"Where the ITV Bad Girls Cast is Now: From EastEnders Roles to Surprising Incidents - OK! Magazine"

Bad Girls, the much-adored ITV prison drama, drew in a whopping 9.5 million viewers at its height. The hard-hitting show entered our lives in June 1999, tackling issues such as bullying, rape, suicide, miscarriage and drug use. The programme adeptly portrayed the relationships between the inmates and staff at Larkhall prison.

When the show concluded in 2006, many of its cast members went on to have highly successful careers, with four even reuniting in the same soap family. Here, we take a look at what happened to the stars, 25 years after the series first graced our screens.

After making her debut in the second-to-last episode of the first series, Yvonne quickly ascended to 'Top Dog' status. A force to be reckoned with, Yvonne ran the show in the prison and wasn't afraid to confront the prison guards.

However, her reign was cut short when she was brutally murdered by Jim Fenner at the end of series 5. Viewers were heartbroken as they watched Yvonne gasping for air inside a chilling old cell after being locked in by the twisted prison officer.

Actress Linda Henry didn't stay off our screens for long as she took on the iconic role of Shirley Carter on EastEnders in December 2006. This wasn't her first time on the soap, as Linda originally played Lorraine Salter back in the 1990s.

Linda's character left Walford in December 2022 following the presumed death of her son Mick, reports the Mirror.

Shell Dockley, portrayed by the talented Debra Stephenson, was the most feared character in the first three series of Bad Girls. Shell was a lifer with a chilling backstory of kidnapping, torturing and murdering the woman her boyfriend had left her for.

She managed to break out of prison for a few series but was eventually recaptured and made a brief comeback in series five before being sent to a psychiatric hospital after giving birth.

After bidding farewell to Bad Girls, Debra Stephenson joined the cast of Coronation Street as Frankie Baldwin, becoming Bradley Walsh's on-screen spouse. Embracing her talent for mimicry, Debra teamed up with Jon Culshaw on The Impressions Show from 2009 to 2011.

She's had two stints on Doctors and recent roles include appearances in Holby City and Mrs Brown's Boys.

Karen Betts, played by Claire King, was the formidable new G-wing governor introduced in series two, known for her no-nonsense approach. Her tenure lasted until series six when she was wrongfully implicated in a hit-and-run by her tumultuous lover Fenner.

'It was such good fun, it really was,' Claire reminisced on Loose Women about her time on the show. 'You'd think it would be a nightmare with 30, 40 women all trapped in the same area for eight months of the year, but actually we did make it fun, because it was such a depressing place to work in.'

Claire has graced a number of reality TV shows, including Strictly Come Dancing in 2006 and Celebrity Big Brother in 2014. She spent three years on Coronation Street as Erica Holroyd, who was romantically involved with Nick and was Liz's best mate.

Then in 2018, she made a dramatic comeback to Emmerdale as super villain Kim Tate after a 20-year hiatus - and she's still stirring up trouble in the village today.

EastEnders legend Sid Owen joined the Bad Girls cast in 2006 for the final series. Sid portrayed prison guard Donny Kimber, who embarked on a sexual relationship with inmate Janine Nebeski.

Janine was played by Nicola Stapleton, who was also Sid's on-screen lover in EastEnders as she portrayed Mandy Salter. Things actually ended quite well for Donny and Janine as she had their baby and they got engaged.

As for Sid, he reprised his iconic role as Ricky Butcher on EastEnders in 2008 alongside Patsy Palmer as Bianca. After four years, Sid departed once again and went on to appear in Strictly Come Dancing and The Jump.

In 2020, Sid broke his jaw and damaged his teeth in a freak accident while on holiday when a golf ball rebounded off a tree into his face. Last year, following reconstructive surgery, he appeared on Channel 4 reality show Banged Up, a social experiment which saw celebrities thrown behind bars.

Original character Rachel Hicks was only in four episodes, but her shocking exit is one viewers won't easily forget. The teenage prisoner tragically took her own life inside after learning her mother had given her daughter up for adoption.

Actress Joanne Froggatt has since starred in several major shows, including Robin Hood, The Street and Life on Mars. She portrayed Anna Bates in Downton Abbey for five years and reprised the role for the 2019 film.

Most recently, Joanne had viewers questioning who was telling the truth in two series of ITV drama Liar as main character Laura.

Denny Blood was a violent inmate who was Shell's on-off lover while they were incarcerated together. She was one of the few characters who gained her freedom, moving to an open prison before being released after five series.

Alicya Eyo, who played the tough character, is best known for her role as Ruby Haswell on Emmerdale for four years. She met a violent end in the horrific helicopter crash that devastated the village.

Alicya has also made appearances in Doctors, Holby City, Casualty and Silent Witness.

Jim was the wicked prison officer who would stop at nothing to torment the prisoners and get his own way. He lied and even committed murder to climb the ranks, including poor Yvonne, eventually becoming the governor.

