The Story of Tracy Beaker (TV series)
Encyclopedia
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.
Gary Eyette 5 he married cam but they divorced after Gary went off with another woman.
The Story of Tracy Beaker
The Story of Tracy Beaker is a British children's book first published in 1991, written by Jacqueline Wilson and illustrated by Nick Sharratt.-Background:...
by Jacqueline Wilson
Jacqueline Wilson
Dame Jacqueline Wilson, DBE, FRSL is an award-winning English author, known for her vast and diverse work in children's literature. Her novels have been adapted numerous times for television, and commonly deal with such challenging themes as adoption, divorce and mental illness...
. It ran on CBBC
CBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
for five series, from 2002 to 2006 and also contained a feature length episode, Tracy Beaker's Movie of Me
Tracy Beaker's Movie of Me
Tracy Beaker: The Movie of Me is a 2004 69 minute feature length film. It is the only Tracy Beaker episode television movie and aired on the BBC.-Background information:...
, broadcast in 2004, as well as a week of interactive episodes for Children in Need
Children in Need
Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
, entitled Tracy Beaker Parties with Pudsey, which were also crossovers
Fictional crossover
A fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
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
Keisha White
Keisha White is an English R&B singer. She has released two albums so far, Seventeen, which was released in 2005, and her latest album Out Of My Hands, which was released on 3 July 2006.-Biography:...
. 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
Tracy Beaker Returns
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...
. All of the five series have been released on DVD.
Kids
Character | Actor | Series | Information. |
---|---|---|---|
Tracy Beaker | Dani Harmer Dani Harmer Danielle Jane "Dani" Harmer 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... |
1-8 | 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 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. 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 Montanna Thompson Montanna Thompson is an English actress best known for her role as "Justine Littlewood", Tracy's biggest rival, in CBBC's popular TV adaption of Jaqueline Wilson's book, The Story of Tracy Beaker. Montanna first appeared in The Story of Tracy Beaker in 2002, also appearing as Justine in the 2004... |
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 maybe appearing in season 3 of Tracy Beaker Returns |
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 Rochelle Gadd Rochelle Gadd is a British actress. She played Olivia Johnson in Hollyoaks until the character of Olivia was killed off, and played Delia "Dill" Lodge in Grange Hill between 1994 and 2000... |
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 and kind 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 Sonny Muslim Sonny Muslim is a British actor best known for his performances in Eastenders and The Story of Tracy Beaker.Muslim's career began back in 1998 into 1999 when he appeared in The Bill and Casualty respectively. Both of which he has reappeared in again as different characters... |
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 Jerome Holder Jerome Holder is an English actor, best known for appearing in CBBC's The Story of Tracy Beaker as Maxi, Holby City as Max Tyson and Fallout as Clinton. He has also appeared in Casualty and The Bill... |
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 photo only |
Bradley "Bouncer" Plakova | Ben Hanson Ben Hanson Benjamin Samuel Hanson is a British actor best known for playing Bradley "Bouncer" Plakova in The Story of Tracy Beaker and Tony in Casualty... |
2-4, 5 (Recurring) | A boy who lives in the Dumping Ground in series 2 . He is then a trainee chef Chef A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ... . 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 Ciaran Joyce Ciaran David P. Joyce in South Glamorgan Glamorganshire Wales - Cardiff is an actor and TV presenter of Irish descent, best known for playing 'Lol' in CBBC's The Story of Tracy Beaker. He attended the Cardiff schools, St... |
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. 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 but manages to get fostered on the same day as Louise. |
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 Darragh Mortell Darragh Mortell is a Welsh actor who is best known for his role as Crash in The Story of Tracy Beaker and his major role as Jack in the second series of BAFTA nominated television sitcom, Dani's House. He also appeared in the final episode of The Bill and in a stage production of The Jungle Book... |
3-5 | 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. |
Jackie Hopper | Abby Rakic-Platt Abby Rakic-Platt Abby Rakic-Platt is a British actress best known for her performances in the television series The Story of Tracy Beaker as Jackie Hopper.She appeared on a 2010 Sainsbury'sChristmas advert.-Personal Life:... |
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 Cara Readle Cara Readle is a British actress, known mainly for her role as Layla in The Story of Tracy Beaker from series three to five.She was born in Swansea on 8 January 1991.... |
