The Story of Tracy Beaker (TV series)

Last updated

The Story of Tracy Beaker
The Story of Tracy Beaker Title Card.jpg
The Story of Tracy Beaker title card
Created by Jacqueline Wilson (Books)
Based on The Story of Tracy Beaker
Starring List of Tracy Beaker series characters
Opening theme"Someday" sung by Keisha White
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series5
No. of episodes120 + 5 specials (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersCas Lester (2002–2003)
Jane Dauncey (2004–2005)
Josephine Ward (2006)
ProducersJane Dauncey (2002–2003)
Mia Jupp (2004–2005)
Jane Steventon (2006–2007)
Production locations Ealing, London (Series 1)
Cardiff, Wales (Series 2–5)
Running time14 minutes (regular episode)
69 minutes ( Tracy Beaker: The Movie of Me )
30 minutes (Parties With Pudsey)
Production company BBC
Original release
Network CBBC
Release8 January 2002 (2002-01-08) 
9 December 2005 (2005-12-09)
Related
Tracy Beaker Survival Files (2011–2012)
The Dumping Ground Survival Files (2014–2020)
Tracy Beaker Returns (2010–2012)
The Dumping Ground (2013–present)
My Mum Tracy Beaker (2021)
The Beaker Girls (2021–2023)

The Story of Tracy Beaker (informally known as Tracy Beaker or TSOTB) is a British television programme series adapted from the book of the same name by Jacqueline Wilson. It ran on CBBC for five series, from January 2002 to December 2005 and also contained a feature-length episode, Tracy Beaker: The Movie of Me , broadcast in February 2004, as well as a week of interactive episodes for Children in Need. The theme song was written and produced by Brian Harris and Nigel Lowis and performed by Keisha White.

Contents

It has become one of CBBC's most popular and repeated programmes, and still airs, however sporadically, on the channel as of 2022. Subsequently, it has spawned a number of spin-offs; Tracy Beaker Returns in 2010, which was followed up by The Dumping Ground in 2013, and both My Mum Tracy Beaker and The Beaker Girls in 2021.

Production

The Story of Tracy Beaker , written by Jacqueline Wilson, was first published in 1991. Wilson's book Cliffhanger had previously been adapted as a two-part drama for television in 1995, though this was the first of her works to become a fully fledged series. The first series was filmed on location at Amherst Lodge in Ealing, which doubled as the care home Stowey House, during Summer 2001. The building, which was a former maternity home and children's home, was sold by Ealing Council shortly after the series aired, and production moved to Cardiff for series 2. Amherst Lodge has since been developed into flats.

Due to a change in production location, many of the cast from the first series departed; Jay Haher (Zac Patterson), Sonny Muslim (Ryan Patterson), Joe Starrs (Peter Ingham) and Jerome Holder (Maxy King). The building used across the second and third series, plus Tracy Beaker: The Movie of Me was The Hollies, a former nursing home on Station Road in Llanishen. No reference was made to the change in location and the children's home continued to be known as Stowey House. The Hollies now houses private offices.

The fourth series was filmed at Skomer House, on Marine Parade in Penarth, and the change in location was addressed within the programme for the first time, and the children's home was named as Cliffside during the series. The building, which was once a nursing home, has since been redeveloped into a luxury hotel and spa, Holm House.

The fifth and final series saw another change in production location, with the Elm Tree House School in Llandaff doubling as another new care home, Elm Tree House, taking inspiration from the real building. After production ended, the former school was demolished to make way for a small housing development. The name of the building was retained for Tracy Beaker Returns and the first series of The Dumping Ground , regardless of being filmed in Newcastle and not Cardiff.

