The Story of Tracy Beaker (TV series)

The Story of Tracy Beaker
Title Board Series 5
Created by	Jacqueline Wilson (Books)
Starring	Dani Harmer Montanna Thompson Lisa Coleman Nisha Nayar
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	120 + 5 specials (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Cas Lester (2002–2003) Jane Dauncey (2004–2005) Josephine Ward (2006–07)
Producer(s)	Jane Dauncey (2002–2003) Mia Jupp (2004, 2005) Jane Steventon (2006–07)
Running time	25 minutes 69 minutes (Tracy Beaker's Movie of Me) 30 minutes (Parties With Pudsey)
Production company(s)	Entertainment Rights BBC
Release
Original network	CBBC CBBC HD
Original release	8 January 2002 – 11 July 2007
Chronology
Followed by	Tracy Beaker Returns (2009–12)
Related shows	Tracy Beaker Survival Files (2011–12) The Dumping Ground (2013-Present) The Dumping Ground Survival Files (2014)

The Story of Tracy Beaker (also known as Tracy Beaker or TSOTB) is a British television programme adapted from the book of the same name by Jacqueline Wilson. It ran on CBBC for five series, from 2002 to 2007 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. The theme song was written and performed by Keisha White. All of the five series have been released on DVD and the entire first series has been made available on Netflix.

Episodes

Main article: List of The Story of Tracy Beaker episodes

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 introduces the characters and feel of the show. In "Tracy Returns", Tracy moves back into the Dumping Ground. 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. Series 1 also sees the introduction of characters such as Duke, Mike, Louise, Zac, Ryan and Ben.

Synopsis

The story takes place in Britain, in a children's residential care home, narrated by its lead, Tracy Beaker. In the first three series, Tracy lives at the care home and the stories revolve around her desire to leave the home, nicknamed 'The Dumping Ground' by its residents.

After series three, the feature length "The Movie of Me" depicts Tracy meeting author Cam Lawson, who becomes Tracy's foster mother at the start of series four. The focus of the programme then shifts slightly because the plots often centre on Cam and Tracy's relationship. Back at the care home, existing characters such as Jackie, Crash, Lol and Bouncer have taken over Tracy's narrative role. With the fostering of Tracy's worst enemy, Justine Littlewood, the Wellards are introduced to 'The Dumping Ground' – Roxy, Rio and Chantal, are a trio of tough nut siblings who are the bane of every care worker's existence.

Tracy's role is reduced further in the final, fifth, series, making her first appearance in episode 4. The main narrative to start this series is Justine's, as she has been returned to the 'Dumping Ground'. When Tracy does appear, she moves back into the children's home because she is not happy with Cam's new boyfriend, Gary. Gary and Cam marry and Tracy accepts their relationship, Gary and Cam decide to adopt Tracy full-time. This ends the original series.

Production

The entire five series run of TSOTB was filmed in 3 different houses in Wales. In 2010, the sequel series Tracy Beaker Returns (TBR) was filmed in 2 houses in Newcastle. In 2013, the second Newcastle house was used in the second sequel series, The Dumping Ground.

The three care homes in TSOTB were called Stowey House (series 1–3), Cliffside (series 4) and Elm Tree (series 5). On its 2010 return in TBR, Elm Tree House was the prominent name for the care home and has remained since.

In an episode of TBR, Tracy suggests the care home has always been Elm Tree House. She shows the kids a hidden video with archive footage of TSOTB within, and also knew where it was, despite it being called Elm Tree instead of Cliffside (like it was when she left) in episode one of TBR. No reference was made of differences in the interior and exterior of the care home, and how Tracy seemed to know her way around. In the final episode of TBR, Tracy sits in a window at the bottom of the staircase and Mike says he remembers when she used to sit there years ago waiting for her Mum. The window she used to sit in was either in the dining room (now in the kitchen), the staircase (which no longer has a landing) or the living room or den.

