The Story of Tracy Beaker (TV series)

For the Book Series, see The Story of Tracy Beaker.

The Story of Tracy Beaker
Format	Children's comedy-drama
Starring	Dani Harmer Montanna Thompson(2002-2004,2005-2006,2012) Lisa Coleman Nisha Nayar Clive Rowe (2002-2005) Connor Bryne (2002-2004, 2006) Sharlene Whyte (2002-2003) Chelsea Badley (2002-2004) Rochelle Gadd (2002-2009) Ben Handson (2003-2005) Ciaran Joyce (2003-2005) Chloe Hibbert-Waters (2003-2004) Jack Edwards (2004-2006) Darragh Mortell (2004-2006) Abby Rakic-Platt (2004-2006) Cara Readle (2004-2006)
Opening theme	"Watcha Gonna Do/Someday" sung by Keisha White.
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	120 + 5 specials (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	Series 1-5 (15 Minutes) Film (70 Minutes) Tracy Beaker Parties With Pudsey (15 Minutes, 1 episode) (75 Minutes, all cross-overs)
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC One, CBBC
Original run	8 July 2002 – 5 March 2006
Chronology
Followed by	Tracy Beaker Returns (2010— 2012)

The Story of Tracy Beaker was a television programme adapted from the book of the same name by Jacqueline Wilson. It ran on CBBC for five series, from 2002 to 2006 and also contained a feature length episode, Tracy Beaker's Movie of Me, broadcast in 2004, as well as a week of interactive episodes for Children in Need, entitled Tracy Beaker Parties with Pudsey, which were also crossovers with other shows from CBBC. The episodes themselves intersperse live action with cartoon sequences drawn by Nick Sharratt depicting Tracy's inner thoughts and, from series 3 onwards, the thoughts of other characters. Initially these cartoons would often be followed by a more realistic interpretation of what happened, but this was discontinued after the first series. The theme song was written and performed by Keisha White. In March 2009, the BBC announced that actress Dani Harmer would reprise the role of Tracy Beaker in a new series consisting of 13 episodes in which she would become a careworker at her former care home - this appears on TV as Tracy Beaker Returns. All of the five series have been released on DVD.

