Grown-up return for Tracy Beaker

Tracy Beaker's adventures are a popular draw on CBBC

Popular children's drama character Tracy Beaker is to return for a new series as a young adult.

The new 13-part CBBC drama, due to be screened next year, will see Tracy return to her care home as a carer.

The role will be reprised by actress Dani Harmer, who has portrayed Tracy since 2002.

Dame Jacqueline Wilson, who devised the stories, said: "So many children ask me what happened to her when she got older, now we can finally find out."

The series will be exclusively filmed and based in north-east England, said the BBC.

'Winning combination'

Harmer said she was "delighted" to be returning to the role and "finding out how things are developing for her as a young adult".

Tracy returns to her old care home - the Dumping Ground - as a care assistant after a scheme to write a book is beset with problems.

In Beaker's Back, she quickly becomes involved in the lives of the current residents in a storyline which echoes her own, when she lived there herself.

Anne Gilchrist, controller of CBBC, called Dame Jacqueline and actress Harmer "a winning combination".

"The stories of Tracy help children understand that everyone is different and so are their circumstances," she added.