Yes series one - SOS is my all time fav episode.
I quite like Carmen and Tee, I don't feel very interested in the new cast tbh.
The Kazima episode had a good idea, though I don't see why she couldn't have been fostered by Mae Li and still wait for her dad. It's unlikely her dad will turn up anyway and I don't see it as an act of betrayal (to him).

What irritated me was the kids obnoxiously trying to get Mae Li's attention. They didn't get that Kaz's situation was different to theirs - they don't run the risk of being deported to a dangerous land. I thought they were selfish and stupid.

See your point, but don't think that's what the narrative was getting at. It was about the fact that, no matter the child or the situation, if any of their care workers foster or adopt them, that will always be seen as favouritism.

Agreed. Series 1 was the most entertaining. The show suffered when it lost characters such as Rick,Elektra and Gus. Series 1 by far had the best bunch of the kids of the whole of TDG. I miss the old house aswell, The current set is just so bland.

Carmen and Tee exit felt overly scripted. It didn't feel real. The constant screaming, laughing, jumping around was ridiculous.

Once again, I completely agree. I've said it before but it's such a shame that the old house had to be knocked down. Regarding Tee and and Carmen's episode, I was sad to see them go since they've been there since the start of TBR. However, I wont deny that the episode itself was certaintly lacking that emotional aspect that you would usually get from farewell episodes and part of me thinks it's because we never actually got a proper build up for their exit and the possibility that they weren't necessarily active in this second half of the series or even the whole of this series at all. Maybe this is why it didn't feel so natural.


There was actually an earlier episode that hinted that Tee and Carmen were due to leave soon when they were attending a college opening event but it was too lowkey and arguably a forgettable episode. And as you said, they've hardly been used in this series aside from those occasional episodes where there was a bit of recycled drama. I'm still sad to see them go because we've watched them grow up and develop in certain episodes. It's a shame their final episode wasn't as emotional was one would expect it to be but they've been great acting wise and I expect to hear good things from them in the future. Best of luck to Mia and Amy! Hope the future is bright for them.

Putting Tee and Carmen's exit aside for a minute, but I can't help but feel like the writers have run out of steam for certain episodes as there has been quite a lot of recycling and rinse and repeats of storylines or events that were already done in past episodes.

May Li, Mike and the YP hold elections which leads to everyone voting (happened in the first half of this series)

This election scenario was already done in Series 3 of Tracy Beaker Returns (Episode 12) where Tracy suggested to hold an election for who gets to meet the Queen

One of the YP climb up/get stuck of the roof of the house (the young kid who was attached to Tyler)

This scenario was already done in Series 2 of Tracy Beaker Returns where Lily climbed up the roof and fell to the ground (Fallen)

Mike in jeopardy of losing his job due to an incident relating one of the YP (Episode 10 of Series 4 where Ryan delibaretly tried to make sure Mike got sacked)

The situation of Mike's job being put on the line was already done in Series 2 of Tracy Beaker Returns where Elm Tree House was in danger of being closed down by the council and after Lily fell off the roof, the investigation led to Mike no longer working at the house and having to fight in order to save his job.

Near the end of the episode - all the YP manage to interrupt the court case and persuade them to give Mike a chance which leads to Mike's job being saved

Again, the same thing was done in the same Tracy Beaker Returns episode for Series 2 (Tracy, Liam, Frank and Harry interrupted Mike's court case which later led to him being able to stay and continue working at Elm Tree House)

Anyone else noticing this troublesome pattern?

I feel like they're running out of ideas which is worrying. It's no wonder this series has been so weak. It can do so much better than this, I know it can. But right now, I feel like I'm watching weaker versions of rehashed plots that have already been done in a much better way.

Bumping this for the series 4 finale episode.



Based on the sneak peak, it explains why Jody was so shifty during Tee and Carmen's last day where she took everyone's belongings.

Thoughts on the Series 4 finale?

It was obvious that Kingsley hadn't changed.