Episodes

Main article: List of The Story of Tracy Beaker episodes

Cast

Kids

Character	Actor	Series	Information.
Tracy Beaker	Dani Harmer	1-8	Tracy Beaker is the main character of the series. She is a "Kid In Care" who is a tomboy with behaviour problems. In the first few series she often makes up lies about her mother to get other children's attention. In the later series, Cam Lawson and her new husband Gary adopted Tracy. Tracy hated Gary at first but by the end of the series they were on good terms. In the new series Tracy Beaker Returns, we find Gary and Cam divorced throughout the break of the show; in the very first episode, Tracy very firmly says "We never talk about Gary." She is now currently a care-worker at the 'Dumping Ground' in the new series. At the start of the first series of Tracy Beaker Returns she does not get on very well with Gina but they come to like each other very quickly. At the start of the second series of Tracy Beaker Returns, she starts a campaign to keep Elm Tree House open, which results in Mike almost being sacked, Lily being seriously injured and Liam becoming homeless for a week. However Tracy soon learns that the kids come first and she needs to help them.
Justine Littlewood	Montanna Thompson	1-5,8	Justine Littlewood hates Tracy Beaker . She also has a crush on Crash. Justine has been in and out of the dumping ground many times because her cousin, John, has moved into the household but after a game of football and an allergy to nuts they became closer and Justine decided to move back in with her dad again. She is an angry, bad-tempered girl with attitude, who's best friends with Louise. She is mentioned when Tracy reads her autobiography to Carmen, Tee and Lily in Tracy Beaker Returns and will appear in season 3 of Tracy Beaker Returns. She first came to the Dumping Ground to tell she was pregnant but trying to keep a secret that she is pregnant with Crash who is her husband.
Louise Goven	Chelsie Padley	1-2, 3	Louise Goven was a good friend with Tracy before Justine moved to the dumping ground. When Justine first arrived, Tracy was living with a foster family which made Louise feel better about making a new best friend. Louise is a dramatic diva and got fostered at the end of series 2. She Appears in episode 4,8,10,12,14 and 26 of season 3 but not the rest of season. She didn't appear in any later series.
Adele Azupadi	Rochelle Gadd	1-2	An older girl who eventually got too old to live in the dumping ground. After moving into a small bed-sit she realised she didn't like being alone so moved back to the Dumping Ground. She is sensible,kind and into fashion but can get annoyed sometimes. In series 1 Tracy stole Adele's make-up to attract the attention of Cam. And never appears in season 3,4 and 5.
Ryan	Sonny Muslim	1	The older twin of Zac. Ryan speaks in a cockney dialect and is interested in judo. Ryan doesn't usually take no for an answer. and didn't make any other appearances in later series.
Zac	Jay Haher	1	The younger twin of Ryan. Zac never got fostered during the series and didn't make any other appearances in later series.
Peter Ingham	Joe Starrs	1	Peter is a weedy six-year-old who continually attempts to make friends with Tracy. He shares the same birthday as Tracy Beaker and was fostered near the end of series 1. He was best friends with Maxy.
Maxy	Jerome Holder	1	A cheeky boy who is friends with Peter and who likes making Duke make cakes so he can eat the cake mixture. It is unknown whether he was ever fostered. he is seen in the season 2.
Bradley "Bouncer" Plakova	Ben Hanson	2-4, 5 (Recurring)	A boy who lives in the Dumping Ground in series 2 . He is then a trainee chef. Bradley is the brother of Lol. He goes to a Half Way house at the end of series 4. He later returns to work as a chef in the Dumping ground. In series 3 he also works for a short time at a cake store. He is a nice caring person on the whole.
Laurence "Lol" Plakova	Ciaran Joyce	2-5	Lol is a wheeler dealer character who always has some kind of scam going. He is the brother of Bouncer and a friend of Crash. He never appeared in Tracy Beaker Movie.
Dolly	Chloe Hibbert-Waters	2-3	A small, cute and hyper girl who likes to be with Tracy . She sees Tracy as her hero. In series 3, she and her friends Hayley and Marco formed a Beaker club in honour of Tracy Beaker. In an episode in series 2, we learn that Dolly wants to be a bus driver when she grows up, she also loves dogs. Dolly has a love for flavoured milk which she is not aloud to have because it sends her hyper.She was fostered in the middle of series 3.
Amber Hurst	Alicia Hooper	2	Amber is an elder girl who has a bad attitude. She is a bad influence and considers herself a rebel and non conformist. Amber can be very spiteful (Amber was no longer in any of the further series' 3-8).
Marco Maloney	Jack Edwards	3-5	A boy who likes to wear costumes and dress-up. He is the best friend of Milly and gets fostered with Milly by the Boxer family.
Liam "Crash"	Darragh Mortell	3-5,8	Crash is a friend of Tracy and Jackie and has anger management problems (at one time throwing a chair through a window). He has a crush on Justine and has sporting rivalries with Michael (series 3) and Rio Wellard (series 4).He has a light sense of humour. Crash got married to Justine and maybe be coming in series 8 as Justine is going to Elmtree House and she is pregnant with Crash's baby.
Jackie Hopper	Abby Rakic-Platt	3-4, 5	Jackie is a friend of Tracy and Crash and is a trainee athlete. In her first episode, she is determined to get her grandpa out of his care home and cannot accept that he has Alzheimer's disease. Eventually, she ends up staying at the Dumping Ground even though she doesn't like it. At the end of series 4, her grandpa dies and she leaves to go to a sporting academy. In series 5, she returned to the Dumping Ground after an injury. It was later revealed that she was missing everyone and faked her injury so she could come home. During the final episode of series 5, she and Crash convinced Tracy to go to Cam and Gary's wedding.
Layla	Cara Readle	3-5	A girl with Cerebral Palsy. She is best friends with Hayley.
Hayley	Kristal Lau	3-4	A quiet girl of Chinese descent who befriends Layla. She gets fostered in Series 4.
Michael Grys	William Tomlin	3	An unpopular boy who nobody likes. He is rivals with Liam "Crash" in season 3 and a crush on Louise when she comes to visit. In one episode it is revealed that he has an older brother who is on the run from social services. Fostered in between series 3 and 4.
Roxy Wellard	Sophie Borja	4-5	The youngest of the Wellard family, the enemies of everyone else in the Dumping Ground. She is the brains of the family. She gets annoyed when Rio mixes with the other kids and continues to cause trouble. Roxy is a stereo typical goth and she is no angel.
Rio Wellard	Craig Roberts	4-5	The middle child of the Wellard family. He is the strong one of the Wellards. He is a Rival of Crash in Series 4, but by the end, they are good friends. He mixes with the other kids after Chantal leaves. In Roxy's opinion he is "turned into a right goody two shoes."
Chantal Wellard	Deepal Parmar	4-5	Eldest of the Wellard family. The glamorous child of the Wellards. At the beginning of series 5 she moves in with her dad.
Shawn "Wolfie"	Felix Drake	4-5	A boy with rich parents who likes to live roughly because he has a fear of being trapped. Wolfie has a dark sense of humour but has had a troubled past before the dumping ground. He got his nickname from Dumping Ground kids, who heard rumours that he was bought up in the wild by wolves. Wolfie thinks the rumour is funny, so he doesn't bother denying it. Wolfie can be sarcastic but he's never malicious. He hates being locked up. In one episode it is revealed that his family are very rich after Roxy finds lots of cheques in a draw, which Wolfie's parent continuously send to him in the hopes of winning him back, but he vows that he can never forgive them after what they did to him (though this is never stated). Then, all the kids suck up to him, only to break his heart when he finds out it's all for the money.
Millie	Holly Gibbs	5	Milly likes to dress up, but is very shy and chooses to be a mute. She speaks only twice on screen in the whole of her stay at the Dumping Ground. Milly is best friends with Marco and gets fostered with him.
Rebecca Chalmers	Georgina Hagen	5	She is a rival to Justine and has a crush on Crash.She always finds a way out of her problems but most times it goes topsy tervy. Rebecca has no friends in the dumping ground but she doesn't care.she has to share a room with justine. Both girls fight over Crash and about.
Alice	Olivia Grant	5	A young hippie girl who believes in fairies. She thinks Roxy Wellard is her best friend and likes to see the good in everyone.

