At its core, the premise was simple. Swap out a high school filled with curious and complicated characters for a foster care home called the Dumping Ground, sit back, and let the rest take care of itself. Ten-year-old Tracy (Dani Harmer) is sent back into temporary care after a failed adoption placement and is often told she has behavioural problems. Alongside a fresh crop of clueless social workers, Tracy lives with a motley crew of mischievous pranksters, including her arch nemesis Justine Littlewood. Based on the book by Jacqueline Wilson, The Story of Tracy Beaker was 15 minutes of pre-pubescent chaos. Just switch the cocaine for Capri-Suns. While telling every adult in a 20-mile radius to “bog off,” Tracy Beaker was a marvel. British kids might have been used to talking cars and well-behaved dogs flying in planes, but a misunderstood child seemed like a step too far. Now, the same generation thinks nothing of Kat working as a camgirl or Rue leaving rehab to immediately score. But eating worms, food fights, and leaving your social worker in the Science Museum felt like a new televised frontier. Tracy told it as it was — if something wasn’t fair, it would be called out. If she didn’t want something, it wouldn’t be done. And if someone had wronged her, there would be all hell to pay. Unlike the pretence of the Instagram-addled Euphoria, a big part of The Story of Tracy Beaker merely allowed kids to be kids. Kicks and thrills came from the things we’d genuinely be concerned with. The nation’s little ones became hooked on who stole Rio’s Maroon 5 CD, Justine and Louise’s endless dance routines, and desperately wanted to join Amber’s ‘too cool for school’ gang. If there was a child to be represented, they were there — often throwing flour over anyone above 30. Even the one bizarre musical number that didn’t quite work gave us lots to laugh about. What made The Story of Tracy Beaker stand out so much was its ensemble. It was probably the first time many of us had ever heard of foster care, let alone seen something outside of our cushy living rooms. Even if we didn’t need to play nice with a social worker, we all had an adult we wanted to scream at. We all had a kid that was picking on us, a penchant to steal an adult’s make-up or dye our hair green when no one was looking. As the the Dumping Ground and its residents grew and eventually morphed into Tracy Beaker Returns, that confidence never went away.Even though after-school viewing snacks of lunchables and squash changed to a glass of wine and Deliveroo, the spirit of The Story of Tracy Beaker never left the early 2000s Brits. Much like Euphoria for Gen Z, its impact lives on in memes, quotes, and iconic characters. The honesty of the show was the first of its kind, proving kids could have fun through the hard times. Maybe it was revolutionary. Maybe we just love mess. Regardless, Tracy Beaker was the poster girl of a generation in a world that just needed to bog off.
