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General

"Perhaps she knew Yatesy on the outside."

Joyce Pringle is a senior officer at Wentworth Detention Centre.

Joyce during the series run served as the union rep for the prison and also served as acting deputy governor and acting governor, during her tenure as acting Governor, Joyce had to deal with Joan and the men from Woodridge, Joyce got married to prison chef Mervin Pringle,

Joyce was kind and compassionate but could be firm with the prisoners when needed be, Joan Ferguson disliked her and the others got along with her just fine,

Joyce before marrying Merv was married to Norm but they split and when he died she was heartbroken for the wife he had taken on.

Time At Wentworth[]

Originally a minor character, Joyce was first seen in Episode 29 gossiping about Vera Bennett and her friendship with disgraced prison officer Anne Yates.

Joyce seemed to be the officer of choice when an officer was needed but the scene wasn't important enough to warrant Meg Jackson's niceness or Vera's nastiness. Joyce was mainly used to deliver when a fair amount of dialogue was needed. As a result of this it's some time before Joyce gets any history.

Joyce during Fletcher's run as governor called in for action after Chrisse Latham is brought back to Wentworth, as union rep Joyce and other officers decided to strike for Meg because of Fletcher not reading the files that were brought in by Vera Bennett.

Usually, she is shown as very friendly but is considered to be an intelligent officer. She does show compassion to the prisoners but she is also firm with them when needed and even frets about when a prisoner is injured and an officer is hurt as well.. 

JoyceAsActingGovernor

Joyce Serving as acting governor, when Ann was kidnapped

Joyce got along with her workmates although she could be one to listen to gossip. Although she had a mostly trouble free time as an officer of Wentworth, even when temporarily promoted to acting Governor during the kidnapping of Ann Reynolds and Meg Morris is that she struggled to maintain a type of order, with Joan being Joan and being in her ear about security, and when she is having it out with Joan about more security and the men from Woodridge, she tells Joan to back off, but to the surprise of both Joan and Joyce, Ann opens the door and says she is returning to the governorship, much to Joyce's happiness. Later when she returns to work as a guard she takes Kelly her meal in isolation and that is until she was taken hostage by Lou Kelly during her escape (491) and is found by the police in her car boot, tied up and is later hospitalized when bashed by Eve Wilder (587).

JoyceMervBreakie

Joyce and Merv enjoy their pre-wedding breakfast

Joyce returns to work eventually and marries prison cook Mervin and the two enjoy a pre-wedding breakfast at the prison and during their breakfast celebrate with the women who cook their meal for them and enjoy some entertainment before all officers are required to go back on duty because Lou Kelly was found dead in solitary.

Joyce in later seasons marries Mervin and the two share their lives together since then, she also later helps Meg in disobeying orders when Wilkinson becomes catatonic after killing Craven and is almost transferred to Barnhurst with Meg as a result. 

Joyce in the series finale was on desk duty when the alarm for Rita's escape was made and called Ferguson "rude" when she pressed the escape button, Joyce was there to witness Joan's downfall and her arrest when she was led out the prison gates the following morning by police.

Personal Life[]

Joyce was married before her appearance on prisoner. We see her husband Norm at Meg Jackson's housewarming party and then later at Colleen Powell's leaving party. Norm was also shown to be very supportive of Joyce during her troubled time as union rep. However, the marriage later became strained and Joyce separated from him. She soon took up with prison cook, Mervin Pringle, whom she had grown close to. Joyce seemed unsurprising but slightly jealous when Norm took up with family friend Beryl Simmonds after they had separated. When Norm later died, it was Joyce he had asked for, not Beryl. Norm and Joyce's apparent closeness here caused worry for both Mervin and Beryl. Norm and Joyce are shown to have one child, a son called Jim.

Joyce later married Mervin, eventually gaining the blessing and approval of her son Jim, who had previously shown disdain for Mervin the two have a good marriage and Mervin even tells Joyce about his epilepsy. Joyce is quite friendly with most staff, though was shown not to be on good terms with Vera Bennett or Joan Ferguson which she argues with Joan on multiple occasions and at one point slaps Joan and has words with Vera as well, but not as aggressively as she did with Joan.. She is good friends with Meg Morris, Ann Reynolds, Dennis Cruikshank, Pat Slattery and Andrea Radcliffe.

Trivia[]

  • Although we see Norm Barry, it was previously mentioned that Joyce's husband was named Terry. This could be explained by Joyce remarrying, but if Terry's surname was Barry, then the chances of remarrying another man with the same surname are quite slim.
  • Joyce has a son called Jim, and also sympathized with a prisoner suffering morning sickness, yet in a later episode, she mentions never being able to have children. When she finds out that Meg Morris intends to have an abortion after she falls pregnant due to being raped, Joyce is seen discouraging her. She later explains that she herself was made have an abortion at a very young age and subsequently could have no biological children with Norm.
  • In Episode 195, she states that she has two children aged 15 and 12.
  • Joyce is the second longest serving Wentworth officer after Meg Jackson.
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