Tracy Beaker Returns

For the previous series, see The Story of Tracy Beaker (TV series).

Tracy Beaker Returns
Series intertitle
Genre	Children's sad-drama
Created by	Neasa Hardiman
Starring	Dani Harmer Richard Wisker Connor Byrne Kay Purcell Saffron Coomber Mia Mckenna Bruce Amy-Leigh Hickman Joe Maw Philip Graham Scott Jessie Williams John Bell Noah Marullo Chris Slater Jessica Revell (2011-) Lauren Mote (2012-) Eleni Foskett (2012-) Daniel Pearson (2012-) Miles Butler-Hughton (2012-) Jacob Hopes (2012-)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	49 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Josephine Ward, producer, Gina Cronk-face
Running time	28 minutes 50 minute series premieres
Original release
Network	CBBC BBC HD
Release	8 January 2010 (2010-01-08) – Present

Tracy Beaker Returns is a BAFTA winning British children's television series, which premiered on 8 January 2010 on CBBC and BBC HD. Based upon the novels by Jacqueline Wilson, It is the spin-off series to The Story of Tracy Beaker. Two series have already aired, with a third currently in production and due to broadcast on 6th January 2012.

Premise

Main article: List of Tracy Beaker Returns episodes

When Tracy is arrested for using Cam's credit card to publish her autobiography, Tracy seeks refuge at the Dumping Ground. She meets the children who are intrigued by her and her story. Needing to pay Cam back, Tracy asks Mike for a job. As Mike is short-staffed, he agrees to make her an assistant care worker since she knows so much about life in care. Tracy then sets about getting to know the many children and their cases.

However Lily Kettle is closest to Tracy almost a sister and Tracy looks after her through thick and thin, and tries to sort things out when Lily is taken away from her sisters Poppy and Rosie who Lily had looked after for ages after their Mum had died. She tries to sort it out but when Lily, in the heat of the moment, gets wound up with her foster parents, it doesn't go well. However after some time to think Lily wants to go to her old foster parents' house and live with her sisters, but when it goes wrong Lily runs away from Christie Perry and climbs onto the roof. As Tracy persuades her to go down Lily takes a tumble and falls.

Tracy is also close to 14 year old Liam as they help each other out when things go wrong and she normally relies on his ability to create schemes to help everyone out.

