Hannah Temple
Played by
Sian Reeves
Hannah was a middle class Stepford wife who snapped one day and stabbed her abusive and controlling husband, leaving him crippled. Having married young, with no family of her own and no career prospects, Hannah’s husband Jim had been her entire world. Suddenly her world was Holloway women’s prison. To start with going to prison was a relief, because it meant she could get away from that horror of being on tenterhooks for every second of the day. But it wasn’t long before the reality of the situation sank in – Hannah, the perfect homemaker; compulsively organised; paragon of moral virtue, had ruined her life… or had she? Meeting Ellie and the others, changed Hannah’s outlook – gave her the friends and the closeness that had previously been denied her by Jim, and showed her she could actually have control of her own life.
In her own mind, Hannah's not a ‘real’ criminal – stabbing Jim was a matter of self-preservation. Nevertheless, it was a shock for her to realise how much anger she had repressed as a result of the constant oppressive tension within her marriage. What she likes about Ellie, Shoo and Josie is that everything's very black and white. For once she knows where she stands.
A coiled spring of buried emotions, Hannah masks this with her sensible demeanour and wry wit. She has a cautious, rational approach to problem solving, something which is in complete contrast to top dog Ellie's impetuous, intuitive, school-of-life knowledge. In the village, Hannah works hard to ensure that the word "legitimate" becomes part of the girls' vocabularies. For her, the thought of being banged-up again is truly unthinkable. As well as Hannah's analytical abilities, she has practical domestic skills which are sorely lacking in her three friends. These skills give Hannah a new-found sense of purpose and self-esteem as she finds her place within their new hotel business venture.
Read our interview with Sian Reeves.