Ryan still isn't redeemed! This might be a record for a kid's tv show.

It was good. At least it was about something, as opposed to the dreary fluff we've had to put up with in this block. I think it's a mistake making Jody and Tyler like siblings - there's clearly something more between them! Don't think TDG has ever had an in-house romance before, so that would be interesting.


Well there's no rush, since Season 5 has already been filmed and Season 6 commisioned I honestly think this will be Ryan's whole narrative until either TDG ends, or he leaves, whichever is soonest.

I agree. This was definitely one of the better episodes and thankfully for this series in particular. Jody and Tyler really stood out here, they have a great friendship. Some wise words she gave to her brother. Even Kingsley's girlfriend knew both Jody and her deserved better than to be stuck with him and his old ways.

As for in-house romances, I always thought that Carmen and Rick would have been one of them due to the hints how close they became in the third series of TBR. They didn't have many scenes together in the first series of the TDG but they actually ended up going on a date in the second series. However, it didn't quite turn out the way I expected it to be which later led to them agreeing that they would work better as friends. I was actually disappointed with how it was executed because I generally thought they would work well together but it just wasn't meant to be in the end. I suppose this would count as a romance that failed.

As for Tyler and Jody, they've always been close and even at times like a double act. Always considered as close friends since the first series of The Dumping Ground. Could it develop further than a friendship? I doubt it. The "you're like my brother" line pretty much destroyed the idea of any romance happenings there but who knows what could happen. Time will tell I guess.

I predict that Tyler will leave by the next series?

I really hope Series 5 is an improvement. I'm pretty disappointed with the quality of Series 4 overall.

Tyler is one of the show's best characters, so I really hope he doesn't. I see Tyler and Jody as the new Carmen and Tee, so they could be there a couple of years yet. Series 5 could hardly be worse... could it?

The finale was pretty average. The main plot felt half-baked.

The scene at the end when they all switch to dance mode was silly and ridiculous. It would never happened in TBR. The show has lost it's gritty nature.

In TBR every character felt somewhat genuine and entertaining. The few new characters are boring and dire. Too much moaning and screaming in the latest episode. Ratings have been dropping too, (depending on the accuracy of TDG wiki page).

I agree Ringo. I think in terms of drama TBR was far better. I've just watched the ep where Electra goes back to her horrible family( in prep for her sisters wedding), things don't work out so she sets her bridesmaid dress on fire and cancels the wedding.
I know Electra was a moody character but the scenes with danger and tension have been missing from this series.

Not many strong characters about in TDG. There's a much younger cast with nothing about them tbh. I miss Sapphire, Electra and Liam. Now we have the twins, Floss and other meh characters. I also dislike how they bring in new characters without giving them an episode like that very young asian kid and the black dancing kid, Who are they? Why are they here? They've just blended right into the background.

I was a bit sad to see Tee and Carmen go, but thought their ep was over sentimental. Too much squealing and shouting. Sounded like their voices were going at the end of it (or that could be whiny teenage voices coming through lol).

The ep with Jodie stealing was an improvement - there was tension when she was trapped in the burning flat. For my sins I found Kingsley hot - but an awful brother.

Also agree with this, particularly the BIB. Too many dance/ party scenes that come out of nowhere or have no business existing.

I'm back! DS had a ban amnesty and were willing to give me a final chance.

Here's a few thoughts I've had since I last posted (after which, there have been three series). I think series 2 was OK, some episodes were strong, other episodes were weak. Some episodes weren't developed well enough I thought, and others didn't seem very realistic.

Series 3 was a bit of an improvement with several strong episodes for me. It seemed to regain some of the grittiness it lost the previous year, which is what I like most about the show. The story lines felt believable too.

Unfortunately, Series 4 has felt like a real step back for me. It's not been all bad, but most episodes haven't had much of a clear plot line, or the plot just didn't seem to go anywhere. The Ryan storyline seems to be dragging on for ages, with no real progression or conclusion in sight. I don't mind the occasional fun episode but the grittiness seems to be almost completely lost.

