Bad Girls stars address show's potential comeback
The cast are celebrating the show's 25th anniversary!
Believe it or not, 2024 marks 25 years since hard-hitting drama series Bad Girls first hit our screens, featuring the likes of Linda Henry, Claire King, Debra Stephenson, Jack Ellis, Alicya Eyo, Helen Fraser, Kika Mirylees, Victoria Alcock and Liz May Brice.
Despite the prison drama last airing in 2006, some of the cast have now reunited to celebrate the show's 25th anniversary, with Debra Stephenson, Victoria Alcock, and Jack Ellis all appearing on Wednesday's (3rd January) episode of Loose Women.
Is Bad Girls coming back?
With a wide range of popular TV shows all getting reboots in recent years, it's no surprise fans of Bad Girls have been calling out for the show to return.
However, it sounds like there's no plans in action, with Debra Stephenson saying on Loose Women: “We would have all moved on to different prisons wouldn’t we… I think the way it actually works, prisoners don’t stay in the same place, so I’m not sure if it would actually work as something to come back to.”
Victoria Alcock then added: “I think we all love the characters...”
After seeing the girls on Loose Women, many fans were quick to express their want for more episodes, revealing just how much they loved the ITV/STV show.
One wrote: 'Love bad girls would love to see the show return in the future amazing cast and story lines the to Julie's where brilliant ❤️', with another adding: 'I need this show back'. (sic)
A third wrote: 'Please let it come back', with a fourth commenting: Loved this show! It needs new episodes'. (sic)
Check out which other TV shows we wish would make a comeback:
Footballers' Wives
Broadcasting between 2002-2006, Footballers' Wives followed fictional Premier League football club Earls Park, as well as all of the drama from both the players and their fiery wives! In October 2025, Gary Lucy, who played Kyle Pascoe in the series, said: "We're trying to bring it back but it might be in a slightly different format. I can't say too much about it. But I won't be a footballer in it, I'm too old for that. But in some capacity, yes I'll be in it, definitely."
Bad Girls
Set inside a fictional women's prison, Bad Girls aired on ITV between 1996-2006 and featured some very famous faces, including Claire King and Debra Stephenson.
Benidorm
Airing for a huge 10 series between 2007 and 2018, ITV/STV sitcom Benidorm was a huge hit with fans. Ever since the show ended, fans have been begging creator Derren Litten to create more, with rumours rife in April 2025 that bosses are considering maybe bringing the show back.
Fat Friends
Written by Kay Mellor, sitcom Fat Friends aired between 2000-2005, following a group of friends who attend a slimming club together, with a focus on the various ways their weight has impacted upon them. Over the four series, huge stars appeared including Ruth Jones, James Corden, Lisa Riley, Alison Steadman, Jason Merrells and Lydna Barron.
The Bill
First broadcast in 1983, police drama The Bill certainly proved popular, airing until 2010. The show focused on the lives and work of police officers and starred well-known actors such as Trudie Goodwin, Graham Cole and Mark Wingett.
ER
Running between 1994-2009, medical drama ER starred actors such as George Clooney, Julianna Margulies and Noah Wyle, along with Parminder Nagra, Linda Cardellini and Angela Bassett. ER was set in a Chicago hospital called Cook County General Hospital, in particular their Emergency Department, following the personal and professional lives of the staff and patients.
Friends
Six friends, 10 seasons, and 236 episodes, sitcom Friends will go down in history as being one of the biggest ever TV shows to exist. Airing between September 1994 and May 2004, the final ever episode received a staggering 52.5 million viewers in America alone! Starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer, Friends was given a reunion special in 2021, with all six members re-living the best moments from the show.
Don't Try This At Home
Who remembers sitting down in front of the TV on a Saturday night, watching on as Davina McCall helped members of the public take on tough and fearful challenges?
Sabrina the Teenage Witch
She was confident, funny, magical AND she had a talking cat. Sabrina made us all want to be a witch! The show was also rebooted between 2018 and 2020 as a Netflix series called Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty first landed here in the UK in January 2007, going on to have four hugely successful series. The show, which featured actress America Ferrera, followed a character called Betty Suarez, who despite her lack of 'style', landed a job at a very prestigious fashion magazine.