Cast

Main characters

Character	Actor/Actress	Duration	Year(s)
Tracy Beaker	Dani Harmer	Series 1–5 (Recurring Series 4–5) Series 1–3 (Tracy Beaker Returns)	2002–2005; 2010-2012
Camilla 'Cam' Lawson	Lisa Coleman	Series 1–5, Series 1–3 (Tracy Beaker Returns)	2002–2005; 2010-2012
Justine Littlewood	Montanna Thompson	Series 1–3, 5, 4 (Guest), Series 3 (Tracy Beaker Returns; Guest)	2002–2005; 2012
Elaine 'The Pain' Boyak	Nisha Nayar	Series 1–5	2002–2005
Norman 'Duke' Ellington	Clive Rowe	Series 1–4	2002–2005
Louise Goven	Chelsie Padley	Series 1–3 (Recurring Series 3)	2002–2004
Adele Azupadi	Rochelle Gadd	Series 1–2	2002–2003
Mike Milligan	Connor Byrne	Series 1, 5, Series 1–3 (Tracy Beaker Returns), Series 1– (The Dumping Ground)	2002, 2005, 2010–Present
Jenny Edwards	Sharlene Whyte	Series 1–2	2002–2003
Peter Ingham	Joe Starrs	Series 1	2002
Ryan Matthews	Sonny Muslim	Series 1	2002
Zac Matthews	Jay Haner	Series 1	2002
Maxy	Jerome Holder	Series 1	2002
Amber Hurst	Alicia Hooper	Series 2	2003
Bradley 'Bouncer' Plakova	Ben Hanson	Series 2–5 (Recurring Series 5)	2003–2005
Lawrence 'Lol' Plakova	Ciaran Joyce	Series 2–5	2003–2005
Nathan Jones	James Cartwright	Series 2–3	2003–2004
Dolly	Chloe Hibbert-Waters	Series 2–3	2003
Liam 'Crash'	Darragh Mortell	Series 3–5	2003–2005
Shelley Appleton	Nicola Reynolds	Series 3, 5	2003–2004, 2005
Michael Grys	William Tomlin	Series 3	2003–2004
Jackie Hopper	Abby Rakic Platt	Series 3–5	2003–2005
Marco Maloney	Jack Edwards	Series 3–5	2003–2005
Hayley	Kristal Lau	Series 3–4	2003–2004
Layla	Cara Readle	Series 3–5	2003–2005
Wilson	Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins	Series 3	2004
Chantal Wellard	Deepal Parmar	Series 4–5	2004–2005
Rio Wellard	Craig Roberts	Series 4–5	2004–2005
Roxy Wellard	Sophie Borja	Series 4–5	2004–2005
Sean "Wolfie"	Felix Drake	Series 4–5	2005
Sid Rooney	Vincenzo Pellegrino	Series 4	2004-2005
Rebecca Chalmers	Georgina Hagen	Series 5	2005
Milly	Holly Gibbs	Series 5	2005
Alice	Olivia Grant	Series 5	2005

Other Characters/Guest Care Workers

Character	Actor/Actress	Duration	Year(s)
Ben Batambuze	Luke Youngblood	Series 1–2	2002–2004
Carly Beaker	Annette Bentley/Ruth Gemmell	Series 1, Movie	2002, 2005
Steve Littlewood	Stephen Crossley/Morgan Hopkins	Series 1–3, 5	2002–2005, 2005
Leah	Louisa Milwood Haigh	Series 1	2003
Carrie Littlewood	Caroline Bunce/Kathrin Dimeky	Series 2–3, 5	2003–2005, 2005
Mrs Batambuze (Ben's Mum)	Natasha Williams	Series 1–2	2002–2003
Miss Sharp	Ysobel Gonzalez	Series 1	2002
Jasper Batambuze	Declan Wilson	Series 2	2003
Kate Batambuze	Tracy Williams	Series 2	2003
Grandpa Jack Hopper	Howell Evans	Series 3–4	2004–2005
Jake	Ryan Nelson	Series 3	2004
Tom	Matt Zarb	Series 3	2004
Carly Beaker	Ruth Gemmell	Movie	2004
Freddy Mercer	Ram John Holder	Series 4–5	2005
Constance Carlton	Christine Winter	Series 4	2005
John Littlewood	Adam Skilton	Series 5	2005
Gary	George McAllister	Series 5	2005

DVD releases

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

DVD Title		No. of Disc(s)	Year	No. of Episodes	DVD release
DVD Title		No. of Disc(s)	Year	No. of Episodes	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
	Tracy Beaker – Best of Me – Series One	1	2002	6		6 February 2006^[1]
	Tracy Beaker – More of Me – Series Two	1	2003	6		22 May 2006^[2]
	Tracy Beaker – Starring Me – Series Three	1	2004	6		2 October 2006^[3]
	Tracy Beaker – Totally Me – Series Four	1	2004	6		26 March 2007^[4]
	Tracy Beaker – Farewell from Me – Series Five	1	2005–2006	12		7 January 2008^[5]
	Tracy Beaker – The Boxset of Me (Also Includes Movie of Me)	6	2002–2005	60 (12 episodes per series)		11 February 2008^[6]
	Tracy Beaker – The Movie of Me	1	2004	N/A		25 July 2005^[7]

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. All episodes on Series 1 – 4's DVDs are compilations so there are 6 28 minute compilations which is 12 14 minute episodes, however Series 5 contains single episodes.