Episodes

SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 268 January 2002 (2002-01-08)4 April 2002 (2002-04-04)
2 267 January 2003 (2003-01-07)3 April 2003 (2003-04-03)
3 2625 September 2003 (2003-09-25)1 April 2004 (2004-04-01)
Television film 21 February 2004 (2004-02-21)
4 227 October 2004 (2004-10-07)5 April 2005 (2005-04-05)
5 2028 November 2005 (2005-11-28)9 December 2005 (2005-12-09)

The pilot episode aired on 8 January 2002 and the series finale aired on 9 December 2005. The show spanned a total of five series with 120 episodes in total.

Series 1 builds upon the characters introduced within Jacqueline Wilson's books; Tracy (Dani Harmer), Justine (Montanna Thompson), Louise (Chelsie Padley), Peter Ingham (Joe Starrs), Elaine Boyak (Nisha Nayar), Adele (Rochelle Gadd), Jenny (Sharlene Whyte) and Cam (Lisa Coleman), whilst introducing other careworkers and children who live in Stowey House. Three episodes in Series 1 form the basis of the show and make the format and atmosphere easy to understand, "Sneaking in Ben" shows Tracy's friendships, "The Truth Is Revealed" shows Tracy's way of thinking and "Friend" shows Tracy's way of understanding things.

From Series 2 onwards the show differs greatly from Wilson's follow-up novels, although the Movie of Me does share some narrative similarities with sequel The Dare Game.

Cast and characters

Home releases

The Story of Tracy Beaker has been released on DVD in the UK by Right Entertainment and Universal Pictures Video, under license from the BBC.

The series saw five retail compilation releases which each featured episodes from their respective series, titled "Best of Me" (released on 6 February 2006 [1] ), "More of Me" (Released on 22 May 2006 [2] ), "Starring Me" (Released on 2 October 2006 [3] ), "Totally Me" (Released on 26 March 2007 [4] ) and "Farewell from Me?" (released on 7 January 2008 [5] ). These releases featured the half-hour version of the series, with two episodes combined into one, except for "Farewell From Me", which contains twelve standard-length episodes. All five volumes were later combined with the DVD release of "The Movie of Me" to form "Tracy Beaker – The Boxset of Me" ( released on 11 February 2008 [6] ).

Tracy Beaker – The Movie of Me was released on DVD by Right/Universal on 23 July 2005. [7]

From 2006-2008, the entire series was released on twenty-four DVD sets that were released as part of a fortnightly-published magazine titled the "Tracy Beaker DVD Collection".

Awards and nominations

CeremonyAwardNomineeResult
2002 Children's BAFTA AwardsChildren's DramaThe Story of Tracy BeakerNominated
2003 Children's BAFTA AwardsChildren's DramaThe Story of Tracy BeakerNominated
2003 Children's BAFTA AwardsChildren's WriterMary MorrisNominated
2004 Children's BAFTA AwardsChildren's DramaTracy Beaker: The Movie of MeNominated
2005 Children's BAFTA AwardsChildren's Writer – Adapted InMary MorrisNominated
2005 Royal Television AwardsChildren's AwardTracy Beaker: The Movie of MeWon
2006 Children's BAFTA AwardsChildren's DramaThe Story of Tracy BeakerNominated

Reruns

When the series ended, repeats of the series were shown almost all the time on the CBBC channel until 24 March 2016 (stopping part-way through series 5). However, all episodes were released on the BBC iPlayer in July 2017 and remained there until the end of the year. The episodes returned in September 2018, and on 2 December 2018, the movie was shown again, followed by two episodes of the show on 3 and 4 December 2018. The movie continues to be broadcast regularly, and the series returned to the iPlayer in May 2019. The series was repeated again on CBBC from 4 January 2021.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacqueline Wilson</span> English novelist

Dame Jacqueline Wilson is an English novelist known for her popular children's literature. Her novels have been notable for featuring realistic topics such as adoption and divorce without alienating her large readership. Since her debut novel in 1969, Wilson has written over 100 books.

