THE BEAKER GIRLS RETURNS TO BBC THIS JANUARY

It’s a big summer for book-smart and sassy Jess (Emma Maggie Davies) and her irrepressible mum Tracy Beaker (Dani Harmer) with Jess about to turn 13, as the hugely popular Beaker saga continues in this new 12-part series.

Sparkling with lively wit and adventures, the show also tackles typical subjects important to many teens, including cyber bullying, green issues, extended families, friendship and trust, and new relationships.

Jess is looking forward to a great summer, with Tracy on the verge of fostering runaway teen Jordan (Chi-Megan Ennis-McLean) and her dad Si (Simon Lipkin) and his family visiting Cooksea for the holidays.

But inevitably things don’t go smoothly: Jess has to cope with cyber bullying, experiences her first crush, gets involved in environmental protests and is even faced with the prospect of being parted from Tracy when Si wants to become her resident parent. With misunderstandings rife, relationships become tangled and friendships strained… but love is in the air for some!

In this first episode, it doesn’t take long for Beaker chaos to set in and put Jordan’s fostering in jeopardy. At the Horizon Arts hub, Seren (Mersey Moore) is mean to Jordan so Jess devises a prank to teach her a lesson - not realising that Seren’s mum is Jordan’s social worker! Will the prank backfire?

Meanwhile, Jordan’s room needs to be safe and shipshape ready for inspection, but the day before the visit Tracy’s stubbornness causes a disaster that could ruin everything. Jordan’s in despair and has her bags packed ready to depart – so can the Beaker Girls work together to stay together?

The Beaker Girls is a BBC Studios Kids & Family production.