Awards and nominations

Ceremony	Award	Nominee	Result
2002 Children's BAFTA Awards	Children's Drama	The Story of Tracy Beaker	Nominated
2003 Children's BAFTA Awards	Children's Drama	The Story of Tracy Beaker	Nominated
2003 Children's BAFTA Awards	Children's Writer	Mary Morris	Nominated
2004 Children's BAFTA Awards	Children's Drama	Tracy Beaker: The Movie of Me	Nominated
2004 Children's BAFTA Awards	Children's Writer – Adapted In	Mary Morris	Nominated
2004 Royal Television Awards	Children's Award	Tracy Beaker: The Movie of Me	Won
2005 Children's BAFTA Awards	Children's Drama	The Story of Tracy Beaker	Nominated

Ratings (CBBC Channel)

Series 1: 2002

Episode no.	Total viewers	CBBC weekly ranking
1	1	N/A
2	16	1
3	499,000	1
4	233,000	N/A
5	278,000	8
6	315,000	6
7	221,000	N/A
8	4,200	3
9	242,000	4
10	423,000	1
11	444,000	1
12	417,000	1
13	526,000	1
14	658,000	6
15	215,000	3
16	215	N/A
17	145,000	N/A
18	10,000	N/A
19	815,000	1
20	234,000	10
21	415,000	10
22	615,000	1
23	522,000	1
24	2,100,000	9
25	2,900,000	5
26	4,200,000	1

Series 2: 2003

Episode no.	Total viewers	CBBC weekly ranking
1	567,000	1
2	363,000	1
3	499,000	1
4	925,000	1
5	616,000	1
6	415,000	6
7	231,000	9
8	361,000	3
9	219,000	4
10	423,000	1
11	444,000	1
12	417,000	1
13	526,000	1
14	658,000	6
15	215,000	3
16	215,000	N/A
17	135,000	N/A
18	531	2
19	699,000	1
20	23,00	N/A
21	775,000	10
22	395,000	1
23	622,000	1
24	995,000	1
25	395,000	1
26	1,580,000	1

Series 3: 2003–2004

Episode no.	Total viewers	CBBC weekly ranking
1	519,000	1
2	716,000	1
3	422,000	1
4	513,000	1
5	689,000	1
6	389,000	1
7	458,000	1
8	684,000	1
9	409,000	1
10	399,000	1
11	528,000	1
12	590,000	1
13	326,000	1
14	318,000	3
15	245,000	10
16	108,000	N/A
17	745,000	1
18	862,000	1
19	996,000	1
20	914,000	1
21	285,000	4
22	171,000	N/A
23	011,000	N/A
24	285,000	N/A
25	305,000	8
26	491,000	2

Series 4: 2004–2005

Episode no.	Total viewers	CBBC weekly ranking
1	299,000	N/A
2	216,000	N/A
3	312,000	6
4	355,000	3
5	924,000	1
6	909,000	1
7	958,000	1
8	922,000	1
9	925,000	1
10	999,000	1
11	861,000	1
12	475,000	3
13	138,000	N/A
14	723,000	1
15	993,000	1
16	108,000	N/A
17	745,000	1
18	862,000	1
19	996,000	1
20	914,000	1
21	311,000	2
22	898,000	1

Series 5: 2005

Episode no.	Total viewers	CBBC weekly ranking
1	387,000	1
2	634,000	1
3	365,000	2
4	210,000	5
5	333,000	10
6	200,000	N/A
7	777,000	1
8	531,000	1
9	900,000	1
10	322,000	9
11	866,000	1
12	215,000	10
13	138,000	N/A
14	989,000	1
15	993,000	1
16	972,000	1
17	956,000	1
18	905,000	1
19	990,000	1
20	999,000	1

References

↑ "Tracy Beaker – Best of Me Series 1 [DVD]". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
↑ "Tracy Beaker – More of Me [DVD]". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
↑ "Tracy Beaker – Starring Me [DVD]". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
↑ "Tracy Beaker – Totally Me – Series 4 [DVD]". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
↑ "Tracy Beaker – Farewell From Me [DVD]". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
↑ "Tracy Beaker – The Boxset of Me [DVD]". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
↑ "Tracy Beaker – The Movie of Me [DVD]". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2011.

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 series

Books	The Story of Tracy Beaker (1991) The Dare Game (2000) Starring Tracy Beaker (2006) Tracy Beaker's Thumping Heart (2009) Ask Tracy Beaker and Friends (2010)

TV series	The Story of Tracy Beaker (2002-05) Tracy Beaker Returns (2010-12) The Dumping Ground (2013-)

Children in Need Specials	Tracy Beaker Parties with Pudsey (2004) Children's Party at the Palace (2006)

Films	Tracy Beaker's Movie of Me (2004)

Theatre	Tracy Beaker Gets Real (2006)

Characters	The Story of Tracy Beaker characters Tracy Beaker Returns characters The Dumping Ground characters

TV episodes	List of The Story of Tracy Beaker episodes List of Tracy Beaker Returns episodes List of The Dumping Ground episodes

Related TV series	Tracy Beaker Survival Files (2011-12) The Dumping Ground Survival Files (2014) Liam's Story (2014) The Dumping Ground Dish Up (2015) The Dumping Ground: I'm... (2016)

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, January 29, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.