Now that Bea Smith (Danielle Cormack) is dead, there has to be a new favorite character in "Wentworth" Season 5. It is not impossible that Joan "The Freak" Ferguson (Pamela Rabe) will take Bea's place as the most iconic character of the SoHo drama series.
In "Wentworth" Season 4 episode 12 titled "Seeing Red," Joan attacked Bea, which led to the seemingly poetic death of the latter. In a furious attack, the former repeatedly stabbed the latter with a screwdriver.
Aside from the shocking death of a favorite character in the "Wentworth" Season 4 finale, Allie (Kate Jenkinson) came back to life. It was considered a miracle because doctors had already written her off.
Some fans hope that Bea will have the same miracle. However, producers have confirmed that Cormick is not reprising her role as Bea in "Wentworth" Season 5.
It appears that the decision to kill off Bea is a calculated move. In a statement obtained by News.com.au, "Wentworth" executive producer Jo Porter said, "It is always an incredibly difficult decision to say farewell to a much-loved and revered character like Bea Smith."
Porter said that the storyline has had such a huge impact on them and fans would surely feel the same. She said the decision was particularly hard as it meant also saying goodbye to Cormack.
Whether or not Rabe takes Cormack's place is yet to be seen in "Wentworth" Season 5. There are still no details about the new characters to be introduced in the new season.
In "Wentworth" Season 4, Joan transitioned from being a governor to a prisoner. Rabe told Female First that the transition was quite challenging and very exciting.
Rabe said she was very intrigued with all the twists and turns that the "Wentoworth" writers threw into Joan's past. She added that she did her best to embrace Joan's past and work out how her character would "work her way through those things."
Watch an interview with Rabe here: