Actor Kate Atkinson was in the first shot of the first scene in the first episode of Foxtel’s hit prison drama Wentworth, and seven seasons later, her Governor Vera Bennett is still a pivotal character.

Since Wentworth’s 2013 debut, Vera has survived being a puppet of psychopathic former governor Joan ‘The Freak’ Ferguson, killed her domineering mother and is now pregnant to shifty prison officer Jake Stewart.

Vera is “very stitched up,” says Atkinson. “She internalises her emotions.” Photo: Foxtel

Nominated for five 2019 Logies, Wentworth season seven premieres on Foxtel on Tuesday, May 28. Before its return, Atkinson, 46, reveals her all-time top scenes to The New Daily.

The Freak gets her freak on (Season Four) 

“The greatest Freak line ever was when Pamela Rabe is in a scene with her psychologist. He manipulates her and tries to have a sexual relationship with her. Pamela utters the immortal line, ‘You f—ed the wrong lunatic’, then kills him.”

Vera hits the bottle (Season Three)

“Joan gets Vera drunk in an effort to extract information. We only had 20 minutes to shoot it, and it was one of those moments where we just rolled the camera and played, and the result came out beautifully. It was one of the first times I thought, ‘I’m in very safe hands here.'”

Vera tells Joan how she really feels. Photo: Foxtel

The tongue in a box (Season Five) 

“Vera goes into her office and thinks she’s going to get a birthday present, but it’s Lucy’s (Sally-Anne Upton) tongue in a box. I remember reading that scene and thinking, ‘I did not see that coming’. The phrase ‘tongue in a box’ has become code on the set for having a bad day. You say, ‘Is it as bad as getting a tongue in a box?'”

Lucy post-attack by The Freak. Photo: Foxtel

Ode to the past (Season One)

“Gorgeous Kris McQuade, who played Jacs, is in her cell and hums the original Prisoner theme. She made it spooky and dark, and it summed up what we’ve done with Wentworth. We’ve unapologetically stolen character names and situations from Prisoner, so it was a subtle way of tipping our hat.”

Fight club (Season Two) 

“I don’t mention many fights because they’re not my favourite bits, but this one is different. It was between Franky (Nicole da Silva) and Bea (Danielle Cormack) and it took them all day to shoot it. The first time I saw it was as an audience member, I thought, ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that. I can’t believe I’m in this show’.”

Bea and Franky play dirty in the laundry. Photo: Foxtel

Farewell, top dog (Season Four) 

“I don’t want to say Bea Smith’s death was one of my favourite scenes because it was horrible to lose such a central character and I’d hate Danielle to read into it that I was happy to see her go, but it is an amazing scene. I love the bit where she says, ‘I win’, then dies. In terms of really brave storytelling, it was an incredible choice from the writers.”

Will and Kaz’s bonding moment (Season Five)

“Will (Robbie Magasiva) and Kaz (Tammy Macintosh) are in the [prison van] and it crashes and rolls into water. The incredibly adversarial relationship between them changes in that moment, plus it’s the most ambitious stunt we’ve ever done on Wentworth. Without every department at the top of their game – lighting, editing, directing, acting, everyone – that sequence would have been impossible.”

Kaz and Will find common ground after their dunking. Photo: Getty

Boomer goes above and beyond (Season Six)

“When Franky finally escapes, Boomer (Katrina Milosevic) is devastated. Not only is she going to lose Franky, but the escape will jeopardise the welding workshop, so she’s torn. So to help Franky, she distracts an officer by offering oral sex. It’s such a poignant moment. The way she offers herself up is so innocent and gorgeous.”