Cast and characters

Character	Actor	Duration	Biography
Tracy Beaker	Dani Harmer	2010—	Tracy Beaker grew up in care for the most of her life, she was eventually fostered (later adopted) by Cam Lawson. The series begins with Tracy appearing to have become a successful writer, her life long dream, but it is then discovered she published her own book with Cam's credit card and is arrested. Eventually she is let off as long as she pays off he £6000 debt. Tracy gets a job at her old care home, which is still run by Mike. Firstly Tracy finds it hard to adjust to life working at the dumping ground, but she eventually gets used to it and learns lifelong lessons. In series 2 Tracy and Cam foster dumping ground child Lily after Tracy blames herself for Lily's injuries after falling off the roof. Tracy connects the best with Liam, she is the only person he really trusts and she often relies on his schemes and ideas to help achieve what she wants for the dumping ground.
Liam O'Donavan	Richard Wisker	2010—	Liam is a 14-year-old troublemaker who is always brushing with the law. Liam pretends he hates the dumping ground, but secretly he loves it and it is starting to feel like home. Liam also appears to understand the other childrens feelings and stituations they are in, this is probably down to past experiences. Liam has been in care all his life, he says he doesn't miss what he never had. Liam had been fostered 5 times with no success, he would rather stay at the DG with his best friend Frank. In series 2 when Elektra arrives all the other children become friends with her, but Liam could see behind her act and eventually rumbled her. Series 3 will see Liam growing up, making trouble and it has been rumored he has a sibling that will be making an appearance. Whether this is true remains unknown.
Justine Littlewood	Montanna Thompson	2012—	Justine appeared in The Story of Tracy beaker. She is still mortal enemies with Tracy Beaker. However when she returns to Elm Tree House, her and Tracy make up when Tracy hears the news. She is pregnant. She is mentioned when Tracy reads her autobiography to Tee, Lily and Carmen. She is the Guest in series 3 of Tracy Beaker Returns.
Michael "Mike" Milligan	Connor Byrne	2010—	Mike is the head care worker and has known Tracy since she was a kid. He's friendly and easy-going, but will lay down the law if he has to! Mike always tries to see the best in people and will do anything to help the kids. Tracy and Liam can make things tricky for Mike sometimes, especially when they bend the rules, but they are good friends and Mike is like a father to Liam.
Gina Conway	Kay Purcell	2010—	Gina is the deputy head care-worker in Tracy Beaker Returns. She is quite strict, but is very fond of the children and cares deeply about all of them. She and Tracy often argue, usually about "Tracy plans!" To break up arguments between the kids, she often screams very loudly... it usually works!
Lily Kettle	Jessie Williams	2010—	Lily was 10 years old when we first met her. She probably has the most complicated journey throughout the 2nd series. At the start of series 1, Lily was always looking after her younger sisters, Rosie and Poppy. Often, she got a bit too overprotective. She didn't like it when Carmen began to take over her job of looking after Rosie and Poppy. Of course they made up and Carmen was very upset when she was fostered with her sisters by the Perrys. She had to return to the Dumping Ground because she refused to let her foster parents take over the care of her sisters. It took her a while to get over the fact that her sisters could grow up without her. By the start of the second series, the Perrys said she could move back in with them, but Lily wasn't sure whether or not she was ready. During a protest to save the Dumping Ground from closure, Lily went to the roof when Christie Perry came to take her home. But Tracy pursuaded her to get down but lily slipped off the roof, breaking her leg and arm in the process. Afterwards, Tracy made it look like Lily fell and she was fostered by Cam and Tracy. Although it took Tracy a while to get used to, she grew to love Lily as a little sister. But everything fell apart when her alcoholic father suddenly reappeared. Although he only came to say sorry, Lily was determined to get back together with him. She went back to her dad, but occasionally came back to the Dumping Ground for respite care. Her best friend is Carmen Howle. Although they sometimes fall out, they usually stick up for each other.
Carmen Howle	Amy-Leigh Hickman	2010—	Carmen was 10 when first seen. She is Lily's best friend. She likes magic, fairies, pink clothes and reading aloud to Lily's younger sisters. As shown in series 1 Lily got jealous when Carmen took over the job of looking after Poppy and Rosie. She also enjoys dressing up, and experimenting with make up. She is a drama queen, and often overreacts. She is devastated when Lily and her sisters get fostered in Series 1. Also, she feels very let down when her mother breaks her promise and so she can't move to Spain with her. In the second series Carmen becomes a lot more bitter after being bullied at Burneywood. She briefly terminates her friendship with Lily, who she blames for her ordeal, but later forgives her. She then tried to befriend Elektra after Lily is fostered by Cam and then moves in with her dad. But when Lily returns to the dumping ground, her relationship with Elektra breaks down and they both end up with hurt feelings.
Frank Matthews	Chris Slater	2010—	Liam's 14-year-old best friend and sidekick, who has Cerebral Palsy. He is quite quiet considering he is Liam's best friend. Before he was in care, he lived with his granddad, but was taken into care when his granddad became too frail and sick to look after him. When he was put into care, his granddad gave him a pocket watch which has always been one of Frank's most valuable posessions. However he still sees his granddad regularly and hopes to move in when he's older and get help with looking after him some day. He cares for him a great deal and Liam stands by him in this. Later on, in series 2, it's his Grandad's birthday. On this day Frank and his Grandad go fishing together in the lake in the park. Frank is really excited when this day comes but was devastated when he realises his Grandad has died. All the other help to build a bench by the park in memory of his Grandad.
Harry Jones	Philip Graham Scott	2010—	Harry is six years old and will not be separated from best friend Jeff, his toy giraffe. He likes to join in and be included in the bigger kids' games, but he is also quiet and shy, living in his own world. Other than Jeff the giraffe, Harry most enjoys Sapphire's company – he always wants to play with her or find out what she's doing. Sapphire is like a big sister to him and she makes him feel safe. He also loves Mike too, and when Mike was almost certain to be sacked, he was very keen to help Johnny and Tee with their plan to keep him.
