Franky Doyle was an inmate at Wentworth Detention Center appearing from Episodes 001 - 020. She was born in Melbourne, Victoria on the 17th April, 1948.
Life In Prison
Franky was a lesbian biker, who was inside for life, for armed robbery and murder. She immediately took a liking to Karen Travers who was originally sharing her cell, but after a few sweet nothings from Franky, Karen requested a cell change.
Franky also had a fondness for Doreen Anderson, who didn't really like Franky's advances either, except Doreen being a follower, accepted it. Upon learning that she and Doreen were split up into different cells, Franky immediately trashed the rec room and got locked up in solitary for it. While there, she received a visit from Miss Bennett, during which Franky gave her the immortal nickname VINEGAR TITS.
Shortly after this, Franky started a riot in the dining area in protest at Bea Smith's return to Wentworth, and the fact that she lost some of her followers. Bea was a tough "top dog" not ready to take any nonsense, but Franky would take their cigarettes and other items from their buy-ups. The riot eventually ended with Bea laying into her, and Bill Jackson being stabbed.
Not long after these events, Franky is visited by her brother Gary, who tells her he plans to build a house in the country, eventually getting all the money from saving his wages. She is given the idea of possibly getting out in 3 or more years if she manages to behave herself from that point on.
We learn that Franky is illiterate, and upon hearing this, Karen Travers takes on the task of helping her to learn to read. Franky also receives some bad news in the form of a telegraph, about her brother being in
hospital, having been in a tractor crash. She can only read a few words, and when someone else reads it, she tells her that everything is fine, as the women are worried about her reaction.
When Franky eventually finds out the truth, it's too late for her to see her brother, as he has died. It is surprising she doesn't react violently, but she blames only herself for hiding the fact that she cannot read or write.
Franky and Bea
From this point on she sees no point keeping up the good behaviour, and eventually escapes Wentworth with Doreen and Lizzie Birdsworth. Lizzie's old ticker fails her, so the pair take her back to near the gates, and run for their lives.
On the run Franky and Doreen realise they can't go far without money, so they mug a kid for food, then decide to dress as nuns to collect money, after they realise they are hiding on the grounds of a convent. They get the idea to rob an old person at home, so still posing as nuns, they find a lady who lives alone and never has visitors. They invite themselves in with the intention of mugging her, but the lady reveals she knows exactly who they are, and that she's just happy to have company.
Death
Eventually Franky and Doreen are forced on the run again, after being spotted by a policemen. They are moments away from carrying out a robbery, and after being seen by a policeman, Franky manages to shoot the policeman in the arm before being shot dead by the same policeman herself. Franky's final words were "Bloody Bastards!"
Sadly, on December 21st 2015, the actress who portrayed Franky Doyle (Carol Burns) died of cancer at the age of 68.
Behind the Scenes
- Upon learning of the decision to continue Prisoner beyond it's original 16 episodes, Carol Burns asked to be written out of the show, fearing that an increased production schedule would affect the quality of her acting. In the dvd commentary for Episode 001, Ian Bradley explained that Carol often took a few minutes to gear herself up for a scene, such as trashing the rec-room, and considering time is a factor when making a tv show, he understood the decision.
- Franky Doyle was portrayed by the late Carol Burns.
- Also in the same commentary, it was revealed that given the original premise of 16 episodes, Carol, who was not a native of Melbourne, actually resided in a caravan in the channel 10 car park during filming.
- Carol Burns said she got the idea on how to play Frankie from real life situations, she gave one example saying shortly after being cast she was on a train and heard two kids going "piss off" to each other in a typical punk kid sort of way, to which she thought that’s how an illiterate bikie would sound