Jacqueline Wilson’s children’s book The Story of Tracy Beaker was adapted into a BBC TV series which ran for five series but who played the main character? In this post we find out.
Who plays Tracy Beaker?
Tracy Beaker was played by actress Dani Harmer, who first starred as feisty schoolgirl Tracy aged 12 in 2002. She played the role through 5 series of the main show (and for a further 3 series of spin-off Tracy Beaker Returns which wrapped in 2012), as well as the feature length movie Tracy Beaker: The Movie of Me.
Dani also briefly appeared as Tracy in two episodes of spin-off show The Dumping Ground, although the show did not feature Tracy as a main character.
However she recently reprised the role for 2021 mini-series My Mum’s Tracy Beaker. The show is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Jacqueline Wilson and Tracy Beaker is now a single mum on a council estate to 12 year old Jess.
What else has Dani appeared in?
Before landing the part of Tracy Beaker, Dani appeared on the West End in the musical The Who’s Tommy, aged six. She also had a part as an extra in the first Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, a year before her debut as Tracy.
Since her role in the stow, Dani has a string of TV and stage credits to her name.
She starred in her own children’s series Dani’s House between 2013 and 2015. She’s also had parts in Trials and Retribution, Pie In The Sky, Beast, Touch Me, My Family, The 10th Kingdom and I’m Karen Taylor.
She also competed in the 2012 series of Strictly Come Dancing where she was partnered with Vincent Simone and the pairing reached the final where they finished in fourth place.
Dani and Vincent dance the Charleston/Quickstep to “Happy Feet” in Week 10 of Strictly Come Dancing. The dance was there highest score to date, scoring 38.
Dani and Vincent dancing the Argentine Tango to “Libertango” in Week 11. The dance equalled their highest score of 38.
On the stage, she has appeared in various pantomimes including playing the part of Dolly Mixture in Snow White (2004), the title character in Peter Pan (2005) and Cinderella (2011). She also played the role of Janet in The Rocky Horror Show during it’s 2013 UK tour.
The actress also had a brief music career, signing a record deal in 2008 worth £3m with Universal/Decca. However she only released one single “Free” which due to poor sales meant the album was shelved. However the song was used as the theme song for Dani’s House.
Where is Dani now?
Dani is now 34 years old and is happily settled down with her boyfriend Simon Brough, who describes himself as “a gamer, amateur cook, pop culture referencer and all round nerd” on Instagram.
The couple have two children together, a 7 year old daughter named Avarie-Belle and a 1 year old son, Rowan.
Dani has also set up The Dani Harmer Academy in her hometown of Bracknell in Berkshire. The performing arts academy offers children and young people lessons in drama, dance and singing with Dani herself being an acting coach at the academy.
Where can I watch Tracy Beaker?
At the time of writing, all episodes of The Story of Tracy Beaker are currently available on BBC iPlayer here, as well as Tracy Beaker Returns and My Mum’s Tracy Beaker, as well as the spin-off The Dumping Ground. However, currently the Movie of Me is not available to stream on iPlayer.
Also be sure to check out my review of The Story of Tracy Beaker the audiobook.