My Mum Tracy Beaker: Now a major TV series

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Now meet Tracy's daughter, Jess in this heart-warming tale of unconventional families and unconditional love.

Unfortunately, we learn that Tracy’s life has not turned out the way she imagined when living in the dumping ground. Nevertheless, her and her daughter are happy and have created a wonderful loving home in their council estate flat. Fortunately, Cam, Tracy’s foster mum, still plays a vital role in her life and is much loved by Jess, proving a safe place in times of uncertainty. Jacqueline Wilson wrote her first novel when she was nine years old, and she has been writing ever since. She is now one of Britain’s bestselling and most beloved children’s authors. She has written over 100 books and is the creator of characters such as Tracy Beaker and Hetty Feather. More than forty million copies of her books have been sold. Jacqueline Wilson, most-loved author has sold 40 million copies of her books. Her characters don't need a cape, or a special power to be a hero to generations of children; just huge imaginations, a bit of fierceness and a big heart. And there is no hero fiercer or more iconic than Tracy. Jacqueline is also a great reader, and has amassed over 20,000 books, along with her famous collection of silver rings.The book was published in 1991. I can’t say it was an overnight success but it did better than my others and soon a wonderful producer at the BBC, Sue Nott, told me she was desperate to make it into a TV series. She had trouble though: some people believed Tracy wasn’t an aspirational character and wouldn’t be popular, but Sue persisted. A decade after the first book, the show started. As well as winning many awards for her books, including the Children’s Book of the Year, Jacqueline is a former Children’s Laureate, and in 2008 she was appointed a Dame. The Story of Tracy Beaker, an award-winning novel about a troubled ten-year-old girl who lives in a children’s home, was originally published to great acclaim in 1991. Now Tracy Beaker is a mum, and this marvellous tale, narrated by her daughter Jess, introduces the spirited character to a new generation of readers. My favourite character is Tyrone because I love the way he looks out for Jess and he is really kind to her. I like My Mum Tracy Beaker because it makes lots of links to the episodes of Tracy Beaker and the other books. I really enjoyed it!

My Mum Tracy Beaker has been commissioned by Cheryl Taylor, Head of Content, BBC Children’s and is made by BBC Children’s In-House Productions. It has been adapted for television by Emma Reeves. It will premiere on CBBC and BBC iPlayer in February. A childhood friend of Tracy’s, Sean was poor growing up, but his life changed dramatically when he became a rich and famous footballer. Now the owner of a chain of gyms, Sean has all the trappings of luxury, a big house with a swimming pool, a full-time housekeeper, fancy cars and has dated many models and actresses but something’s missing. He’s drawn to Tracy as he’s admired her independent spirit ever since he was a boy. I agree as well about the gay romance, which made me realize how much the TV series and Book series had actually ended up sort of coming into continuity clashes with each other, but was still nice to see. Tracy Beaker is the same fierce, funny, impetuous force of nature she always was, but her energy is now focused on her beloved daughter Jess. The years haven’t exactly mellowed Tracy, but the twin stabilising forces of her adoptive mother Cam and her own daughter have made her just a little bit kinder. Tracy will do anything for those she cares about, she’s very protective of Jess and puts Jess’ happiness first at all times. I wrote several more books about Tracy, eventually moving on to her becoming a mum herself. It would be wonderful if we had Tracy having to go into a home for the elderly, too, bringing her story full circle. But I see Tracy having a wonderful future no matter what, even if it’s only in my head. Through Tracy, I’ve done all sorts of work with the fostering network. Some kids I met said Tracy raised their status at school. Of course, because the books and shows are aimed at children, you can’t include the whole reality. Being a child in care is no picnic.I thought they captured its spirit perfectly and Dani Harmer was just superb as Tracy. We were exploring some quite adult themes and I didn’t think it was going to be so big. Years later, though, I was on Blue Peter and they had a huge cardboard cutout of Tracy behind me. I was sitting at her feet, like she’d taken over me. By then, if I walked down the street and people recognised me, they’d call out: “Tracy Beaker!”