Tracy Beaker is back, 20 years after the original TV series was filmed and now it’s My Mum Tracy Beaker
My Mum Tracy Beaker follows Tracy (Dani Harmer) and her daughter Jess (Emma Maggie Davies), as they try to scrape by financially, but with a close and loving bond that Tracy missed out on with her own mum.
Told from the perspective of 10-year-old Jess, the series tells how their lives are drastically changed with the arrival of Tracy’s rich new boyfriend, Sean Godfrey (Jordan Duvigneau). Sean secretly admired Tracy when they were young and when he was simply known as ‘Football’. Now, recently retired and with all the trappings of a successful football star, he wants to whisk Tracy and Jess away to a life of palatial mansions and fancy cars – but when everything starts to go classically Tracy Beaker pear-shaped, can Jess save the day?
Dani Harmer was interviewed on set, and had this to say about the very early days of Tracy Beaker:
“I think people love Tracy because everyone can see a little bit of themselves in her. She has so many different emotions, just in one day, she can go from being really sad to really angry to ridiculously happy and everyone can find a little bit of Tracy in themselves. She comes across as fierce and a bit scary, but underneath it all, there’s a heart of gold there. I think people just love how independent and fierce she really is. I hope that’s why people like her, that’s why I like her.
When we first brought out Tracy Beaker, there weren’t really many strong female characters, especially in kids TV, there was a lot of slapstick comedy, so for me to be able to portray this awesome female character was just a dream come true. I’m really glad it’s stood the test of time because women are awesome.”
My Mum Tracy Beaker (three half-hour episodes) is an adaptation of the Dame Jacqueline Wilson book of the same name. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the publication of her iconic book, The Story Of Tracy Beaker. You can read all about the new series, including various interviews with those involved here. It will premiere on CBBC and BBC iPlayer in February.