Careworkers

Character	Actor	Series	Biography
Elaine "the Pain" Boyak (varies - sometimes 'Boyack')	Nisha Nayar	1-5	The resident social worker for the first 5 series'. Her calm and peaceful approach annoys all of the children and she often gets in the way of their lives although she ultimately cares about them and is trying to help them. She usually wears sandals, which Tracy pointed out near the beginning of the third series. Sometimes she tries to hard to do things the kids don't want her to do. For example find foster homes for them.
Norman "Duke" Ellington	Clive Rowe	1-4	The Dumping Ground's chef who is overweight. He cares a lot about his plants. In series 4 he retired to be with his family.He made a cameo in Tracy Beaker returns in a television store
Michael "Mike" Milligan	Connor Byrne	1, 5-8	Mike is the assistant care worker in series 1. He has a lovable character during the first series and is on good terms with Tracy, thinking she's a 'good kid on the whole'. He then leaves to be reincarnated as a chef during series 5. Later he becomes head care worker (due to the kids begging him) and continues that role in Tracy Beaker Returns. He is almost sacked in the first episode of the second series of Tracy Beaker Returns, but luckily the council see fit to keep him on.
Jenny Ruth Edwards	Sharlene Whyte	1-2,Tracy Beaker Returns	A firm yet fair head care worker in series 1 and 2. She cannot stand Elaine, though she tries to hide this from the kids. Sharlene Whyte stated on a twitcam with Karen David that Jenny Edwards is in talks to return to Tracy Beaker in Tracy Beaker Returns.
Nathan Jones	James Cartwright	2-3	He is trainee care worker in series 2 and a permanent member of staff from the end of series 2 to the end of series 3. It is not known what happened to him after that. He is not very professional, but gets on well with all the kids and is particularly fond of Dolly even though she lost him a girlfriend. He is sometimes referred to as the oldest kid in the home.
Shelley Appleton	Nicola Reynolds	3, 5	Head care worker in series 3 then acting head care worker in series 5. Has a cool, collected and confident attitude, but ultimately has a huge affection for all the kids. After she arrives the kids are actually scared of her due to the fact that everyone says she has supernatural powers. In series 3, it is mentioned that she first got interested in caring because she cared for her dad as a child, because he had Alzheimer's disease.
Sid Rooney	Vincenzo Pellegrino	4	Head care worker in series 4. A recurring joke about him is that he has no sense of humour. He once plays the lead part in one of Cam's plays and loses his temper with her quite a lot.

