"I'm happy look at me!"
Hazel Kent was a former inmate at Wentworth Detention Centre.
Hazel before Wentworth looked after her family until she was arrested.
Hazel's life in prison is anything but gentle. Hazel develops an alcohol addiction when she is behind bars and losses the custody of her children.
When Hazel is released from prison she is sent straight back being framed for Nola McKenzie's armed robbery, when it is revealed that Hazel was set up, the police drop the charges on Hazel and charges are put to Nola. Hazel is released again.
Hazel is last seen when she returns to the Driscoll House halfway house where she reveals to Judy Bryant she is dying from a brain tumour, Hazel asks Judy in the end to give her an overdose.
Life in Prison[]
Hazel was initially a background prisoner. Originally her function was to be one of the only prisoners who would talk to Kay White, who had been the cause of the other prisoners losing their work release. Hazel wanted to buy drugs from Kay, as she had sold some to Heather "Mouse" Trapp. Hazel was a pretty quiet prisoner, usually not one to cause trouble, she allied herself with Bea Smith, and even helped in The Great Tunnel Escape at the end of 1980. Bea, Lizzie Birdsworth, Doreen Burns, Judy Bryant, and Mouse all planned to escape down a drain found in the garden, while the rest of the women were putting on a concert for local children. Hazel, dressed as a clown, lead a sing along with the children, singing a slightly slower than normal version of "Nick Nack Paddywack", allowing the other women time to escape.
While not a main character, Hazel eventually evolved into one of the shows secondary characters, only appearing as part of somebody's storyline, although we eventually learn that she has two children, Johnny and Barbie. Her partner George Goscombe is a stepfather to her children. George eventually announces that he is planning to marry his housekeeper and seeing as he's legally adopted Hazel's children, apply for full custody. Hazel naturally goes berserk and ends up attacking Officer Bailey, and ends up in solitary under heavy sedation and then transferred to D block (268).
Eventually Hazel gets released, and stays at the first Driscoll House(330). She is sharing a room with a newcomer named Jean Carter, and discovers a lot of money in Jean's belongings. Hazel steals some, and is arrested when she tries to spend it, as the serial numbers have been recorded - the notes were stolen in a bank robbery. Hazel's confession gets altered to make it look like she committed the crime, and she gets sent to Wentworth, for one of Jean's crimes. Another Prisoner, Paddy Lawson, breaks the no-lagging rule to tell Mrs Davidson the truth about Jean. Hazel is still sentenced to two weeks, but as she has served the time, she is allowed to go free. (Note: Jean Carter, was actually Nola McKenzie)
Hazel decides to forget about living at Driscoll House again and decides to try and make it on her own. She turns up again, however, when Judy Bryant and Meg Jackson find her drunk in a bar. She finds an abandoned baby on the back step and tries to claim the baby is her own. Eventually the child is revealed to belong to Judy's daughter Lori and Hazel is last seen at the halfway house drunkenly lecturing Lori's husband Geoff on the sanctity of marriage (346), and then disappearing without explanation. Hazel's final stretch of episodes came when she turned up at Driscoll House suffering from a terminal brain tumour. She had been living in a caravan and was unable to bear the pain any longer. She decided to end her life, and asked Judy to help her commit suicide as Hazel had turned blind from the brain tumour. Hazel died from an overdose of painkillers on her orders (399).
Judy is arrested for her death in the following episodes as Judy asks Scott what he reckons killed Hazel and he tells her that it is possible that her heart gave out, but Judy blurts out that she didn't have heart trouble would they believe it. Scott who is suspicious firmly believes that it was heart failure. When Scott is questioned by police he tells Judy that the police have ordered an autopsy as the cause of death has become suspicious. Judy is arrested and charged with Hazel's murder, but the charges are downgraded to aiding and abetting in a suicide.
Hazel is mentioned and seen in Judy's flashbacks in episode 534, when Judy remembers the sad ending of Hazel's life while when she is waiting for her parole hearing.
Trivia[]
- Belinda Davey also played the nurse in the very early episodes of Prisoner. Look out for her examining the cigarette burns on Karen Travers' back in the first episode -- a classic example of how the prisoners spoke "rough".
- Hazel joins Margo Gaffney, Mouse (Heather Trapp), Lou Kelly, Alice Jenkins and others who are characters that began as background extras.