Anyone who tunes in to CBBC from time to time might not know it, but it’s five years since the last new episode of the show featuring the abandoned and shouty Tracy Beaker. But that constant loop of archive 20-minute snapshots of life within the never-dull care home comes to an end with Tracy Beaker Returns as the lead character for Jacqueline Wilson’s bestselling books comes back older if not especially wiser. Having fled the Dumping Ground to live a fostered life under the roof of Cam (Lisa Coleman), Beaker has now told her story in book form (Who Cares?), albeit with the illegal help of her new mum’s credit card. Given a reprimand by the police, she tries going straight in accepting employment back at her old haunt but, as per usual, things fail to go to plan.

Jacqueline Wilson acted as a consultant on the new series and was thrilled to be getting back into Tracy’s space once again. ‘I thought it would be a brilliant idea to have her coming back into the Dumping Ground as a young carer,’ Wilson says. ‘She could be bossy and obviously make an awful lot of mistakes but also have a lot of compassion and understanding for the kids in the home. I do know that in real life quite a few children who have grown up in care and have managed to make a success of their lives very much want to work with other children in vulnerable situations to try and put back what they got out of the system.’

CBBC, Fri 8 Jan, 5.15pm