I hope the next series is an improvement. I wouldn't be surprised if the BBC did receive some complaints from parents saying it was too gritty and amended the tone/script accordingly. After all, when you're writing a children's show you're definitely going to pay more attention to the response of parents. They need to go back to the quality of series 1 and Tracy Beaker Returns.

The drop in viewing figures as a result is staggering. Maybe it's down to a change in viewing habits across the board (children don't watch TV as much as they used to, what with iPlayer available etc). The third series of Tracy Beaker Returns in 2012 had a an average viewing figure (across the 13 episodes) of 727,000, ranking #1 in the weekly rankings for CBBC each week. A lot of the episodes were adding on another 6-700,000 on iPlayer requests as well.

The first series of The Dumping Ground did well as well, with an average of 545,000. A few episodes got over a million requests on BBC iPlayer, some beating some of BBC One's biggest programmes. These figures have since dropped, with series 3 averaging 311,000 viewers across 20 episodes. This series has ranged from a high of 447,000 (episode 3) viewers to a low of 195,000 viewers (episode 15).

CBBC's broadcasting hours were extended to 9pm earlier this year. Series 4 won't have been written to suit this, but the next series *might* have been. We'll have to wait and see.

Oh I definitely agree about Tyler. He's really grown to be a great character. I too hope that he and Jody still have a few more years to go. Though I feel like Tyler could be close to going because of events that happened with his mother in this series. Hopefully I'm wrong and they drag it out a bit longer. As for series 5, I have my doubts. I really hope it improves but part of me is worried that it might follow the same quality of Series 4, It's like Hassaan said, it's possible that the writers and the BBC might have been informed or told to tone down the grittiness and seriousness element that was originally dormant and a huge part of earlier episodes (mainly Series 1 of TDG and TBR).

It would be nice if they could go back to this and not be too overly fun like Series 4 was. That's what worries me a bit.


I completely agree with you, especially about the new characters. They don't particularly interest me either. The loss of memorable characters like Liam, Elektra, Frank, Faith, Sapphire etc have definitely left a hole in the series and this is something that definitely needs to be sorted.

I really liked that episode with Elektra and her sister. I also agree with you about the sense of tension being absent in this series. Once you rewatch TBR and the first series of TDG, you definitely notice the huge difference between those episodes and the current ones.

TBR had situations where the care home was in danger of being closed, emotions of characters that sometimes spiralled out of control which led to disastrous consequences. Everyone was affected by the closing of Elm Tree House, especially Carmen when she continuously punched Johnny. There was also Tracy having a panic attack infront of the YP because she was struggling to adapt to adult life and Jody not being able to sleep in the bedroom with other people due to possible abuse that happened in the past.

Series 1 of TDG continued the trend of TBR with a lot tension and bordering on risky/dangerous moments being kept notably in episodes like Home Alone, Baby, SOS, Dreamland, Seriously Funny, Scary Beasts etc. You had that tension with Jody essentially being trapped in the household with her violent older brother. Carmen and Tyler sneaking in to save her and getting caught by Kingsley added to that tension.

Lily going through a possible phase and clashing with Shanay which later led to her giving birth early. Scenes with how Lily and Steve were distraught by Shanay leaving brought some bleakness. The YP clashing over Gus and gay fostering that mainly saw Johnny and Elektra being at loggerheads and arguing about whether being gay was right or wrong. Gina pretending to believe that looking after her mother was the best thing for her to do and Tee lashing out at Mike about Hattie's wellbeing brought some tension.

Mo unintentionally pushing everyone to their limit to the point where Tee snaps and loses her cool. Tyler questioning whether he might have the same illness as his mother when he's the only one who can hear a dripping noise and Razz's gang infiltrating The Dumping Ground putting Faith, Frank, Elektra and Razz in danger. Whereas in Series 4, it was a bit too much on the fun side of things. It was missing the element of surprise and tension whereas TBR and TDG Series 1 had a good balance of fun, seriousness and tension. I really do hope the quality improves and goes back to how it was before. Here's to hoping Series 5 will be better.

