To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video. Up Next. She was one of the most beloved characters on British TV in the noughties, earning plenty of award nominations and a legion of fans. Now, she’s making a grand return.
![[Dani Harmer and Sharlene Whyte in a scene from The Story of Tracy Beaker]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IP_2052098-906d.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
After shooting to fame at just 13 years old in the 2002 series The Story of Tracy Beaker, which was so popular it spawned five spin-off shows, the now 35-year-old is reprising her iconic role for one episode only. But just who is the actress we’re talking about? You might have guessed that it is, of course, Dani Harmer, aka the one and only Tracy Beaker.
![[Dani Harmer as Tracy Beaker in car]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/93706503-0-image-a-2_1735902770632.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=636)
BBC announced that the star will be reprising her role in the spin-off series, The Dumping Ground, this January, as well as directing her own episode. The series, which has been running since 2013, is set in a children’s home and follows the lives of the young people who live there, often exploring difficult and drama-filled storylines.
![[Dani Harmer has headphones on as she looks through camera lens on film set]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_234832325-315b.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Sharing her excitement, Dani told the series network BBC that it is ‘good’ to be back playing the character who has been a part of her life for over 20 years, and admitted that while it’s only a one-off cameo, she would happily play Tracy ‘forever’.
![[Dani Harmer and four teen actors stand around a Mitsubishi truck]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_234832333-0038.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
She added: ‘This series of The Dumping Ground will not disappoint, we’ve got some fantastic storylines and some incredibly talented actors joining the cast. The team do such an amazing job nurturing them and they have really supported me behind the camera too, it’s such a special production to be working on.’.