Others

Character	Actor	Series	Biography
Camilla "Cam" Lawson	Lisa Coleman	1-8	A writer and Tracy's foster mother. She was often pestered by Tracy to foster her throughout the first series, after much pleading Cam finally gave in and fostered Tracy at the end of the series.. At the beginning of Series 2, Cam sent Tracy back to the Dumping Ground after she had burned down Cam's kitchen. Cam then again fostered Tracy in series 4. In series 5, Cam had a boyfriend named Gary who Tracy did not like and so Tracy moved back into the Dumping ground. Cam and Gary got married at the end of series 5 and adopted Tracy. In Tracy Beaker Returns, Cam and Tracy live in a new house and she seems to have divorced from her husband Gary. She appears in most episodes and sometimes is in the Dumping Ground, although she is usually set in her house. At the start of the second series of Tracy Beaker Returns, she fosters Lily, but days later Lily decided went to live with Dad instead.When it is Lily's respite care she will stay at the DG instead of with Cam & Tracy Cam appears in all series. In the end of series 5 Cam marries Gary Eyette but they divorce after Gary went off with another woman.
Ben Batambuze	Luke Youngblood	1-2	A child with a very rich background, he is friendly, outgoing and best friends with Tracy, however, he doesn't live in the Dumping Ground. At the start of Series 3 it was revealed that he left to go to boarding school, but he does appear in a photo halfway through the series. This is the last we hear of him. Ben only appears in series 1 & 2.

Gary Eyette (Series 5) married Cam Lawson but they are no longer together by the events of Tracy Beaker Returns. This is explained by Mike asking Tracy how Cam and Gary are, and Tracy responds, 'Cam's fine. We don't talk about Gary.'

DVD Releases

The Story Of Tracy Beaker has been released on DVD in the UK.

DVD Title		# of Disc(s)	Year	# of Episodes	DVD release
					Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
	Tracy Beaker - Best of Me - Series One	1	2002	?		6 February 2006
	Tracy Beaker - More Of Me - Series Two	1	2003	?		22 May 2006
	Tracy Beaker - Starring Me - Series Three	1	2004	?		2 October 2006
	Tracy Beaker - Totally Me - Series Four	1	2004	?		26 March 2007
	Tracy Beaker - Farewell from Me - Series Five	1	2005 & 2006	?		7 January 2008
	Tracy Beaker - The Boxset of Me (Also Includes Movie of Me)	6	2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006	?		11 February 2008
	Tracy Beaker - The Movie of Me	1	2004	N/A		25 July 2005

• Note: All of the series DVDs and the boxset contain only the 'best' episodes of that series, the only time all of the episodes were released on DVD was in a special collector's edition set, where one DVD containing several episodes was released each week for purchase. There were 24 DVDs in all, and these are now incredibly rare to find as a complete set.

External links

• Tracy Beaker- CBBC at BBC Online
• Tracy Beaker at BBC Programmes
• The Story of Tracy Beaker at the Internet Movie Database
• Tracy Beaker- Too Many Crooks - Script at BBC Online
• Tracy Beaker- Tracey's Fantasy - Script at BBC Online
• Tracy Beaker- Moving On - Script at BBC Online
• Tracy Beaker- The Wedding - Script at BBC Online