The Story of Tracy Beaker

E1. Tracy's Return

As the above episode title would suggest, our eponymous heroine is not in the best of moods as she comes back from (presumably we include the word 'yet') another failed fostering attempt – and she is being very loud indeed, much to the dismay of everyone who has ever been involved in trying to match her wayward and yet surprisingly endearing personality with suitable guardians so far...

★ 10.0

E2. Dares

Strange noises fill the Dumping Ground in the middle of the night. Jenny investigates, but it turns out to be Tracy, who is looking through the files for her mum's (Annette Bentley) address. Jenny and social worker Elaine explain to Tracy that her mum knows where she is, but they can't give her mum's address. Soon after, Tracy and Justine compete in a game of dares to win back Tracy's room. Justine covers Jenny in flour, Tracy fills Mike's boots with cheese sauce, Justine steals Jenny's clothes while she is having a shower, and Tracy tries to climb a tree, but Mike climbs after her and pulls her down. Tracy dares Justine to put a worm down her trousers – which she does – but Justine tells Tracy to eat a worm. Tracy hates the idea, but does it, and throws it up later. Justine quits the competition and says Tracy can have her room back. However, after Justine has packed all her stuff, Tracy tells her she can keep the room as she likes her new room better, infuriating Justine.

E3. Sneaking In Ben

Louise is still struggling to choose between Justine and Tracy. Tracy is fed up with waiting for Louise, and stays out too long, missing out on doing her chore. While out, Tracy meets Ben again wants to show him the Dumping Ground, but Jenny says no, as she is angry that Tracy missed doing her chore. Tracy sneaks Ben in anyway, but Justine and Louise spot him. Justine snitches to Jenny, although Louise begs her not to. When Jenny searches Tracy's room, she finds only Louise, who swears that there is no one else there. However, just before Jenny leaves, she hears Ben's mobile phone, and discovers him hiding in the wardrobe. Meanwhile, chef Duke is having problems with rats in his kitchen. Jenny instructs him to get rid of them in a humane manner. Duke catches a rat and is about to kill it, but Ryan and Zac persuade him to let it go.

E4. Cam's First Visit

There is much activity in the Dumping Ground. They are expecting a visitor – writer Cam Lawson, who is writing an article about the care home. Tracy is especially excited, as she wants to be a writer. She even steals older girl Adele's makeup to try to impress Cam. When Cam arrives, she is surprisingly unglamorous, but Tracy is still excited to meet her. However, Justine ruins it by making fun of Tracy's life book in front of Cam, prompting the two to get into a fight and Tracy to be sent to her room. Before Cam leaves, she goes to Tracy's room to make up with her, but Tracy is furious and makes her leave. When Tracy discovers that Cam has left her a fairy cake, she thanks Cam out of her window just as she is leaving, and realises that Cam likes her. Meanwhile, Mike is stressed about Cam's visit and asks for Adele's help to get the house ready. He offers her many things, but Adele will not budge until he agrees to give her an extra late pass for that week. She eventually complies, only to discover that Mike has finished it all.

E5. Child of the Week

Elaine tells Tracy that she will be advertised as Child of the Week to potential foster parents in the local paper. Tracy is delighted and tells everyone. Elaine is then offered more space in the newspaper, so decides to advertise Louise as well. Tracy is initially upset, but she and Louise eventually bond over it. They agree that they should not smile, but look sad to still be in the care home and attract more foster parents that way. However, Justine and photographer Brian convince Louise to smile. Tracy is furious, but Ben persuades her that she would be doing herself more favours to smile, so Tracy remakes both her own and Louise's adverts and sneaks them into the office. Her own advert is now extremely flattering and asks expressly for very rich foster parents, and Louise's photo now has a bag over Louise's head. Meanwhile, Duke decides to start a new healthy food regime, and makes battered courgettes. The kids convince him that they like them, while secretly flushing them down the toilet.

E6. The Truth Is Revealed

Justine's dad has given her money to decorate her bedroom. Tracy wants to do the same and is very angry when she is not allowed. She storms out of the house to meet Ben, who shows her his treehouse in the woods. Later, Ben accidentally falls down the tree, and Tracy runs to get Mike to help. Ben gets Mike to take him home, but Tracy is furious when she discovers he's not a 'street kid' as he had told her, but lives in a very grand house with his mum. Meanwhile, the rest of the house help Justine with her bedroom, much to the annoyance of Adele, who has a school project to complete and is distracted by the noise. The project turns into a fiasco as Justine gets increasingly more demanding, making poor decisions and blaming everyone else. Eventually, everyone stops. However, Adele's project turns out to be about designing a room, and she finishes it off for her.