing governor again. Roisin continued to use drugs. The inmates heared rumours from Fenner and Noreen that Neil was gay. The Julies conspired to get their kitchen jobs back by putting cockroaches in the pancakes! After returning to the wing, Maxi tried to get Shaz (fresh from her arguement with Yvonn

...Shaz saved Yvonne at the last second, enabling Yvonne to turn the tables on Maxi. After nearly being killed, Maxi seemed to realise that she wasn't invincible and for the first time, seemed scared. Crystal went into labour and had to have her baby in her cell - she named the Baby Zandra, in her late friends' memory and Josh came to visit her. Buki seemed to take an interest in the baby and when on the MBU, took a shine to another woman's baby. She was later devastated to learn that both the baby and it's mother had AIDS. Neil continued to undermine Jim by calling a staff meeting so that the G-Wing staff could slag him off behind his back...A plan that seemed to work; did Jim really quit? Karen regretted going to see Jim when he sexually assaulted her - it looks like she now beleives what Helen Stewart said in her report. Cassie and Babs' plan to rig the canteen spreadsheet seemed to be working. Buki revealed to Mark that when she was 13, she had given birth to a baby that was dead w

Karen told the police that Jim had raped her. Buki continued loving baby Baxter and persuaded Mark to take her and Crystal to the park, with their babies. Crystal, fed up with the terrible prison conditions, attempted to run away from Mark, but was caught. She later sent baby Zandra home with Josh so that she would be safer. The canteen was short of stock due to Cassie's scam. Roisin told Yvonne that Cassie fancied her. After some persuading from Neil, Karen dropped the charges against Jim - Jim, realising he owed Neil, handed him his wing-governor resignation, leaving the position open for karen. Maxi, now acting like a totally different character, was upset when Tina continued to disown her. Buki was devastated to learn that baby Baxter had died during the night and revealed to Mark that the baby she has abandoned wasn't stillborn, but alive!

Neil was forced to make Sylvia wing governor when Karen turned down the post. Neil and Sylvia were horrified to see prison inspectors by the gate - they were even more horrified when the inspectors saw the disasterous loss of the canteen! Shaz organised a fight with Al in the gymn but at the last minute, Maxi took Al's place, determined to get her reputation back! Mark discovered that Buki's baby was still alive and had been adopted. Babs seemed to be getting very friendly with Henry, the new prison vicar. After losing spectacularly to Shaz, Maxi killed herself, with Al's help, by choking herself with tissue paper!...Sylvia, faced with another day of inspections, forced the Julies to help her move Maxi's body away from the inspectors so they wouldn't see it! Neil told Jim that he'd promote Mark to a higher position at another prison so that he was away from Karen...but only if he asked ""very nicely!""

Sylvia's attempt to hide Maxi's corpse in the chapel is exposed when it rolls out of it's hiding place during a church service! Mark was offered a promotion at a prison in the North but didn't want to go because of Karen...until she told him that she didn't love him! Yvonne's estranged son, Ritchie, came to visit Yvonne but ended the day in Karen's newly empty bed! At Maxi's funeral, Tina was distraught when her father told her that he would never love her as much as Maxi! Tina later decided to transform herself into Julie O'Kane, with the 2 Julies' help. Sylvia was told that due to her horrendous mistakes, the wing governor post would be re-advertised. Babs told the vicar about the fight but was horrified when she learned that he had told Neil - because of this, Shaz was shipped out of Larkhall, never to be seen again...!