Tracy Beaker cast were ‘fuming’ when lesbian icon Cam ‘got married off to a man’
Lisa Coleman as Cam in My Mum Tracy Beaker (BBC/Brilliant Films)
The cast of Tracy Beaker were “fuming” when Cam got married off to a man during the show’s original run, Dani Harmer has revealed.
The beloved British TV series, based on Jacqueline Wilson’s children’s books, made waves in its original run with its queer-coded depiction of main character Tracy Beaker’s adoptive mum Cam, played by Lisa Coleman.
However, the lesbian icon was controversially married off to a man at the end of original series The Story of Tracy Beaker.
Revival series My Mum Tracy Beaker puts right the historical injustice, bringing back Cam and this time featuring her wedding to new wife Mary.
Tracy Beaker star Dani Harmer is thrilled with ‘happy ending’ for Cam
Dani Harmer, who plays Tracy Beaker, tweeted: “At last Cam finally got her happy ending!!! We were fuming when she got married off to a man in the original series! It was ridiculous!
“But so glad Cam got what she deserved! She is a queen and deserved a queen in return ??xxx”
Fans pointed out the likely impact of Section 28, which until 2003 banned the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality in schools, on the original run.
Harmer added: “Yep completely didn’t think about Section 28! I was so young when we first started that I didn’t know anything about Section 28!
“But at the age of 12 and filming that first series I knew they character was a lesbian!”
Lisa Coleman as Cam in My Mum Tracy Beaker (BBC/Brilliant Films)
One fan wrote: “As a lesbian who grew up watching you, this means so much to me.
“If I’d had that kind of representation when I was younger it would have made things much less confusing. I’m so glad children now will be able to see that it’s OK and I can’t thank you all enough.”
Another added: “The most lovely happy ending (or beginning really) for Cam! having grown up watching Tracy Beaker words can’t describe how validating it is to see what we hoped for all those years ago actually play out on screen.”
Jacqueline Wilson says character was always ‘clearly gay’
Tracy Beaker author Jacqueline Wilson, who came out herself in April 2020, previously said that Cam was “clearly” gay.
She said: “Anybody reading between the lines in the early Tracy Beaker books [would see that] her foster mum Cam, is to my mind, clearly gay”
Wilson added: “In the older books, when Tracy is grown up and has a daughter of her own, Cam gets herself a very nice girlfriend. I thought it was time she had a bit of fun in her life too.”
