| Season Number: | 4 |
| Bgcolour: |
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| Starring: | |
| Num Episodes: | 16 |
| Network: | ITV |
The fourth series of Bad Girls was broadcast on ITV from 28 February 2002, concluded on 13 June 2002 and featured 16 episodes.
Yvonne Atkins (Linda Henry) is being framed for Virginia O'Kane's (Kate O'Mara) murder, there is a game of cat and mouse between her and Jim Fenner (Jack Ellis) while the real culprits - Maxi Purvis (Kerry Norton) and Al McKenzie (Pauline Campbell) continue their reign over G-Wing. But it's not long before Yvonne is ruling the roost again, when Denny Blood (Alicya Eyo) returns and tricks Al into confessing to Virginia's murder.
New inmates Roisin Connor and Cassie Tyler are imprisoned for fraud and in a relationship, complicated, not only by their being behind bars, but by Roisin being a married mother-of-two. The stress of G-Wing mounts for Karen Betts (Claire King), especially when she and Fenner split, but the stress is no longer her problem when she is demoted to basic officer and he is promoted to Wing Governor by Neil Grayling (James Gaddas), the new Governing Governor of Larkhall, who develops an attraction to Fenner. Grayling is trying to keep his sexuality a secret, so he and desperate Di Barker (Tracey Wilkinson) participate in a sham marriage, although Di believes she can change his sexuality, which pushes Grayling away.
The bitter hatred between Maxi and Shaz Wiley (Lindsey Fawcett) grows and ends in tragedy following a brutal fight. Crystal Gordon (Sharon Duncan Brewster) gives birth in the four bed dorm to a daughter but soon loses her faith in religion when another baby in the prison dies. Rhiannon Dawson, Julie Johnston's (Kika Mirylees) daughter arrives on the wing and the Julies are soon facing an additional sentence when the truth about Rhiannon's relationship with her boyfriend, Damion, is revealed. The series tackled domestic violence within the relationship of Di and Barry Pearce and also sees teenage junkie Buki Lester (Kim Oliver) attempt to turn her life around when she enters into a battle for the right to see her disabled son, Lennox.
Yvonne and Karen find themselves at war when Yvonne's son, Ritchie, is revealed to be having a relationship with Karen. This is later revealed as a decoy, as his real girlfriend is new devious inmate, Snowball Merriman (Nicole Faraday), whom Ritchie is helping to escape from Larkhall. The fourth series ended with the prison library being obliterated as part of an escape plan by Snowball, resulting in a fire that left several inmates trapped and fighting for their lives.
Recurring cast:
Guest cast:
See main article: List of Bad Girls episodes.
| Title | Air date | Timeslot | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viewers | Rank | ||||||
| 1 | Fight or Flight | 28 February 2002 | Thursday 9:00 pm | 7,560,000 | 13 | [1] | |
| 2 | Unholy Alliances | 7 March 2002 | Thursday 9:00 pm | 6,830,000 | 17 | ||
| 3 | Behind Closed Doors | 14 March 2002 | Thursday 9:00 pm | 7,300,000 | 15 | ||
| 4 | Fait Accompli | 21 March 2002 | Thursday 9:00 pm | 7,330,000 | 12 | ||
| 5 | Only the Lonely | 28 March 2002 | Thursday 9:00 pm | 6,820,000 | 15 | ||
| 6 | Sweet Sixteen | 4 April 2002 | Thursday 9:00 pm | 6,990,000 | 16 | ||
| 7 | Pillow Talk | 11 April 2002 | Thursday 9:00 pm | 6,920,000 | 17 | ||
| 8 | Prison Issue | 18 April 2002 | Thursday 9:00 pm | 7,100,000 | 18 | ||
| 9 | Baby on Board | 25 April 2002 | Thursday 9:00 pm | 7,120,000 | 14 | ||
| 10 | Family Matters | 2 May 2002 | Thursday 9:00 pm | 6,900,000 | 11 | ||
| 11 | Battle Lines | 9 May 2002 | Thursday 9:00 pm | 7,430,000 | 11 | ||
| 12 | Appearances Sake | 16 May 2002 | Thursday 9:00 pm | 7,120,000 | 12 | ||
| 13 | True Colours | 23 May 2002 | Thursday 9:00 pm | 7,350,000 | 12 | ||
| 14 | Hard Knock Life | 30 May 2002 | Thursday 9:00 pm | 6,590,000 | 14 | ||
| 15 | Marriage of Inconvenience | 6 June 2002 | Thursday 9:00 pm | 6,330,000 | 13 | ||
| 16 | Curtain Call | 13 June 2002 | Thursday 9:00 pm | 7,130,000 | 13 | ||