Prisoner actress opens up about 'nightmare' wrongful sex assault conviction

Celebrated Australian actress Maggie Kirkpatrick has opened up about her scarring struggle through the court system after she was accused of the sexual assault of a teenage fan.

Kirkpatrick, now 78, has decades of theatre and TV work under her belt, but her role as sadistic guard Joan "The Freak" Ferguson on Prisoner would still to most Australians be her most iconic.

Her tumultuous ups and downs are the focus of a new autobiography, The Gloves Are Off, and Kirkpatrick spoke to A Current Affair about one of her lowest points.

It was New Years Eve in 2013 when she learned she was facing allegations of sexual assault dating back to 1985.

"To be confronted with such a phone call, and such an accusation," she said.

"Well, the bottom just fell out of my world."

Kirkpatrick said she met the then-14-year-old girl, in 1985, at a psychiatric facility, after she was asked to visit.

She invited the teen to her home for a meal, and for respite.

"It would never be allowed now, for a person of some profile to visit a fan alone," Kirkpatrick said.

"The person was in a facility at the time, and I had on many occasions visited fans in Sydney."

After realising the girl had got into alcohol from her dining room cabinet, Kirkpatrick ordered her a taxi and sent her back to the facility.

Then, years later, came the call.

"I complied with what was asked of me, and expected that to be the end of it," Kirkpatrick said.

But in what was to become one of her darkest days, Kirkpatrick was wrongfully convicted of sexual assault in August 2015.

She was cleared on appeal in December.

"It was my worst nightmare," Maggie told A Current Affair.

"That's all I can say."

She said following the grinding stress of the trial, she developed post-traumatic stress disorder, a struggle she details in her book.

She was also frank about the media storm that engulfed her at the time, saying she believed the lasting impact of her onscreen role as "The Freak" played into the coverage of the trial.

"The trashy reports, it was constantly 'Joan Ferguson'," she said.

"No respect at all, but I guess that's the way things are. Guilty until proven innocent."

But she was able to rely on the support of her family the entire time.

"They were there," she said.

"And their love was unconditional."