I also agree with both of you about the overload of party and dance scenes. Seen so much of it to the point where it's gotten kinda tiresome and redundant.

As for Kingsley, some people on Twitter also find him attractive too so I wouldn't worry about that sin. Lmao!


Hey! Welcome back!

Finally! This has been long overdue.

It's about time that you finally found a way back! I was beginning to think the situation was getting hopeless. Thank god for that amnesty, eh?

With Tee and Carmen now gone and Harry currently fostered, this may officially mark the end of an era. As of now, all the characters from Series 1 of Tracy Beaker Returns are gone and no longer present in TDG with Mike being the only exception (although I feel like he doesn't count because he's been there from the very start). Though, Mike is the only character remaining from the original Tracy Beaker series.

Time has gone very quick!

As of now, Tyler and Jody are the only remaining characters left who originated from Tracy Beaker Returns.

Some suggested that there was something more between Tyler and Jody but I don't, personally. At best they seem like best friends and they should keep it like that IMO. I don't know how old we're supposed to believe he is though, that might be dependent on how long he stays in The Dumping Ground before he goes to live with his mum, but there might be a case of him staying until he's 16.

Joe Maw (who played Johnny) did a YouTube live stream a while back and I caught bits of it, in particular a segment where he spoke about The Dumping Ground and his decision to leave. It was largely to do with all those involved agreeing on the idea that he looked too old to play a care kid anymore.


Maybe it's to do with the fact a lot of the characters are quite young now but I agree in that there doesn't seem to be any connection (for me anyway). It's a shame as there could be, but I blame the writing. A lot of the behaviour of some of the younger characters (the twins, Floss) comes across as a tad unrealistic and the writers are just assuming what a petulant child would behave like. It doesn't work for me.

That said, I do like characters like Ryan (I love to hate him, anyway), Bailey and Mo as, aside from them being the older ones now, I think there's still a lot to explore.


Yes, I think the main point here is that TBR and series 1 of TDG focused on more real life issues. They still do but it's not as frequent as it once was. There were more tensions, fights (we only had one this series) which highlighted the tensions and looking back at some segments of TBR and series 1 of TDG, it's hard to believe I was watching a CBBC show.

The episode of TDG where Gus left was a good one in terms of highlighting gay couples, which for a kids show was a brave thing to do I think. It's nice that they highlight several disabilities (Mo's parents and Frank had cerebal palsy) but they haven't picked up on any of the others. They have dropped hints with regards to Sasha's baby sister also having a case of dwarfism (they referred to it as her being "a small person").

I hope they go back to what it once was. It's actually, in my opinion, far better for kids if they do display more real life situations, issues and so on. That's kind of why it was so successful in the first place. It was popular with a young audience and an older audience.

I do believe it can go on for many many years but for that to be possible they need to keep the quality high.


Yes, there does seem to be a party every other episode. I don't mind any fun episodes, but at least keep it to once or twice a series.


Yes, it was beginning to look bleak. Thank god for that amnesty - it was the lifeline I needed.


It's hard to believe how much some of them have grown as well. It's more noticeable with the likes of Tyler and Mo.

Much as I like May-Li, I still miss Gina - particularly when she'd lose her rag! In fact, that's another point I'd like to make: unannounced exits. It's annoying that some characters aren't given a send off. Sure, there's a logical reason for the likes of Faith and Rick leaving as they turned 16 (although Faith returned for one episode), but we wouldn't know that until they mention it. Same with Elektra.

Do we know when the series returns?

No confirmation of the date yet but I'm presuming it's sometime this month or February?

Here's the preview for Series 5

https://youtu.be/KfNM3QWolEQ

Well it's not on on Friday so at a guess, I'd say the 3rd February.

Yes, should be around the end of this month. That trailer doesn't give me much hope that it'll be back to series 1 levels but we'll have to wait and see.