This year marks 25 years since the explosive, hard-hitting prison drama Bad Girls hit the big screen.
And to mark the remarkable anniversary, former co-stars Victoria Alcock, Debra Stephenson and Jack Ellis reunited on Wednesday as they joined Loose Women.
Bad Girls ran for eight series from 1999 to 2006 and told the story of inmates and officers at Larkhall Women's Prison.
The trio recalled their time on the show and revealed whether they think the show would ever make a comeback.
Jack, 68, who played prison officer Jim Fenner, joked: “I think we'd have to go back to a nursing home with all of us.”
The Bad Girls cast reunited on Loose Women on Wednesday to celebrate the show's 25th anniversary (pictured Debra Stephenson and Victoria Alcock LR)
Bad Girls ran for eight series from 1999 to 2006 and told the story of inmates and officers at Larkhall Women's Prison
Meanwhile, 55-year-old Victoria added: “We would all have moved to other prisons, some of us would have gotten out while some of us would have been on life sentences.”
“I’m not sure it would work as something I could come back to.”
When Victoria, who played Julie Saunders, spoke about how she felt filming all those years ago, she confessed: “Reading it seemed like yesterday!” It's the largest free-standing set in Europe and I remember that it was huge when I walked in and thought, “Damn!”
And Debra, 51, who played Shell Dockley, admitted the cast had no idea how the show would be received.
“We all thought, 'What is this going to be?' Will it be a hit or a miss?' “We really didn’t know,” she said.
“It was so different to everything else at the time and we just didn’t know if it was going to be a big flop or a big success.”
Victoria added: “After the first season they weren't sure, but after the first season it just went uphill and here we are now.”
Since the series ended in 2006, Victoria has played a number of small roles in other dramas including Call The Midwife, Doctor Who and Holby City.
Debra, 51, who played Shell Dockley, admitted the cast had no idea how the show would be received
Debra, 51, who played Shell Dockley, admitted the cast had no idea how the show would be received
When asked which scene was the most difficult for her to film, Debra revealed that she struggled with her pregnancy story as she was also pregnant in real life at the same time
The actress revealed that she had to give her best for the birth scene as she didn't want to give birth accidentally in real life
Speaking about the impact of the powerful drama, Victoria, 55, gushed: “We represented people who had never been represented on TV before, we became an ally and that was absolutely brilliant.”
She most recently played the role of Val in the ITV series Changing Ends, which tells the autobiographical story of Alan Carr's life.
The star has been married to Nic Goodey since 2004 and the couple have one child together.
Speaking about the impact of Bad Girls, Victoria gushed: “We represented people who had never been represented on television before, we became allies and that was absolutely brilliant.”
“So many people have come up to us over the years and said, 'You changed our lives, we saw each other on TV.'
“And the Bad Girls fans – kudos to them, amazing, beautiful people – but it changed them too. “I think for women it was great, it was brilliant because it was a female-led drama. “
When asked which scene was the most difficult for her to film, Debra revealed that she struggled with her pregnancy story as she was also pregnant in real life at the same time.
“I gave birth about four weeks after I left the show, so the pregnancy bump was real.”
“It feels like a long time ago, but the pregnancy story was the hardest for me to process because I was so hormonal and actually had to give birth with a midwife.” I thought, 'I have to just do the worst acting I've ever done…'.”
Olivia Attwood-Dack asked: “If you actually went into labor?”
Debra continued, “Yeah, because you're trained to take it from the brain, from the paper, into the body and embody that character in that moment, and I thought, I can't afford that,” so I had to cut me off.'
Speaking about how she felt filming all those years ago, Victoria, who played Julie Saunders, confessed: “Reading it seemed like yesterday!” (pictured with Kika Mirylees, who played Julie Johnston)
Jack, 68, also joined the women virtually and revealed how he coped with portraying his “evil” character: “That’s a very good question, I’m an actor, that’s my job and I had to do it pretty regularly make.”
Jack played prison guard Jim Fenner (pictured alongside James Gaddas)
Debra and Victoria reminisced about the show alongside Coleen Nolan, Linda Robson, Olivia Attwood-Dack and Brenda Edwards
She added: “So that was the birth, but when they took the baby away.” [during filming]“It just hit me and it took about ten years before I could talk about it without bursting into tears.”
Debra married building contractor Jamie Duffield in 1999. The couple has two children, Max (21) and Zoe (15).
After leaving Bad Girls, the actress starred in Coronation Street before appearing as a reporter on GMTV as part of The Richard Arnold Show.
Most recently, she starred as a regular team captain alongside Rory Bremner in the ITV1 panel show The Imitation Game, hosted by Alexander Armstrong, and portrayed Melania Trump and Lady Margaret in the animated film The Queen's Corgi.
Jack also joined the women virtually on the show and revealed how he coped with portraying his “evil” character: “That's a very good question, I'm an actor, it's my job and I had to do it pretty regularly.”
“It tugs at your heartstrings a little bit, so I really enjoyed finishing work, getting on the subway and getting back to life, because life isn't really like that.”
“To be honest, I’m not really a method actor [Debra] And [Victoria] I'll check it out, but I have to say after about five series it got a little worn out and it got to the point where I had to leave.”
Jack married fellow actress Christine Kavanagh in 1983, but the couple have since divorced. The two share children Theo and Alice. Theo (middle right) is the bassist of the band Wolf Alice (pictured)
After leaving Bad Girls, Jack also joined Coronation Street before concentrating his career on theater work.
The actor's last role was in 2019's Doctors.
Jack married fellow actress Christine Kavanagh in 1983, but the couple have since divorced. The two share children Theo and Alice.
Theo is the bassist for Mercury Prize-winning indie band Wolf Alice.