My Mum Tracy Beaker: Dani Harmer to reprise role in reboot after 15 years

Star said she wants to portray character as ‘the same feisty, strong female lead that people know and love’

Dani Harmer is officially reprising her role as Tracy Beaker in a reboot of the show, 15 years after the last series aired on CBBC.

My Mum Tracy Beaker will follow the former stroppy teenager as a single mother to her 12-year-old daughter Jess.

The new series is based on the 2018 book of the same name by Jacqueline Wilson, who wrote the original children’s novels that inspired the first show.

An official synopsis for the book reads: "Jess thinks Tracy is the best mum ever, even when she shouts at her teachers! Yes, their flat’s a bit mouldy. It’s only just big enough for two. And the Duke Estate is a bit scary. But it’s their happy home.

"Until Sean Godfrey, Tracy’s rich boyfriend, whisks them away to his mansion, life of fast cars and celebrity stardom. Will Jess’s brilliant mum turn into a new person altogether?"

Harmer said she “can’t wait” to return to the beloved role of Beaker, who became synonymous with catchphrases such as “bog off” and “porridge brain”.

“I’m a fan myself and want to know what happens next and where this journey takes her,” Harmer, 31, told The Sun. “Being a mother, I know how much it changes you.”

She added: “I’m looking forward to seeing how it has changed Tracy but still keeping her the same feisty, strong female lead that people know and love.”

The Story of Tracy Beaker aired on CBBC from 2002 to 2005. Its spin-off, Tracy Beaker Returns, then followed from 2010 to 2012.

The show followed Beaker and a group of kids who lived in a children’s care home, which they nicknamed “The Dumping Ground”.

It is not yet known whether the rest of the original cast will return, such as Beaker’s enemy Justine Littlewood, played by Montanna Thompson.