'Prisoner: Cell Block H' stars row over royalties

The former cast members of Prisoner have allegedly fallen out over royalties for the show.

Val Lehman, who played Bea Smith in the Australian cult series - known internationally as Prisoner: Cell Block H - said that she was deliberately left off the guest list for a charity reunion by Screen Star Events. She added it is because she thinks her former co-stars are "jealous" that she makes more money from the show.

Lehman told The Daily Telegraph that she had a royalty payment clause written into her contract before the series premiered in 1979 and cannot help the fact that the other actors did not think to do the same.

"There are some cast members who are, perhaps, a bit jealous that I receive royalties from things like DVD sales - something I was smart enough to negotiate into my contract back in 1978," she said. "But I was the only one smart enough to do it. And there are some that are just p*ssed off."

The Screen Star event is being described online as a "gathering of the full Prisoner cast". However, while cast members such as Maggie Millar, Margot Knight and Annie Phelan will attend, Lehman is yet to receive her invitation.

Organiser Barry Campbell said that he hoped to ask Lehman at a later date "to build up interest in the event", to which she replied: "That's very surprising that they've left it this long."

Last year, Channel Ten revealed that they are launching a remake of Prisoner called Inside Out.