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The Story of Tracy Beaker (also known as Tracy Beaker or TSOTB) is a television programme adapted from the book of the same name by Jacqueline Wilson. It ran on CBBC for five series, from 2002 to 2005 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

The pilot episode aired on 8 January 2002 and the series finale aired on 5 March 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, his brother Ryan and Ben.

Synopsis

The story takes place in a British carehome, narrated by its lead, Tracy Beaker. In the first three series, Tracy lives at the carehome and the stories revolve around her desire to leave the home, nicknamed 'The Dumping Ground' by its residents. At the start of the fourth series, Tracy becomes fostered by author Cam Lawson (the events of this are depicted in The Movie of Me). The focus of the programme then shifts slightly because the plots often centre on Cam and Tracy's relationship. At 'The Dumping Ground', characters such as Jackie, Crash, Lol and Bouncer have taken over Tracy's narrative role.

With the fostering of the series' primary antagonist, Tracy's worst enemy, Justine Littlewood, a new family called "The Wellards" are introduced to the home. Tracy's role is reduced further in the final series, notably she does not debut in person until episode 4, with the main narrative being the return of Justine to the 'Dumping Ground'. However when Tracy does return, 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 closes the original series.

From series one to five, the show was filmed in 3 different houses in Wales, however since Tracy Beaker Returns series one, the show has been filmed in 2 houses in Newcastle (the 2nd house began being featured from episode one of series 2 of The Dumping Ground. The original series one to three carehome was called Stowey House, for series four it was Cliffside and for the final series it was Elm Tree. On its 2010 return, Elm Tree House was the prominent name for the carehome and has remained since. In an episode of Tracy Beaker Returns, Tracy suggests the carehome 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 carehome, 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

Kids

Care Workers

Others

DVD Releases

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

• 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 half-hour compilations which is 12 15-minute episodes, however Series 5 contains single episodes.

Awards

Ratings (CBBC Channel)

Series 1: 2002

Series 2: 2003

Series 3: 2003

Series 4: 2004

Series 5: 2005

References

1. "Tracy Beaker – Best of Me Series 1 [DVD]". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
2. "Tracy Beaker – More of Me [DVD]". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
3. "Tracy Beaker – Starring Me [DVD]". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
4. "Tracy Beaker – Totally Me – Series 4 [DVD]". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
5. "Tracy Beaker – Farewell From Me [DVD]". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
6. "Tracy Beaker – The Boxset of Me [DVD]". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
7. "Tracy Beaker – The Movie of Me [DVD]". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

External links

• Tracy Beaker- CBBC at BBC Online
• The Story of Tracy Beaker at BBC Online
• The Story of Tracy Beaker at IMDb

• Use dmy dates from December 2012
• The Story of Tracy Beaker
• Television programs based on children's books
• BBC children's television programmes
• Television shows set in Newcastle upon Tyne