<i>The Story of Tracy Beaker</i> 1991 novel by Jacqueline Wilson

The Story of Tracy Beaker is a British children's book first published in 1991, written by Jacqueline Wilson and illustrated by Nick Sharratt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tracy Beaker</span> Fictional character from the Tracy Beaker franchise

Tracy Beaker is the lead character in the Tracy Beaker franchise. After first appearing as the main character in Jacqueline Wilson's 1991 book The Story of Tracy Beaker, she appeared in the children's television drama of the same name, portrayed by Danielle Jane Harmer, and its sequel series Tracy Beaker Returns, as well as numerous spin-offs, Jacqueline Wilson books, a play and a video game. Harmer reprised her role as Tracy in the 2021 television series My Mum Tracy Beaker followed by The Beaker Girls.

Danielle Jane Harmer is an English actress, television personality, and former singer. She is best known for her lead role as Tracy Beaker in the CBBC series The Story of Tracy Beaker (2002–2006), Tracy Beaker Returns (2010–2012), for which she was nominated for a BAFTA in 2010, The Tracy Beaker Survival Files (2011–2012), My Mum Tracy Beaker (2021), and The Beaker Girls (2021–2023).

<i>The Sarah Jane Adventures</i> British science-fiction television series

The Sarah Jane Adventures is a British science fiction television programme that was produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC, created by Russell T Davies, and starring Elisabeth Sladen. The programme is a spin-off of the long-running BBC science fiction programme Doctor Who and is aimed at a younger audience than Doctor Who. It focuses on the adventures of Sarah Jane Smith, an investigative journalist who, as a young woman, had numerous adventures across time and space with the Doctor. Following Sladen's sudden death from cancer, the BBC confirmed that the show would not return for a sixth series.

Montanna Thompson is a British actress. She is known for her role as Justine Littlewood in the CBBC children's series The Story of Tracy Beaker (2002–2006). Thompson has reprised her role as Justine in Tracy Beaker Returns (2012), My Mum Tracy Beaker (2021) and The Beaker Girls (2021–2023).

<i>Tracy Beaker Returns</i> British television series

Tracy Beaker Returns was a British television programme. Based upon the novels by Jacqueline Wilson, it is the sequel series to The Story of Tracy Beaker. The series stars Dani Harmer reprising her role as protagonist Tracy Beaker. The third and final series ended on 23 March 2012. A sequel spin-off entitled The Dumping Ground started airing on 4 January 2013.

Richard David Kevin Wisker is an English actor and television presenter, best known for his role as Liam O'Donovan in Tracy Beaker Returns (2010–2012). He also portrayed Rich in the CBBC series Dani's Castle (2013–2015) and Declan in Millie Inbetween (2017–2018) and its spin-off Flatmates (2019–2021). Between 2011 and 2015, he was a presenter on Friday Download.

<i>The Story of Tracy Beaker</i> series 1 Season of television series

The first series of the British children's television series The Story of Tracy Beaker began broadcasting on 8 January 2002 on CBBC on BBC One and ended on 4 April 2002. The series follows the lives of the children living in the fictional children's care home of Stowey House, nicknamed by them "The Dumping Ground". It consists of twenty-six, fifteen-minute episodes. It is the first series in The Story of Tracy Beaker franchise.

<i>The Story of Tracy Beaker</i> series 3 Season of television series

The third series of the British children's television series The Story of Tracy Beaker began broadcasting on 25 September 2003 on CBBC and ended on 1 April 2004. The series follows the lives of the children living in the fictional children's care home of Stowey House, nicknamed by them "The Dumping Ground". It consists of twenty-six, fifteen-minute episodes. It is the third series in The Story of Tracy Beaker franchise.

The Story of Tracy Beaker is a British children's drama media franchise that focuses on the lives and experiences of young people and their care workers in care. The franchise began with the publication of The Story of Tracy Beaker on 14 February 1991. Since then, the franchise has had six further books, three television series and their spin-offs, a television movie, a Children In Need special, a musical and two magazine collections. The Story of Tracy Beaker merchandise has also been released.

