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General

Christine Angela Latham was a former inmate of Wentworth Detention Centre.

Before her life in Wentworth Chrissie was sexually abused as a child by her father. Her brother Derek knew of this and did nothing to stop it (for which he later felt guilty for.)

It is revealed that she was born in England and moved to Australia as a child with her family in search of a better life. Chrissie spent a short time living with Derek and his wife.

Chrissie is seen as a manipulator and a bitchy "princess" but Chrisse later in the series tones it down,

Chrissie ends up being Shanghai-ed back to Barnhurst on Joan Ferguson's "orders" claiming Latham was a security risk she is sent back to Barnhurst during an exercise period, much to the inmates and Governor's displeasure.

Before Barnhurst[]

Chrissie Latham is first seen as part of Franky Doyle's gang sitting next to her at lunch. Chrissie was frequently inside for various prostitution and fraud offences. She was a would-be-nymphomaniac with no male prisoners around, but it didn't stop her making attempts on male staff, such as the well-liked Bill Jackson. In a fit of jealousy, Chrissie ended up stabbing Bill with a pair of scissors instead of stabbing his wife Meg Jackson. She was transferred to Fairlea Prison, but not before Bea Smith and her gang attempted to scalp Chrissie, giving her a massive cut in the process.

Return to Wentworth[]

When Chrissie returned later in the year, it was discovered that she was pregnant, the father being one of the male officers at Fairlea. Originally intending to abort the baby (with a DIY job), she decides to keep it, partly to avoid a bashing from Bea, and gives birth to a girl prematurely. She names her Elizabeth, after Lizzie Birdsworth.

Chrissie is given the privilege of regular visits to hospital to see her daughter until she is healthy and old enough to leave. She almost jeopardizes this however with her lesbian relationship with drug pusher Sharon Gilmour. Chrissie attacks Sharon's long-term girlfriend, Judy Bryant, with a chair. When Chrissie realizes she could lose her visiting rights to see Elizabeth, she breaks it off with Sharon and is moved to the maternity wing to be with her daughter.

She eventually gets released from Wentworth and moves in with an old boyfriend Mick O'Brien, whom she met in Barnhurst and he is in fact Elizabeth's father. All they need now is custody over Elizabeth but it all goes wrong when it turns out that Mick is an escaped prisoner called Mark Brendan.

Derek, her long lost brother since 10 years, turns up feeling guilty over how he's treated Chrissie in the past. He offers Chrissie and Elizabeth a home with his wife Brenda to make up for things (197).

Chrissie returns to Wentworth after she is arrested at the airport for social security fraud (286). She was discovered claiming welfare benefits under three different names. She tries to seduce both Joan Ferguson (failing as Joan knew what Chrissie was doing) and Steve Fawkner to get help to prevent her sister-in-law Brenda Latham from gaining custody of Elizabeth. She becomes involved as a go-between in Hannah Simpson's escape attempt and escapes in Hannah's place, but is herself held hostage by Duncan Campbell.

She is soon recaptured and returned to Wentworth, where she attacks Joan Ferguson but is badly beaten by her instead. Chrissie enlists the help of the male nurse Neil Murray in a further escape attempt, but he kidnaps her and would have killed her but for the intervention of the police. During the rehearsals for the joint concert at Woodridge, she comes up against Duncan Campbell's cronies. She is involved in starting the fire at Wentworth, blaming herself for the deaths of Mouse and Barbara Fields, although she only starts a minor fire in the library.

When the women are evacuated to Woodridge after the fire, she has another near escape from Neil Murray. Joan Ferguson has her transferred to Barnhurst by going over Erica Davidson's head to the Department (338), Chrissie is sent back to Barnhurst after a recreation period making the women furious as a result.

Chrissie's last lines are "No, let me go!"

Trivia[]

  • Chrissie was meant to reappear near the end of the series, when Joan left Wentworth to work in security it was to be revealed that Chrissie was the boss instead of Willie Beecham, however Amanda Muggleton was unable to return and if one listens to Willie's dialogue when she appears especially when she says "It's been a long time... Freak" it can be sensed that the lines are better suited to Latham.
  • Chrissie Latham loosely appears in the Stage Show that toured the UK in 1989 and 1990, due to Amanda Muggleton's portrayal it was clear that she owned the role so the character was rewritten into Angela Mason as played by Glenda Linscott, then in the second tour renamed as Kath Evans this time played by Jacqui Gordon.
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