Few children’s book characters have lodged themselves in British culture the way Tracy Beaker has since her first appearance in Jacqueline Wilson’s 1991 novel The Story of Tracy Beaker (Wikipedia, user-contributed encyclopedia) — the loud, impulsive girl from a care home called the Dumping Ground has become a fixture of childhood. This guide pulls together the essentials: where her story ends, how she became who she is, and what her character says about the real UK care system.
First book published: 1991 ·
TV series run: 2002–2006 ·
Number of main books: 4 ·
Actress: Dani Harmer ·
Character age in series: 10 ·
Care home name: The Dumping Ground
Quick snapshot
- Tracy Beaker is adopted by Cam Lawson at the end of the original book (The Independent, UK news outlet)
- Dani Harmer played Tracy in the BBC TV series (IMDb, film/TV database)
- Jacqueline Wilson created the character in 1991 (Wikipedia, user-contributed encyclopedia)
- Exact age Tracy entered the Dumping Ground – implied age 5 but not specified in the text (
Additional sources
Henry William Bennett Murray is a staff writer for CivicInsight.uk, covering UK public affairs, policy and civic life. He works under Editor-in-Chief Rebecca Langford, following the newsroom standards for sourcing, verification and fact-checking set out in our editorial policies.