<i>Tracy Beaker Returns</i> series 1 Season of television series

The first series of the British children's television series Tracy Beaker Returns began broadcasting on 8 January 2010 on CBBC and ended on 26 March 2010. Based on the novels by Jacqueline Wilson, the series focuses on older Tracy Beaker, who returns to the Dumping Ground as a care worker. And also focuses the lives of the children living in the fictional children's care home of Elmtree House, nicknamed by them "The Dumping Ground". It consists of thirteen, thirty-minute episodes. It is the sixth series in The Story of Tracy Beaker franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacqueline Wilson bibliography</span>

The following is a complete list of books published by Dame Jacqueline Wilson, an English novelist who writes for children's literature. Four of her books appear in the BBC's The Big Read poll of the 100 most popular books in the UK, and for her lifetime contribution as a children's writer, Wilson was a UK nominee for the international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2014. Wilson is the author of many book series; her Tracy Beaker series, inaugurated in 1991 with The Story of Tracy Beaker, includes three sequels and has been adapted into six CBBC television series: The Story of Tracy Beaker, Tracy Beaker Returns, The Dumping Ground, The Tracy Beaker Survival Files, My Mum Tracy Beaker and The Beaker Girls. As of 2023, Wilson has written over 100 novels.

<i>My Mum Tracy Beaker</i> British television series

My Mum Tracy Beaker is a British children's television miniseries that premiered on CBBC and BBC iPlayer on 12 February 2021. The show was aired the week after The Dumping Ground's eighth series concluded. The series follows on from the events of its predecessors, The Story of Tracy Beaker, Tracy Beaker Returns and The Dumping Ground. My Mum Tracy Beaker saw Dani Harmer reprise her role as Tracy Beaker and included original cast members Lisa Coleman, Ruth Gemmell and Montanna Thompson, as well as new cast members Emma Maggie Davies and Jordan Duvigneau.

<i>The Beaker Girls</i> British television series

The Beaker Girls is a British children's television series that premiered on CBBC and BBC iPlayer on 13 December 2021. The series follows on from the events of its predecessors, The Story of Tracy Beaker, Tracy Beaker Returns, The Dumping Ground and My Mum Tracy Beaker. It sees Dani Harmer reprise her role as Tracy Beaker and Emma Maggie Davies return as her daughter Jess. Lisa Coleman and Montanna Thompson also returned, as well as several cast members from My Mum Tracy Beaker. In August 2022, Dani Harmer posted on her Instagram that filming for the second series had finished. The BBC confirmed that Series 2 would be the final series of the My Mum Tracy Beaker/Beaker Girls trilogy, at least for now. It began airing on 13 January 2023 and concluded on 31 March.

Nisha K Nayar is a British actress. After coming to prominence in the 1993 film Bhaji on the Beach, she had starring roles as Debra Kumar in the film Out of Hours in 1998 and as Elaine "the Pain" Boyak in the CBBC series The Story of Tracy Beaker from 2002 to 2005. She also appeared as Joyce Hammond in the ITV crime drama Rose and Maloney between 2004 and 2005 and starred as Fran Keeley in the Channel 4 drama Before We Die in 2021.

References

  1. "Tracy Beaker – Best of Me Series 1 [DVD]". amazon.co.uk . Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  2. "Tracy Beaker – More of Me [DVD]". amazon.co.uk . Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  3. "Tracy Beaker – Starring Me [DVD]". amazon.co.uk. 2 October 2006. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  4. "Tracy Beaker – Totally Me – Series 4 [DVD]". amazon.co.uk. 26 March 2007. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  5. "Tracy Beaker – Farewell From Me [DVD]". amazon.co.uk. 7 January 2008. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  6. "Tracy Beaker – The Boxset of Me [DVD]". amazon.co.uk . Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  7. "Tracy Beaker – The Movie of Me [DVD]". amazon.co.uk . Retrieved 9 September 2011.