The Beaker Girls

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The Beaker Girls
The Beaker Girls.jpeg
Genre
Based onWe Are The Beaker Girls
by Jacqueline Wilson
Written byEmma Reeves
Starring
Music byKevin Sargent
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes5
Production
Running time30 minutes
Production companyBBC Children's Productions
DistributorBBC Studios
Release
Original networkCBBC
Original release13 December 2021 (2021-12-13)
Chronology
Preceded by

The Beaker Girls is a British children's television series that premiered on CBBC and BBC iPlayer on 13 December 2021.[1][2] The series follows on from the events of its predecessors, The Story of Tracy Beaker, Tracy Beaker Returns, The Dumping Ground and My Mum Tracy Beaker. It sees Dani Harmer reprise her role as Tracy Beaker and Emma Maggie Davies return as her daughter Jess. Lisa Coleman and Montanna Thompson also returned, as well as several cast members from the My Mum Tracy Beaker.[3]

Production[]

Following the success of the miniseries My Mum Tracy Beaker, In August 2021, CBBC announced that a new series based on the book We Are The Beaker Girls would premiere in mid December.[4] The series saw most of the main cast from My Mum Tracy Beaker reprise their roles along with newcomers Chi-Megan Ennis-McLean as Jordan Whitely and Alibe Parsons as junk shop owner Flo. Wim Snape replaces Jim English in the role as Peter Ingham.[5] The series is set in the fictional town of Cooksea and was filmed in summer 2021 in Clevedon.[6]

Cast[]

See also: List of The Story of Tracy Beaker (franchise) characters

Episodes[]

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions) [7]
1"The Ice Cream Thief"John McKayEmma Reeves13 December 2021 (2021-12-13)N/A
Tracy and Jess are settling into their new life in the seaside town of Cooksea. Their new friend Flo is a former actress who owns a junk shop ironically named 'The Dumping Ground' of which Tracy becomes the manager of. Whilst out buying ice creams, Jess is mugged by a thief who turns out to be a girl named Jordan who is in care and meets another girl called Patience at the beach. Tracy's friend and former Dumping Ground resident Peter Ingham returns and is set to become Jess' new headteacher when she starts secondary school. Jess does her best to help Jordan but is furious when she discovers she is a thief and has stolen from the local shop. Meanwhile Jess' friend Tyrone and Tracy's ex-boyfriend Sean Godfrey turn up to surprise them in their new hometown.
2"Showdown at the Shore"John McKayEmma Reeves13 December 2021 (2021-12-13)N/A
Sean and Tyrone’s visit leads to an eventful picnic on the beach as everyone discovers the truth about Jordan. Justine Littlewood returns and vandalises Sean Godfrey's car, accusing him of cheating on her and reveals to Tracy that her father is suffering with dementia. Meanwhile, Jordan has nowhere to run when Tracy discovers the truth about her.
3"My Sister Jordan"John McKayEmma Reeves13 December 2021 (2021-12-13)N/A
Tracy invites Jordan to live with them and Jess is relieved that her secret is finally out, but now has to adjust to life with Jordan as part of her family. Cam and Mary arrive in Cooksea to give their advice after Peter informs them of Tracy's decision. Jess starts secondary school and is shocked to find out her new teacher is the woman who she threw a burger at on the pier. After overhearing Cam and Mary encouraging Tracy to inform social services, Jordan runs away.
4"The Runaway Returns"John McKayEmma Reeves13 December 2021 (2021-12-13)N/A
Tracy discovers that Jordan has stolen £500 from her bank account and as Jess struggles to deal with Jordan’s disappearance, she also has to find space to deal with the surprise arrival of her father back in her life and begins to reconnect with him and discovers her father is married and that she has a younger half brother called Alex. Jess is angry with Tracy for not telling her about her father's family and after going to Cam for advice decides she is not ready to let her father back in her life.
5"The Beaker Girls' Christmas"John McKayEmma Reeves13 December 2021 (2021-12-13)N/A
It is Christmas in Cooksea, Jordan has now been missing for several months however when Jess and Patience are in town they discover Jordan busking for money, however she runs away yet again and Jess discovers she is sleeping rough. Jess questions Jordan as to why she stole from her mum. Justine calls Tracy and reveals she has split up with Sean Godfrey again and that her father Steve has died. Tracy decides to invite Justine for Christmas but Jess is not happy and tells Tracy she wants to spend Christmas with her dad. When Sean Godfrey is helping out at a charity Christmas Grotto, Justine arrives and reveals she is heavily pregnant. Jess sees Jordan once again and makes one final attempt to bring her home but they discover Justine going into labour on the beach and she gives birth to a baby boy in the beach hut on Christmas Eve, whom she names after her father. The Beaker Girls celebrate Christmas with their family and friends.

Reception[]

The series was praised in The Guardian for having a nostalgic feel and was named as one of the seven best shows to watch in December. The writers stated "The Story of The Beaker Girls is just beginning... For millennials who grew up learning about life through Jacqueline Wilson books, the promising exit line of this year’s Tracy Beaker reboot was a welcome one. Following a now grownup Tracy and her daughter Jess, it scratched a nostalgic itch while continuing to beautifully explore the care system, with plenty of silly moments in between."[8]

References[]

  1. ^ Gevertz, Jack (7 December 2021). "BBC issues update on The Beaker Girls and when it will be airing". BirminghamLive.
  2. ^ "The Beaker Girls - Series 1: 5. The Beaker Girls' Christmas" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  3. ^ "The Beaker Girls - CBBC - BBC". www.bbc.co.uk.
  4. ^ "The Beaker Girls are back - and this time they're filming in Bristol". The Bottle Yard Studios. 27 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Following the record-breaking series My Mum Tracy Beaker, The Beaker Girls are back for a hotly-anticipated new TV series". BBC Media Centre. BBC. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  6. ^ Hughes, Janet (30 August 2021). "All you need to know about new Tracy Beaker series". BristolLive.
  7. ^ "Four-screen dashboard". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  8. ^ "From the Witcher to The Beaker Girls: the seven best shows to stream this week". the Guardian. 10 December 2021.

External links[]

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