3-5 | A girl with Cerebral Palsy Cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement.... . 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 William Tomlin William Tomlin is a British child actor known for playing Michael in The Story Of Tracy Beaker and Joey in Strange.William Tomlin no longer takes part in the media industry and does not take part in any acting at all as he is no longer attending Sylvia Young Theatre School.William used to attend... |
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 Sophie Borja Sophie Catherine Jane Borja is a young British actress from Wales.-Career:... |
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 Craig Roberts Craig Roberts is a Welsh actor. He is best known for playing the lead role of Oliver Tate in the coming-of-age comedy-drama film Submarine, and for playing the character Rio in The Story of Tracy Beaker.-Life and Career:... |
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 Felix Drake Felix an English child actor and bass guitar player known for playing Wolfie in The Story of Tracy Beaker. His acting debut came in 2001, where he appeared alongside childhood friends in a production of Terry Deary's 'A Horrible Christmas', which was performed in front of an audience of 150... |
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. |
Milly | Holly Gibbs Holly Gibbs Holly Gibbs is an English child actor known for having played in The Story of Tracy Beaker as Millie and Nanny McPhee as Christianna. She is the daughter of former actress Claire Toeman. She recently appeared in TEENSVILLE The show was about the Jewish Bar Mitzvah... |
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 Georgina Hagen Georgina "Georgie" Kimberley Hagen is an English actress and singer, most famous for her appearance as Lauren in ITV's Britannia High... |
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 gose topsy tervy. Rebecca has no friends in the dumping ground but she doesn't care. |
Alice | Olivia Grant Olivia Grant (1994 British actress) -External links:... |
5 | A young hippie Hippie The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's... 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 Nisha Nayar Nisha K. Nayar is a British actress, perhaps best known for her recurring role as Elaine 'The Pain' Boyak in The Story of Tracy Beaker.- Filmography :- External links :... |
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 Clive Rowe Clive Rowe is a British actor, probably best known for his role as "Duke" in BBC Children's drama The Story of Tracy Beaker. Rowe grew up in Shaw, Lancashire, in the parish of East Crompton and attended St. James Primary School... |
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 Sharlene Whyte Sharlene Whyte is an English actress who is most known for playing Jenny in The Story of Tracy Beaker and Adanna Lawal in Waterloo Road as the Head of Pastoral Care. She trained at RADA from 1996 till 1999 and is 5' 4" tall.-Filmography:Television... |
1-2 | 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 Karen David Karen Shenaz David is an Indian-born American actress and singer-songwriter who is best known for portraying Francesca Kirby in the BBC series Waterloo Road.- Early life :... that Jenny Edwards is in talks to return to Tracy Beaker in Tracy Beaker Returns Tracy Beaker Returns 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... . |
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 Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death... . |
Sid Rooney | Vincenzo Pellegrino Vincenzo Pellegrino Vincenzo David Pellegrino is an English actor who was in hospital drama Casualty from 1997-1999. He played Derek Sunderland, a porter.After leaving Casualty, he worked in Where the Heart is.... |
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 Luke Youngblood Luke Youngblood is a British actor, who is best known for playing Ben in The Story of Tracy Beaker and for originating the role of Young Simba in The Lion King in which he appeared in several London venues whilst playing the role... |
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 5 he married cam but they divorced after Gary went off with another woman.
DVD Releases
The Story Of Tracy Beaker has been released on DVD in the UK.DVD release name | Episodes | Years of Series | UK Release Date (Region 2) |
North American Release Date (Region 1) |
Australian Release Date (Region 4) |
Worldwide (Region 0) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tracy Beaker - Best of Me - Series 1 | ? | ? | 6 February 2006 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Tracy Beaker - More Of Me - Series Two | ? | ? | 22 May 2006 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Tracy Beaker - Starring Me - Series Three | ? | ? | 2 October 2006 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Tracy Beaker - Totally Me - Series Four | ? | ? | 26 March 2007 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Tracy Beaker - Farewell from Me - Series Five | ? | ? | 7 January 2008 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Tracy Beaker - The Boxset of Me | ? | ? | 11 February 2008 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Tracy Beaker - The Movie of Me | ? | ? | 25 July 2005 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
- 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.