Tracy Beaker star Dani Harmer reveals plans to return as iconic character after brief cameo in spin-off series

TRACY Beaker star Dani Harmer has revealed plans to return as the iconic character, following her brief cameo in the spin-off series.

The actress, now aged 35, is making a grand comeback to the role 23 years after first rocketing to fame playing the tearaway child.

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Dani has been snapped up by the BBC for a one-off guest role in the long-running Beaker spin-off, The Dumping Ground.

The star will reprise the role for one episode when the programme returns for its thirteenth series later this month.

Talking about being the centre of the Tracy Beaker Universe, Dani told Radio Times: “Oh, it’s a gift for sure! And it’s a badge I wear with pride.

"It’s one of the reasons I’ll always go back if I’m asked.

"When I go back and look around, I do think ‘Gosh, this all started when I was 12.’ If someone had told me then about the legacy that the show would have, I wouldn’t have believed them.”

When asked if she missed out on a 'normal' childhood, Dani responded: "From the age of 12, I was carrying a whole show – in that first series, I was pretty much in every single scene – so I had a very different childhood from most people.

"Whereas most people were going to school, doing their GCSEs and going to their prom, I was on Blue Peter and met the Queen. I wouldn’t change it for the world."

Talking about her transition from child star into adulthood, Dani said: "I’m incredibly boring! I never really did the whole drugs-and-alcohol thing. I don’t really drink or do anything newsworthy.

"I totally get why people spiral out of control because being a child actor is really, really hard.

"You’re in the limelight and people will give you anything you want and then suddenly, if you stop working, it’s all gone.

"That can really mess with your head, especially if you don’t have the right support system around you.

"Thankfully, I’ve always had incredible family and friends to keep me grounded and I’ve always worked, thanks to Tracy Beaker.

"Hopefully I’ll be able to play her when I’m in my 80s. Who doesn’t want to see Grandma Tracy Beaker?"

The star will also be trying her hand at directing for the first time.

She added: "I’ve always wanted to direct, so it was a real pinch-me moment. I was working with such a supportive crew, a lot of whom I had grown up with, so that felt really nice.

"It felt like coming home. There were people who had been trainees when I was there who are now heads of department."

The Dumping Ground was conceived as the second spin-off to the original CBBC kids drama The Story of Tracy Beaker which ran between 2002 and 2006.

Four years later, Dani took on the role once more in Tracy Beaker Returns which saw her character, than aged in her early 20s, begin working at the infamous care home nicknamed The Dumping Ground - marking a major full circle moment for her character.

When Dani opted to quit the role again after three series, the programme was slightly retooled to remain focused on the newer residents of the care home with The Dumping Ground having churned out a series every year ever since.

Whilst Dani hasn't been seen on the main spin-off since 2012, she did portray the role once again in the 2021 special, My Mum Tracy Beaker.

In the programme, Tracy was mum to Jess and followed her as she navigated a new relationship whilst caring for her school-aged child and reuniting with a number of faces from her past.

The show became CBBC's biggest launch ever on BBC iPlayer with the first episode being requested 2.1 million times within three days of its premiere.

When the show aired on linear TV, it attained just under 900,000 viewers after seven days.

It was followed by The Beaker Girls show which ran until 2023 and continued the story.

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