However, he finally received his just desserts in the second to last series when he was drugged by Julie J in the same room where he had previously murdered Yvonne. Since departing from the soap in 2008, Jack has made appearances in Doctors and Coronation Street as betting shop owner Harry Mason.

More recently, Jack has taken on a number of theatre roles, including performances in Richard III, Expectations and a return to prison-themed drama in The Shawshank Redemption. He also portrayed a slightly different version of a prison officer in the French drama Versailles in 2018.

Appearing in the first four series, Crystal was a religious prisoner who fell for technician Josh. She was briefly released but found herself back behind bars after being caught harbouring escaped inmate Shell.

Sharon Duncan went on to star in Doctor Who, Holby City, Top Boy, Doctors, Waking The Dead and as Senator Palmo in the Star Wars film Rogue One. However, her most notorious role was as Trina Johnson in EastEnders - where she met a brutal end when ex-husband Lucas pushed her into a garden rake.

She later played one of Jackson's mums in the Netflix series Sex Education and starred in 2021's Dune.

Sylvia Hollamby, also known as 'Bodybag', featured in both the very first and very last episodes of Bad Girls. As one of only three characters to last the entire run of the show, the long-serving prison officer was disliked by inmates and governors alike.

Over the years, there were numerous attempts on her life, but she managed to survive being pushed down the stairs, nearly being burnt and being attacked by her husband on their honeymoon. This was undoubtedly Helen Fraser's most recognised role, which she reprised in the West End musical version in 2007.

She also stripped off while touring with Calendar Girls and made a second appearance on Corrie as Doris Babbage, 15 years after she had portrayed Magenta Savannah.

Former prostitute Julie S, one half of the notorious 'Two Julies', featured in all eight series of the show. There aren't many TV shows that actress Victoria Alcock hasn't been on, as she has appeared in Holby City, Call The Midwife, Doctors, Birds Of A Feather.

In an unusual twist, she also played the role of Mandy Salter's mum on EastEnders in 2012. Her Bad Girls co-star Linda Henry had already played the role a few years before she was cast as Shirley Carter.

Viewers will recognise Victoria from her role as Miche's mum in the BBC Three comedy series People Just Do Nothing and for roles in Changing Ends and Spent.

The other half of the 'Two Julies', Kika portrayed Julie J in every single series of Bad Girls. After the show ended, she played Garry Hobbs' mum Hazel in EastEnders then made guest appearances on New Tricks, Not Going Out and Holby City.

She took on a role in Doctors in 2020 and subsequently worked as an acting coach and councillor for Waverly Borough Council.

Lorna was a young prison officer who appeared in the first series before being dismissed. She was coerced by Shell into smuggling drugs into the prison but was eventually discovered by her superiors.

Poor Lorna was arrested and naturally sacked from her job - and was never seen again. However, we did see actress Luisa again when she made a comeback on Holby City and Doctors.

Then she secured the role of the endearing Tina Carter in EastEnders in 2013, becoming the on-screen sister of Bad Girls co-star Linda Henry's character, Shirley. Tina has been involved in some very emotional storylines, including domestic violence, reliving a traumatic experience and losing both her parents.

Kellie featured in the fourth series as Cassie, who was released from jail after saving Neil Grayling in a fire incident. The actress played Ali G's girlfriend 'Me Julie' and Del Boy's mum in Only Fools prequel Rock And Chips before securing the significant role of Linda Carter on EastEnders.

Kellie became the third member of the Bad Girls cast to join the Carter family and has been part of some powerful storylines, including Linda's rape ordeal, alcoholism and having a baby later in life. Linda was reinstated as the Queen Vic landlady and discovered she is pregnant with Max Branning's baby.

In 2015, Kellie took part in Strictly Come Dancing and made it to the final with professional partner Kevin Clifton.

Angela Robbins seemed like a gentle inmate, but she was actually concealing a significant secret. It was later disclosed that she was suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder and attacked the governor in one episode of the final series.

Actress Annette Badland was the fourth Bad Girls star to join the Carter family on EastEnders. She portrayed the scheming Aunt Babe, who was always involved in some wicked plots and was eventually booted out of the Queen Vic when her schemes were discovered.

Aunt Babe cursed the Carter family when she left, and EastEnders fans are hoping for her return one day. She went on to star in a variety of stage plays and TV shows including Ted Lasso, Big Boys and Midsomer Murders.

Di Barker was arguably the kindest prison officer, although that's not saying much. She married Fenner but became the prime suspect in his murder due to their divorce, and was last seen on remand.

Actress Tracey Wilkinson starred in Outlander in 2016 and Amazon's Carnival Row. She even had a reunion with Bad Girls co-star James Gaddas on Casualty.

Bad Girls is available to watch on ITVX