Latest news with #TracyBeaker
BBC News
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Jacqueline Wilson: 'I don't want to return to Tracy Beaker as an adult because we'd learn about her sex life'
Celebrated children's author Jacqueline Wilson has said she "would feel very wary" of writing about her beloved character Tracy Beaker in an adult book because "it would seem inappropriate [as] we would learn about Tracy's sex life".Dame Jacqueline has touched on Beaker as an adult through the eyes of the character's daughter Jess in her children's books My Mum Tracy Beaker and The Beaker Girls. But having recently announced Picture Imperfect, an adult sequel to her 1999 children's book, The Illustrated Mum, it doesn't look like an adult book based on Beaker will follow suit."I don't want to go there. That's my girl [Tracy] who I made everything happen for," Dame Jacqueline told an audience at the Hay Festival. She added that she had said "no, I would never do that" before, when planning future writing projects, but noted she had sometimes changed her mind, "so who knows?"Dame Jaqueline's Tracy Beaker books were made into a popular TV series for the BBC. Beaker was a young girl who was placed in a children's home due to neglect and domestic violence. The author said that she did generally enjoy returning to some of her characters once they had grown up: "I've been thinking about it over the years, because I've invented so many different girls, and it's interesting to think what happens to them when you finish writing about them."Dame Jacqueline recently brought back Ellie, Magda and Nadine in her adult fiction book Think Again, a continuation of her Girls in Love novels. The much-loved author, who was made a dame in 2008, is known for writing about difficult and dark issues in accessible of her books, some of which explore topics such as suicide, mental health and divorce, are aimed at children aged between seven and foray into adult books has brought a new kind of satisfaction, she explained."I'm an obsessive writer but worry people think I'm churning that [same] stuff out again, so it's lovely to challenge yourself."She said she enjoyed seeing many of her audiences come along to see her at events "because they read my books as children"."The children are still keen but it's the mums that get really excited! It's like a sort of farewell tour that hopefully will go on." Writing in pyjamas Despite having written more than 100 books, Dame Jacqueline said she still felt anxious when writing."Always about halfway through a book, even now, you think 'I've got the hang of this with all these books that I've written', but I get that terrible doubt and worry about it and and it's just something you learn. Work through it, get to the end."One habit that must help is that she writes in her pyjamas in bed, once she's fed the cat and let the dogs out first thing in the morning. "That's the magic time, and it just works for me. Apparently Michael Morpurgo does exactly the same!"But it wasn't always so easy to pick and choose her times to Jacqueline said: "I was idiotic enough to be married at 19 and had a child at 21."My husband wasn't a terrible man in the slightest but it was an age [the 1960s] when men went out and did, and women did everything else."She said she "adored" her baby daughter but she would only sleep for two hours at a time. When she did doze off, Dame Jacqueline said she wanted to sleep too but used the short window available to write. She got a little more time when her daughter Emma went to nursery in the mornings."It gave me an urgency. I'd write for two hours and then concentrate on her in the afternoon." Now the writing challenges are different, with the threat of AI looming over the writing profession. But Wilson doesn't seem too worried about it."I take comfort from the fact that my partner's brother-in-law... asked some AI thing to write a story for his daughter in the style of Jacqueline Wilson, and then he sent it to us. And either I've been blissfully unaware and I've been writing garbage or.... it was just unbearably awful."
