Val also told us about filming the Great Fire of Wentworth, in particular the scenes where Bea, Paddy and Joan climb up to the roof to escape the fire.  Rather than using a set, these scenes were filmed on a real staircase/ladder leading to the roof, with the actresses wearing safety harnesses and being trained and supervised by real firemen.  This ladder is in the same section of the building where the boiler room is located (but we didn't go in there so I couldn't see if Randi Goodlove's body is still decomposing on top of one of the boilers!).
 
At this point we were joined by Annie Phelan and, while chatting about the prison laundry van (Annie had been trying to get it to the studios for our tour but, unfortunately, it isn't registered at the moment), we finally found out what part Val's husband had played in Prisoner.  [See the article  Queen Bea!  which mentions his 'small part' in the show.]  According to Val, he was a 'featured extra' (with a few lines of dialogue) and he unloaded the laundry van in one scene.  Val and Annie also revealed that they worked together in amateur theatre over thirty years ago - Annie turned professional in 1968 and Val in 1972.
 
Then it was time to visit 'The Tunnel'.  As well as being used as the Green Room during the early years of the show, The Tunnel was where the water from shower scenes was syphoned off to.  These scenes were usually done last thing on a Friday and they would try to do them in one take as they only had a limited number of barrels they could syphon the water into, resulting in frequent floods.

'The Tunnel' is basically just a long brick-walled corridor within the Channel 10 building.  Daylight floods in from one end of the corridor but this couldn't be seen by the early Prisoner cast as that end of the Tunnel was partitioned off.  Another show called Carson's Law was being filmed at the studios at the same time and its cast occupied that end of the Tunnel.  According to Val, the Tunnel was airless and always filled with smoke as everyone smoked back then.  Although by the time of her main stint in the show they were using a different Green Room, Annie also recalled the early days spent in the Tunnel and described it as 'awful'.

Val told us how, with the exception of mascara, she never wore any make-up on the show and, in the early days, she and Sheila Florance were the only two cast members who didn't wear make-up.  Annie added that she also didn't wear make-up except for having her face powdered if it was too shiny but Val said she resisted even this as she thought she should look hot and sweaty when working the steam press in the laundry.  She also told us how, on a couple of occasions when she felt the part of the set where she was standing wasn't sufficiently lit, she brought it to the attention of the director by lighting her cigarette lighter under her chin or shining the bottom of an Ajax tin on her face.

 
After finishing the tour, we returned to the canteen where Annie signed autographs for us while we all wrote messages in her 21st anniversary souvenir booklet.  Shane Connor (Bongo Connors) arrived, on his lunch break from Neighbours rehearsals, and kindly spent time signing autographs and chatting to fans.
 
Then there was just chance for a few more pictures before it was time to say goodbye to 'Wentworth' and head back to the city.