Gus Carmichael	Noah Marullo	2010—	A 9-year-old boy with Asperger's Syndrome. Gus remembers everything he sees, and writes it all in his notebook, which is full of people's secrets. When Gus is away, Liam and Frank find his notebooks and realise Gus has written about a very naughty thing they did. Burger Diving. They resulted in tearing those pages out which Gus was very annoyed about. He enjoys playing the piano and in episode 8 of the first series was accepted into an orchestra. He has a lot of rules and when people break them he isn't too happy about it. He gets very upset when things are messy or untidy. There is an example of that when Sapphire messes up his room in episode 6 of the first series. He is a perfectionist and when things don't go to plan he gets upset.
Sapphire Fox	Saffron Coomber	2010—	A 14 year old girl who can't wait to leave. She likes her privacy but the other kids tend to break it. Sapphire seems to hate the other kids, but at the same time often stands up for them. She secretly cares a lot for all of them, especially Harry, who looks up to Sapphire like a sister and she always looks after him and protects him. In episode 7 of the first series, she dumps her boyfriend after he frames her for shoplifting. In episode 11, her brother Riff turns up, having run away from home because he is about to be taken into care. She initially hides him, but with Tracy's help, he finds the courage to go back home. In the second series, she joins the gang's plans to save their care home from the council, after originally being reluctant. When Elektra cuts Harry's toy giraffe's (Jeff) leg off, Sapphire finds out and runs for Elektra and fights with her. In further episodes, Sapphire appears to be getting along with Elektra. Sapphire does not live at the DG in series 3 due to her turning 16 and getting her own place, but it has been shown she will visit and Harry talking to her on the phone.
Tee Taylor	Mia Mckenna Bruce	2010—	Tee is shown to be Johnny's kind understanding younger sister. But over the course of the series it shows that she wants more independence.In which she tries to be like Tracy when she was younger. Which nearly gets her killed. She can also be comforting to people. This is shown in Family Values she is seen putting her arm round Carmen, however she quickly dashes off with everybody else to see them(Lily, Rosie and Poppy) off at the gate. When Lily is being fostered she becomes a good friend to Carmen. At the end of the series Gus says that Tee was in the 60% that would help Tracy with her article. She is a fun, lively and bubbly girl who loves to experiment with clothes.
Toby Coleman	John Bell	2010—2011	Toby is the worrier. He is 13. After losing his parents in a car crash, which he believes he caused, He thinks he was jinxed. That is, until Tracy helped him to believe more in himself. Now, he fights more for what he thinks is right. He has a pet hamster called Mr Hamster which used to belong to Lily. In series 2, he has a crush on a girl called Sara, but falls out with her when he realises she lies about not having a mum. He has a secret crush on Elektra, which may or may not become important in series 3.
Johnny Taylor	Joe Maw	2010—	Johnny is 11 when we first meet him. He is Tee's protective older brother. Since he arrived at the Dumping Ground he has often tried too hard to get himself and Tee fostered. Circumstances at the home mean he loses his temper very easily, especially on Liam. Johnny usually makes decisions for Tee. Johnny instantly assumes that Tee is on his side and doesn't really let her have a say in things. He is so desperate to be fostered he comes up with plans to do so. Which don't often work. He is a computer game freak and gets annoyed if he gets put off and loses. Sometimes, he plays football with all the other boys. Johnny does not get on well with Liam as they're personalities clash the most.
Elektra	Jessica Revell	2011—	Arriving midway through the second series, Elektra is a troublemaker, in a more criminal sense than Liam. She gets the others to steal from the staff, before being tricked into confessing. She also nearly gets Carmen killed by leading her to a damaged bridge. However, living at the Dumping Ground changes Elektra for the better. She rejects her old gang, especially after they mug Toby, who has a secret crush on her. Then, by the end of the series, she realises her horrible personality won't get her anywhere, so she apologises to Carmen for bullying her earlier in the series finale. She has a love/hate relationship with Liam.
Lizanne	Lauren Mote	2012—	New in the third series. She has to share a room with Elektra but their personalitys clash so she asks Johnny if she can have his room, he says yes and decides to share a room with Tee. She apparently steals money from Johnny and later on asks Liam and Frank for some money. Frank gives in and gives her some which she then gives him a kiss back, and Frank starts to fall for her.
Rick	Daniel Pearson	2012—	Rick is protective of Kitty.
Tyler	Miles Butler-Hughton	2012—	Tyler, is a young joker who Carmen blames for nicking her clothes while she was at Burneywood and putting glue in her shampoo. She wants revenge. In episode 3, Shadows Tyler's scary story scares Johnny. Giving all the DG kids a laugh.
Denis	Jamie Gaddas	2012—	Denis is a social worker of the four people that arived from Burnywood and can be very cynical. Carmen blames him for not doing anything about her clothes being nicked.
Kitty	Eleni Foskett	2012—	Kitty is a very quiet and sensitive girl. Rick is very protective of Kitty. In the first episode of series 3 she is seen to accidently push Tracy down the stairs due to becoming anxious and nervous. Development and production In March 2009, the BBC announced the new 13-part series under the working title Beaker's Back!. The series was filmed in an old La Sagesse school in Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne in the summer of 2009, with Neasa Hardiman as Lead Director, casting the drama and setting the look. Craig Lines and Michael Davies directed the second and third blocks respectively. In February 2010, it was announced that Tracy Beaker Returns would be renewed for a second series for the 2011 television schedule. Filming took place throughout summer and autumn of 2010 and premiered on 7 January 2011. It was announced on 12 March 2011 that a third series has been commissioned to be filmed entirely in the North East. The filming of the third series has ended, and series three of Tracy Beaker Returns will premiere on 6th January 2012. Awards and nominations It won Children's BAFTA on 28 November 2010 for best drama. On the same night, Dani Harmer and Richard Wisker received nominations in the performer category. It was also nominated for a Royal Television Award in 2011, in the Children's Drama Category, but lost out to The Sarah Jane Adventures. The first episode of Series 3 is called Slow Burn.When Burnywood burns down,four new children arrive. But a fire occurs in the attic, so Gus and Tracy have to find the culprit. References