I didn't find out until Twitter afterwards, I'm sure she'll be back on Friday introducing the show

Maybe that was that 'earthquake' kind-of scene we saw a 1-second glimpse of in the first preview trailer (at 0:20).

Yup, she will! They will be having a party in the CBBC office.

Also one question, do you know if Melanie is appearing in this? Because from the looks of the trailer and previews, it doesn't look like she is.

Can't see why not as she is the new care worker. Also, they didn't show all the characters in the previews.

I'm keeping a look out to see how many other adults on Facebook & Twitter are looking forward to it.

According to wikipedia, Gus doesn't appear in all the episodes.

Not sure how reliable that is.

Couldn't find a source so I'm not sure if it's true. Info keeps changing on the wiki page.

I bet it's a bunch of teenagers editing it

But, nice to see there's quite excitement on Twitter for the series, and that they are plugging TBR repeats whenever they can

If they locked the Wiki page so only Gus could edit it then it would be totally accurate.

Haha!

There's this one clip from TBR which I had not seen before: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AS8bXeafHM

But on the other hand, shame there are none other preview clips for TDG yet on the CBBC website.

Ah I remember this! I saw all 3 clips on the TBR website last year after series 2 was finished and also when series 3 started. It's a game where you can decide what the characters can do in different situations, options are given but if you don't choose quickly then Tracy's cartoon will pick for you instead.

There is also

"Come Alone, Carmen"
"Cyberbullying"

You can play them here. The game is called "Beaker you choose"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/games/beaker-you-choose

They have Jody Jackson who was abused. We know that she was often held underwater and that she was showing signs of sexual abuse, when she got frightened by the sound of breathing and slept under the table or under her bed.
Her first episode was one of the most harrowing I can remember, especially when Mike and Tracy took away from her home.
Sapphire would be nearly 18 so too old for the Dumping Ground and maybe at art school. Elecktra and Rick are likely to be the ones in charge now. I hope Melaine is back because she is a played by the daughter of Robert Glenister and Amanda Redman...

She slept under the table but was eventually given her own room. The thing about this show (its practically still TBR without Tracy Beaker and give or take a few children) is that it deals with mature topics which children may not understand - that's what makes it so successful as it attracts adult viewers.

Jessica Revell is on CBBC alongside Ian and Hacker.

I just about caught her at 4:00. Any other stars from TDG apart from Amy-Leigh Hickman been on CBBC?

Also, nice to see that the CBBC office is filled with TDG

Nope. So far, only Amy and Jessica have appeared in the CBBC office. Also, yes I agree, it is nice to see the TDG stars appear, hopefully more will come in the future.

I remember when the actors who played Bouncer and Lol in TSOTB were presenting CBBC back in 2008.

When Tracy went round the rooms before she left, Jody was sleeping under her bed, clinging to the biscuit jar...Nothing was said but it was there. When she was found sleeping under the table she said she often slept under tables, it made her feel safe. You can see that Gina realises what Jody is telling her when she and Carmen find her...She mentions she was frightened by the sound of breathing, the sound that someone is in her room. There is also the symbolism of snakes and monsters. In a tv film called No Child Of Mine, about a teenage victim of sexual abuse...Kerry would often be seen sleeping on the floor or in the corner rather than on the bed, where she was abused...The subject is very subtly being brought up but it this there so older viewer will understand it. The original Tracy Becker series did not refer to the fact that Tracy had often been beaten by her mother's boyfriends or when in foster care, which was in the book. There was also something about Millie the mute girl in the original series, a reason why she didn't talk. They also hinted that Roxy may have an eating disorder developing, when she was stuffing herself with chocolate when upset.

Thing is, the older series was aimed at the younger 6-12 demographic so they weren't too specific with particular themes as with TBR.

I know....It think with this series they seem to explore more of the issues around why people in care...In the original series we knew mostly about Tracy, Justine, Crash and Jackie.
However they have shown us Carmen who's mother abandons her and makes false promises (like Tracy's), Liam lived in care all his life, Johnny was beaten up by a step father, which makes him controlling over Tea, Toby lost his parents and foster parents, Elecktra was in a gang and is loathed by her mother, Tyler wet the bed because of his mother and had one birthday card etc....It is edgier and also made a point about government cuts and bad care homes and care workers, such as Burnywood.....And they have no Elaine the Pain...They had Liam and Frank who seemed have watched too many episodes of Hustle.. Their food is much healthier, Duke seems to give them burgers, fish fingers and chips..Now they have salads and curries.

Carmen (Amy), Elektra (Jess), Faith (Leanne) and Frank(Chris) will be guests tomorrow apparently. (I think for the party tomorrow?)

There is also "Beg, Borrow or Steal" and that is the funniest episode ever because Tee was doing this funky crazy dance and she doesn't usually act like that.

By the way, Jessica Revell who plays Elektra was in the CBBC studio today. She didn't have the blue hair, and she just turned 18 last month. I would have thought she'd by younger than me, but anyway, when The Dumping Ground airs, I could say that she's same age as me because she was 17 when she filmed it.

So it's tomorrow that The Dumping Ground airs.

I'm guessing those blue highlights were specifically for the show or to give the character of Elektra an edge.

Yes, airs tomorrow at 4:30pm for an hour. Meanwhile, repeats of Tracy Beaker Returns are being aired during the day.

That's what will set TDG apart from a lot of the other kids programming/dramas.

BIB - I know. I watched all three last year. I love when Tee dances to rubbish music! I also love how Sapphire immediately says no when liam and Frank enter her room while asking her if they can borrow music which leads to her throwing a pillow at them!

Jess said that she adds the blue hair when filming. I really can't wait for tomorrow!