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Former Prison Governor / Author
Having worked for 16 years in a high-security women's prison dealing with the likes of Rosemary West and Myra Hindley, Vanessa Frake-Harris thought she'd seen it all. That was until she was transferred to the notorious Wormwood Scrubs.
Thrust into a 'man's world', her no-nonsense approach and fearless attitude saw her swiftly rise through the ranks. From dealing with celebrity criminals and busting drug rings to recruiting informers and being subject to violent attacks, her hard-hitting but often humorous memoir reveals all about life behind bars in unflinching detail.
Vanessa was awarded an MBE for her work for the prison service in 2012. She retired early from the prison service, after 26 years, while the Government funding was still in place and things were going well in her job as she wanted to go out on a high.
More recently, in a complete career change, she baked cakes at Angela Reed's Cafe in Saffron Walden and volunteers at Wood Green Animal Sanctuary.
As we approach the end of 2023, I wanted to revisit some of the most memorable moments from the 27 interviews I've conducted this year. This bonus episode is split into two parts. Part 1 features clips from interviews #21 …
I welcome Vanessa Frake-Harris MBE to the show in this interview episode to discuss her book, 'The Governor: My Life Inside Britain's Most Notorious Prisons.' Having worked for 16 years in a high-security women's prison deali...