Dani Harmer
| Dani Harmer | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Danielle Jane Harmer Berkshire, England |
| Born | 8 February 1989 |
| Origin | Bracknell, Berkshire, England |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupations | Singer, actress, TV presenter |
| Years active | 1995–present (actress) 2009 (singer) |
| Labels | Universal/Decca (2009) |
Danielle Jane "Dani" Harmer (born 8 February 1989) is an English television actress and singer. Harmer is best known as the title character in the UK television programme The Story of Tracy Beaker/Tracy Beaker Returns, and as Molly Venables in the BBC sitcom After You've Gone.[1] Harmer also has her own TV show called Dani's House,[2] and has also occasionally presented continuity clips on the CBBC channel. Her debut album, Superheroes, is thought to have been dropped.
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[edit] Career
She made her stage debut age 6 in the musical The Who's Tommy in the West End.[3] She has appeared in a number of pantomimes: Dolly Mixture in Snow White (2004),[4] the title character in Peter Pan (2005, Alban Arena, 2006 in Worthing and 2010 in High Wycombe), and Dick Whittington (2007, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre).[4] Other stage credits include a 2005 production of The Wizard of Oz at the Sunderland Empire Theatre.[4] Harmer appeared as an extra in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone; she was sitting in the Great Hall when the new students to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry took turns to visit the Sorting Hat. Her big break was when she landed the role as the title character in The Story of Tracy Beaker, which she continued for five series, including a feature length film.
Her other TV credits include the ITV drama series Trial & Retribution,[5] Casualty,[6] My Family,[7] Pie in the Sky,[8] The 10th Kingdom,[9] Beast,[10] Touch Me, I'm Karen Taylor,[11] Beep Beep in the British television series The Beeps,[12] and the pilot for Coming of Age.[13] She was one of the presenters: known as "packers" in the 2006 series of the Saturday morning show, Mighty Truck of Stuff.[14]
In November 2008, Media Guardian reported that After You've Gone was to be cancelled by the BBC, due to ITV moving Coronation Street to the same slot on ITV1. The BBC had announced a fourth series of the show in January of that year to be aired in 2009; however, the series ended with a Christmas special in 2008.[15] Harmer has recently (March 2010) starred in The Wizard of Oz at The Journal Tyne Theatre in Newcastle.
Dani Harmer returned to the role as Tracy Beaker in early 2010 in the 13-episode BBC series Tracy Beaker Returns, in which her character had developed into a care worker and has written an autobiography about what life is like for children in care.[16] In 2009, Dani received a Gold Blue Peter Badge for her role in Tracy Beaker.[17]
In its last series in 2011/12, Tracey Beaker Returns received the highest ratings ever for the CBBC channel. In 2012, it is the most requested programme on iPlayer with over 550k requests in first 3 days of transmission.
[edit] Awards
Dani is one of the biggest stars of children's television in BBC history. Winner of the 2010 Children's BAFTA for Best Drama, Dani was also nominated for her performance as Tracy Beaker in its various incarnations, with the programme attracting another nomination in the Children's Drama Category at the 2011 RTS Awards. Dani was also nominated for a Welsh BAFTA for Best Actress for her performance in Tracey Beaker's Movie of Me. Dani's House, her own hit CBBC show also received a 2009 Children's BAFTA nomination.
[edit] Music
Dani Harmer signed a record deal with record label Universal/Decca worth £3 million, under the management of Daniel Glatman,[18] some time before beginning work on her debut album. The first single from the album, "Free" (the theme song to Dani's House) was released on 25 May 2009. "Free" is also a track featured in Pop Princesses 2009.[3]
Harmer's debut album Superheroes was scheduled to be released in September 2009, however, the album never became published and is rumoured to have been dropped by Harmer's record label, no official conformation has been made as of yet. But, when Dani was asked about it on Twitter she said that she had given up on singing ages ago and it just wasn't her thing and she wanted to focus on her acting.
