A Tracy Beaker star is set to marry a super fan of the CBBC show. Based on the book series of the same name by Jacqueline Wilson, The Story of Tracy Beaker first hit screens in 2002 . It starred Dani Harmer as the titular character, a young girl who lives in foster care at a care home referred to as ‘The Dumping Ground’.
With a wild imagination, Tracy regularly broke the rules and was considered a bad role-model by some parents for pushing the boundaries. The original series ran for five seasons and ended in 2005, but then spawned several spin-offs including Tracy Beaker Returns in 2010, which was followed up by The Dumping Ground in 2013, and both My Mum Tracy Beaker and The Beaker Girls in 2021. One of the actors who appeared in the second two spin-offs was Chris Slater, who played Frank Matthews.
A former resident of Elmtree House II and Ashdene Ridge, Frank was born with Cerebral Palsy and as a child lived with his grandfather Eric. However, after Eric became too old and frail to look after Frank, he was taken into care. Now, six years since he appeared on The Dumping Ground, Chris is engaged to Sam Wilson, who revealed she was once a massive fan of the franchise.
Sharing a video montage of them on TikTok, the clips showed photos of the actor on the children’s show alongside footage of him as an adult. She captioned the post: ‘He isn’t my childhood crush anymore..
. he’s my fiancé.’ The couple are set to marry in 2026.
Like his character, Chris lives with cerebral palsy and was discovered by talent scouts while performing in a local theatre production. More Trending Keanu Reeves' 'highly underrated' 00s horror film finally comes to streaming Noughties icon, 44, praises 'incredible' girlfriend as he becomes first-time dad Brace yourselves for iconic 00s TV show reunion happening in 'six months' 00s chart-topper admits 'tough' times made him shun spotlight He once told BBC he was asked to audition for the TV series after the scouts contacted his school to find out who he was, with Chris securing the part after two auditions. ‘I wanted to do some form of coaching within a physical education setting.
Acting was just a hobby and the play where I was spotted was a last-minute decision to take part in,’ he explained. Reflecting on the show’s impact, he said: ‘It really is quite rewarding that the issues tackled are what kids could be going through and knowing we could be helping them with their problems.’ What I Own: At 25, I own two homes — including my £158,000 Glasgow bolthole 'Quaint' but 'boring' city crowned the best place in the UK to get a job This isolated island home is only accessible by ferry — and it’s less than £100,000 'Magical' uninhabited island once visited by Vikings up for sale for £190k What I Own: I purchased my £592,750 East London two-bed flat at the age of 22 The Story of Tracy Beaker is streaming on BBC iPlayer.
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