Myra Desmond was a fictional character in the soap opera Prisoner. She was portrayed by Anne Phelan.
Myra first appeared in the storyline as a worker for the Prison Reform Group; she made some brief and isolated appearances in 1980 and 1981 when she helped women prisoners.
The character of Myra was reintroduced to the storyline as a permanent regular character in early 1984. At this point viewers learned that Myra had problems with her abusive husband, who is having an affair. In a fit on anger she kills him. Myra is then placed back inside Wentworth and becomes the new top dog; Bea Smith had been transferred to Barnhurst several months before. Myra became close friends with fellow prisoner Judy Bryant, and found various rivals in prisoners attempting to challenge her in her top dog role. He adversaries included Reb Kean, Marie Winter, Lou Kelly, Bev Baker, Ruth Ballinger. However her strongest enemy was evil warder Joan Ferguson.
Myra escaped from Wentworth after finding that her daughter had become a heroin addict. Myra chose to return to her daughter, and with assistance from friend Wally Wallace help her daughter kick the habit. When the withdrawal symptoms had passed Myra gave herself in.
When three male prisoners were later held in Wentworth, Myra had a love affair with prisoner Geoff McCrae. Myra is almost killed by evil inmates Ruth Ballinger and Lou Kelly with warder Joan Ferguson watching, but after a fellow inmate May Collins and officer Meg Morris arrive on the scene Myra is saved.
A group of terrorists break into Wentworth to try and free Ruth Ballinger but after they find themselves trapped inside the prison they hold all the and bunch of prisoners and two officers hostage and threaten to shoot a hostage every hour until their demand for a safe exit from the prison is met. Lou and Lexie Paterson fail in their attempts to overpower the terrorists, and the first hostage, inmate Tammy Fisher is shot dead. Later, when the intruders prepare to shoot the next hostage Myra stands in the way, and she is told that by doing so she will be the next victim. The other hostages beg the intruders not to kill Myra. Myra tells the women not to beg and she asks inmate Nore Flynn to tell her kids she loves them. The women watch in horror as Myra is shot dead in front of them.
