A former MP who has been targeted by hardened criminals has opted to fight back in an unusual way.
Neil Parish, a farmer and former Tory politician, has been locked up within HMP Shrewsbury, a Victorian jail that was decommissioned in 2013.
The series casts well-known actors as convicts to see firsthand what life is like on the inside, sharing tight quarters alongside ex-cons.
Parish, who is arguably most remembered for watching pornography in the Commons chamber during a discussion, chooses to stand up for himself in the next episode after a former convicted burglar bullies him.
Some of the ‘pranks’ Tony plans to do include spilling an entire bin over Parish’s bed, putting body wash in his pillowcase, and hanging a bucket of water on a door so that it falls on the politician when he steps into his cell.
‘How about we give this MP a little bit of a shower,’ he says before it all plays out, as seen in an clip ahead of tonight’s show.
It’s clearly the final straw for Parish, who subsequently produces a video diary in which he declares his readiness to stand up for himself.
Parish is placed in a cell with international drug dealer Chet Sandhu, who would rather “chop up people than trees.” He is advised on how to effectively fight back.
While learning how to construct a weapon out of a toothbrush and a razor, Parish decides to take a different approach to self-defense.
As he admits, prison is ‘scary’, and he’s learnt it’s necessary to be ‘careful and watchful’.
‘You immediately think, what is going to happen next? It’s a bit like in politics. You never quite know when something is going to blow,’ he shares.
He continues: ‘Neil Parish. You must stand up for yourself.’
With few options for retaliation, Parish decides to rob the food store for vengeance.
Taking advantage of the situation, he goes inside Tony’s cell and decides to give him some gifts on his bed.
He’s then shown squirting mayonnaise onto Tony’s white sheets before turning it into a full supper by adding beans and tuna.
When Tony ultimately returns to his room, he is assaulted by the nasty fish stench, and his response is amusing.
With his own lunch in hand, he is at first perplexed by the stink emanating from the cage and gets some room spray to clean things up.
But he immediately discovers what’s causing the stench, and he’s not impressed.
Tony goes back out to identify the perpetrator, staring at the total devastation on his bed.
‘Who’s thrown that over my bed?’ he yells out as the others eat their meal in a common area.
Parish’s poker face saves him when he starts ranting and he’s even bold enough to return to the room.
‘What’s happening,’ he asks, pretending he’s just as perplexed about the mess.
However, while standing in the cell speaking, Tony explodes and picks up what looks to be a trashcan, hurling it across the room in rage.
Parish said in April of last year that he may have viewed the pornography by accident.
He stated that he had been browsing at a tractor website when he came across ‘another website with a very similar name’ and ‘watched for a time’.
Parish then stated that his ‘greatest offence’ was that he ‘went in a second time’ while waiting to vote in Parliament.
Within a week after the allegations, he resigned.
Former EastEnders star Sid Owen, Gogglebox’s Marcus Luther, actor and comedian Tom Rosenthal, music sensation HRVY, writer Peter Hitchens, and current Conservative MP and Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Johnny Mercer are among the other celebrities locked up for the experiment.
Banged Up is airing tonight from 9.15pm on Channel 4.