Where The Heart Is
The British drama, which was filmed in the Yorkshire town of Skelthwaite, proved very popular with viewers between 1997-2006, showcasing the lives of a group of district nurses and their families. Where The Heart is had a stellar cast, including Lesley Dunlop, Christian Cooke and Sarah Lancashire.
Stars In Their Eyes
A true classic! Stars In Their Eyes, originally hosted by Leslie Crowther, first aired in 1990 with Matthew Kelly taking over in 1993. The show did make a return with Harry Hill in 2015, but it didn't quite take off!
The Queen's Nose
Who would have thought that rubbing a 50p coin would be so interesting? We used to love watching the adventures of Harmony as she used up her magic wishes.
Gossip Girl
Although Gossip Girl was given a reboot in 2021 with a brand new cast, it didn't live up to expectations of the original series, which aired between 2007-2012. The original series kick-started the careers of the likes of Leighton Meester, Blake Lively, Ed Westwick, Chace Crawford and Penn Badgley.
Lost
Despite its marmite ending, Lost was one of the biggest TV shows around when it aired between 2004-2010. The hit series follows the survivors of a fictional crash of airline Oceanic Flight 815, as they are stranded on a tropical island and forced to work together in order to survive.
The Inbetweeners
Although it's hard to believe, Channel 4 sitcom The Inbetweeners actually last aired way back in 2010! With continuous talk of a reunion over the last decade, we'd love to see the return of Will MacKenzie, Simon Cooper, Neil Sutherland and Jay Cartwright.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
We'd love to see Will Smith get back into his character alongside Carlton Banks, however we got the next best thing in 2022, with the Fresh Prince reboot called Bel Air, where Jabari Banks played Will Smith.
The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory was on TV from 2007 until 2019. The show centred around two physicists who shared an apartment, Johnny Galecki as Leonard Hofstadter and Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper, and their friendship with Penny, played by Kaley Cuoco, who lived opposite.
Skins
Running for seven series between 2007-2013, British teen drama Skins followed a group of teenagers in Bristol as they navigated their time through sixth form. With each episode focussing on a different character, the cast was made-up of some huge names, including the likes of Nicholas Hoult, Dev Patel, Jack O'Connell, Luke Pasqualino and Hannah Murray.
My Name Is Earl
With a total of 96 episodes, American sitcom My Name Is Earl was loved by fans. Featuring Jason Lee as the main character, small-time crook Earl Hickey, the show follows him as his life changes after he wins $100,000 on a scratch-off lottery ticket. The show first aired on 20th September 2005, with the final episode landing on 14th May 2009.
Wild At Heart
Filmed in South Africa, drama series Wild At Heart aired for seven series between 2006-2012. The show, which featured the likes of Stephen Tompkinson, Dawn Steele, Lucy-Jo Hudson, Amanda Holden and Deon Stewardson, and followed a vet and his family as they emigrate from Bristol to South Africa, where they attempt to rehabilitate a game reserve for wild animals.
London's Burning
Airing between 1988 and 2002, London's Burning documented the lives of a fictional London Fire Brigade Blue Watch at the fictional Blackwall fire station.
With Deborah and Victoria in the Loose Women studio, and Jack joining via a video link from France, the cast were open about how the show's hard-hitting storylines impacted viewers.
Victoria, who played Julie Saunders in the series, said: "Representing people that had never been represented on telly before, we became an ally, and that was absolutely brilliant. So many people from over the years have come up to us and said, ‘You’ve changed our lives, we saw ourselves on telly’.
“And the Bad Girls fans - shout out to them, amazing, beautiful people - but it’s changed them as well. I think for women it was amazing, it was brilliant because it was a female led drama. The format was great, you had the prison and you could have wonderful guests coming in and out, following prison officers and following our lives, it constantly changed.”
Deborah, who portrayed the role of Shell Dockley, revealed one storyline in particular from the show has remained with her over the years.
She said: "The pregnancy storyline was the toughest because I was pregnant, I honestly gave birth about four weeks after I left the show, so that pregnancy tummy was real and my son Max is now 21…
“It does feel like a very long time ago but that pregnancy storyline was the hardest one to deal with because I was so hormonal and I had to actually give birth with a midwife standing by. I thought, ‘I’m just going to have to do the worst acting that I’ve ever done…’.”
How can I watch old episodes of Bad Girls?
All eight series of Bad Girls is available to watch for free on ITVX.
The show is also available to customers of Prime Video.
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