The Guardian
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Jacqueline Wilson ‘very wary' of writing adult Tracy Beaker novel
Jacqueline Wilson has said she would feel 'very wary' about writing an adult novel about Tracy Beaker 'because it would seem inappropriate that we would learn about her sex life'. Last year, the beloved children's author published her first novel for adults since the 1970s. Think Again was a sequel to her Girls series for teenagers, which was published between 1998 and 2002, and revisited its protagonist Ellie, who in the new book is turning 40. It became a bestseller, resonating with fans who grew up with Ellie and her friends. Wilson has since announced a second adult sequel, due out in August, this time revisiting her 1999 children's book The Illustrated Mum. Writing these sequels 'gives me pleasure', Wilson told the audience at the Hay festival in Powys. But though she plans to write more, she said Beaker, her most famous character, is unlikely to be a subject. Beaker, largely thanks to the popular TV series based on Wilson's novels, has become much bigger than just the character she created, the author explained. The feisty, curly haired heroine means a great deal to Wilson personally, too: 'She's my girl that made everything happen for me.' So while she was happy to write about Beaker as an adult from the perspective of her daughter, Jess, writing about a grownup Tracy does not appeal, as it would involve writing about her sex life. 'I don't want to go there,' the 79-year-old author said. However, Wilson did add that over the years she has learned not to say, 'I would never do that.' In two or three years' time – 'if I've got them!' the author joked – 'something or other' might make her think, 'ah, I could do it this way,' she said. 'So who knows?' Wilson said she does know which of her former characters is next to be revisited in an adult book, but she hasn't started writing it yet, and her publishers won't allow her to say who it is. However, she said she hopes the book will be out next year, 'and I hope it will be a good choice'. The writer acknowledged that some people might think she is only taking on these adult projects because she 'can't get any new ideas', but she insisted that is not true. 'But I do like to go back,' she said. 'It's a kind of literary Friends Reunited.' During the Hay event, Wilson also expressed worry that 12 of her novels have apparently been used to train AI models. 'Authors are completely unable to monitor what happens,' and 'certainly don't give permission for that,' she said. However, the author 'takes comfort' from finding that, when her partner's brother-in-law asked AI to write a story for his daughter in the style of Jacqueline Wilson, 'it was just unbearably awful. So I hope anyone who likes my books could not be happy with an AI version.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tracy Beaker star Dani Harmer reveals she's been diagnosed with perimenopause: ‘I felt like I was being possessed'
Tracy Beaker star Dani Harmer has revealed that she has been diagnosed with perimenopause after noticing symptoms related to her mental health. The 36-year-old actor, who rose to fame for her starring role in the CBBC TV adaptation of Jacqueline Wilson's novel The Story of Tracy Beaker, explained in a new TikTok video that she went to the doctors after experiencing brain fog, night sweats and difficulties with her mental health. In the video, Harmer pulled back some of her hair to reveal that her curly hair, which had become known as Tracy Beaker's signature locks, was thinning out as a result of the condition. 'I am losing it – it is thinning so badly you can see, like, the bald patches coming in, but just, like, the texture. It's thinning – it's bad, right?' she said. She added that the hair loss was 'getting me down' and that she was considering going to a salon to have curly hair extensions installed. Speaking about obtaining her diagnosis, Harmer revealed that it was her husband, Simon Brough, who encouraged her to get a diagnosis after her 'whole personality had pretty much changed'. 'There was just too much to ignore,' she said. 'I felt like I was being possessed by someone else; it was horrible – I was just getting deeper and deeper into a dark depression.' The actor is now managing her symptoms with the menopause treatment Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), which was prescribed after her doctor had run tests for different conditions, including cancer and coeliac disease. She said that the treatment has made her feel like herself again and that she had lost the weight that she had gained during lockdown, but her periods were 'all over the place'. Perimenopause is when a person has the symptoms of menopause but the periods have not stopped. The condition becomes menopause when a person fails to have a period for 12 months. Menopause is when periods stop due to lower hormone levels, which typically affects women between the ages of 45 and 55, but it can happen earlier. Menopause and perimenopause can cause symptoms like anxiety, mood swings, brain fog, hot flushes and irregular periods. These symptoms can start years before your periods stop and carry on afterwards. Harmer encouraged her fans who have had similar symptoms to seek medical advice and 'do not suffer', adding: 'Some of the symptoms are horrendous and you can spiral so quickly. I was really glad I went and got help.' The actor and her partner welcomed their first child, Avarie-Belle, in 2016. They had a second baby, Rowan, in 2022. Harmer appeared in The Story of Tracy Beaker from 2002 to 2005, before appearing in spin-offsTracy Beaker Returns (2009) and TheDumping Ground (2013).
