Prisoner: Cell Block H star Maggie Kirkpatrick has child sex conviction overturned

Prisoner: Cell Block H star Maggie Kirkpatrick broke down in tears as a judge overturned her conviction for molesting a 14-year-old fan more than 30 years ago.

The Australian actress, who played a sadistic warden in the women's prison drama, was found guilty of sexually assaulting the girl at a hearing in August.

She had always denied the charges saying that while she had dinner with the girl as an "act of kindness" she never abused her.

The 74-year-old appealed after being convicted of two counts of indecent assault and one of gross indecency.

And the grandmother-of-two sobbed as a judge at a Melbourne court cleared her of any wrongdoing.

Speaking afterwards, Kirkpatrick said: "It's been rather difficult, but I'm very happy with the result."

Kirkpatrick shot to fame as corrupt prison warden Joan "The Freak" Ferguson in Prison: Cell Block H, which ran from 1979 to 1986.

Her character would molest inmates with the excuse of conducting body searches.

Kirkpatrick's alleged victim, now a 45-year-old mother-of-three, met the actress when she was a patient at a psychiatric hospital in 1984.

She claimed Kirkpatrick took her back to her home where they shared a meal and she ended up in Kirkpatrick's bedroom before she was taken back to the hospital.

The actress told the appeal hearing she invited the girl home for dinner to give a disturbed person " a little home life".

Judge Geoffrey Chettle said that in 1984 the complainant was "clearly vulnerable and unstable", and that while she was a careful and consistent witness her evidence was not independently supported.

He said Kirkpatrick's reason for inviting the young girl for dinner without a chaperone was consistent with character evidence she is a caring woman who had helped other young people.

He added he was not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the offending had occurred.

Kirkpatrick has also appeared in the Australian television series All Saints, Pizza, Blue Heelers, Hey Dad! and Water Rats.