Metro
5 days ago
- Health
- Metro
Former CBBC child star reveals she's been diagnosed with perimenopause at 36
A former CBBC child star who became famous for one of the most iconic roles of the 00s has revealed her perimenopause diagnosis at age 36. Dani Harmer rose to fame playing Tracy Beaker on award-winning kids' show The Story of Tracy Beaker, which ran between 2002 and 2005. Based on the book of the same name by Dame Jacqueline Wilson, The Story of Tracy Beaker followed the lives of a group of kids living at a children's home they dubbed 'the Dumping Ground'. Across its five series, the show was nominated for five children's Baftas and became one of the most-watched and best-remembered CBBC shows of the era. Now, 20 years on from her TV fame, Dani has revealed she has been diagnosed with perimenopause after noticing hair-related symptoms. She posted a video on TikTok in which she asked for advice: 'I have been diagnosed with perimenopause. And what I need your help with is my hair.' In the video, Dani pulled back some of her hair to reveal that her famous curly locks, which became Tracy Beaker's signature style, were thinning out. Dani continued: 'I am losing it – it is thinning so badly you can see, like, the bald patches coming in, but just, like, the texture. It's thinning – it's bad, right?' '[Extensions] could be a terrible idea. They might make my hair even worse, to be honest, but it's really getting me down now,' she admitted to her followers. Talking about her diagnosis, Dani revealed that it was her husband, Simon, who encouraged her to get a diagnosis after her 'whole personality had pretty much changed'. She also revealed that she had been struggling with episodes of depression and anxiety, as well as night sweats, sleep interruptions, and brain fog. 'There was just too much to ignore,' she added. 'I felt like I was being possessed by someone else; it was horrible – I was just getting deeper and deeper into a dark depression.' Dani then said she is now managing her symptoms with HRT, which her doctors were more than happy to provide her with following a crucial appointment. Away from the cameras, Dani shares two children with Simon – son Leon, who was born in 2022, and daughter Averie-Belle, who was born in 2017. So loved was the Tracy Beaker series that it was rebooted in 2010 under the name Tracy Beaker Returns, which saw Tracy become an assistant care worker at the Dumping Ground. Dani then starred in The Tracy Beaker Survival Files from 2011 to 2012, My Mum Tracy Beaker in 2021, and The Beaker Girls between 2021 and 2023. More Trending A spin-off series titled The Dumping Ground began in 2013, featuring different characters, and has subsequently run for 13 more series to great success. Dani appeared on the series as a guest star in 2018 and reprised her role once more earlier this year, even directing an episode of the spin-off programme. She said of her experience: 'I loved being behind the scenes for an episode – it was very different being sat in the director's chair, but I enjoyed every single second of it – it felt like that was where I was meant to be!' View More » Watch episodes of The Story of Tracy Beaker on BBC iPlayer. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: BBC fans urge people to watch crime series 'that's like Gavin and Stacey' MORE: Psychological thriller labelled a 'masterpiece' coming to BBC iPlayer MORE: BBC quietly adds Australian drama that left fans 'crying their eyes out'
The Sun
5 days ago
- Health
- The Sun
The 13 symptoms of perimenopause after Tracy Beaker star Dani Harmer reveals diagnosis aged 36
FORMER child star Dani Harmer has revealed she has been diagnosed with perimenopause — a condition many don't expect at her age. The 36-year-old, best known for playing Tracy Beaker in the early 2000s, spoke candidly about how the condition has affected her both mentally and taken a toll on her iconic curly hair. 4 4 'It's thinning so badly, you can see bald patches coming in," Dani said in a TikTok video shared with fans today (May 26). "The texture is changing, it's bad right now," she added. The perimenopause is the stage in a woman's life when they experience symptoms of menopause but your periods have not yet stopped. It usually starts several years before a woman reaches her menopause, which officially begins when you haven't had a period for 12 months. It is during perimenopause, when oestrogen and progesterone levels begin to fluctuate. This is when it's common to experience difficult symptoms like mood changes, irregular periods and hot flushes. It can also lead to hair thinning and loss as hormone levels affect the hair growth cycle. The condition usually affects women in their 40s but can sometimes begin in the 30s - as in Dani's case. It's less common but not unusual. Mentally, Dani has also suffered. 'My whole personality had pretty much changed,' she revealed, adding that her husband Simon was the first to notice. She has experienced brain fog, night sweats, sleep interruptions, depression, and anxiety. Specific types of HRT found to raise risk of heart disease and blood clots After visiting a female GP and having blood tests, she was 'diagnosed pretty swiftly.' 'I felt like I was being possessed by someone else," she said. Studies suggest women are 40 per cent more likely to experience depression during the perimenopause, something which the TV star experienced acutely. "It was horrible," she said. "I was just getting deeper and deeper into a dark depression.' Dani was prescribed hormone replacement therapy (HRT). 'My doctor was more than happy to put me on HRT.' 4 It's usually prescribed to women to help balance hormone levels and relieve common symptoms. Dani has been on HRT for around 18 months and said she 'feels like myself again.' When does perimenopause start? The perimenopause is a natural stage of life. In most people it will happen naturally between the ages of 45 and 55 and last for a few months to several years. It can even last a decade or more. During the perimenopause, your hormone levels change and your ovaries start to produce fewer eggs. Once you haven't had a period for 12 months or more, you've officially reached the menopause. Some people start experiencing the perimenopause before they are 40. This can be as a result of medical treatments, such as surgery to remove the ovaries, but sometimes there's no cause. If you think you're experiencing the perimenopause before you're 40 then you must speak to your doctor. Source: Bupa
