| The Dumping Ground | |
| Series Run | 2013-present |
| Season(s) | 5 |
| Series Guide | |
| previous "Tracy Beaker Returns" |
next "n/a" |
The Dumping Ground is a British children's comedy-drama that focuses on the lives and experiences of young people and their care workers in care. Filmed around Jesmond, the setting for the first series was Elm Tree House, which was later replaced with Ashdene Ridge from the second series onwards. A spin-off to Tracy Beaker Returns, the series was commissioned in early 2012 and first broadcast on CBBC and the now-defunct BBC HD on 4 January 2013. As of 12 February 2016, 79 episodes of The Dumping Ground have aired.
Premise[]
The premise of the series revolves around the life of children in the Ashdene Ridge care home; typically each episode follows one or more characters' adventures and includes subplots featuring other characters. Episodes frequently include moral messages and tackle social issues.
The first series of The Dumping Ground was announced in March 2012, when Amy-Leigh Hickman (Carmen Howle) announced it live in the CBBC office. The first series was filmed for 13 weeks at the recently closed La Sagesse School in Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne, the same setting used for Tracy Beaker Returns. This series was the last to feature the school as the general setting in the Tracy Beaker franchise. The second series featured a new home called 'Ashdene Ridge', because La Sagesse School and its surrounding land was to be demolished and converted into a luxury housing estate. Each series is filmed in the summer, before being shown the following year.
Episodes[]
| Series | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | ||||
| 1 | 13 | 4 January 2013 | 15 March 2013 | ||
| Special | 16 December 2013 | ||||
| 2 | 13 | 10 January 2014 | 28 March 2014 | ||
| 3 | 20 | 10 | 16 January 2015 | 13 March 2015 | |
| 10 | 6 October 2015 | 8 December 2015 | |||
| 4 | 20 | 10 | 29 January 2016 | 25 March 2016 | |
| 10 | 30 September 2016 | 2 December 2016 | |||
| Special | 25 March 2016 | ||||
| 5 | 24 | 12 | 20 January 2017 | 31 March 2017 | |
| 12 | 13 October 2017 | tbd | |||
Awards and nominations[]
| Ceremony | Award | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Writers' Guild of Great Britain 2013 | Best Children's Television Script | Elly Brewer for "What Would Gus Want?" | WON |
| Emma Reeves for "The Truth is Out There" | NOMINATED | ||
| British Academy Children's Awards 2013 | Best Drama | The Dumping Ground | WON |
| British Academy Children's Awards 2014 | BAFTA Kid's Vote – Television | The Dumping Ground | NOMINATED |
| Best Actor | Kia Pegg as Jody Jackson | NOMINATED | |
| British Academy Children's Awards 2015 | Best Drama | The Dumping Ground | NOMINATED |
| Interactive: Adapted in 2015 | The Dumping Ground: You're The Boss | WON | |
| Royal Television Society North East and the Border Awards 2016 | Drama in 2016 | The Dumping Ground | WON |
| British Academy Children's Awards 2016 | Best Drama | The Dumping Ground | NOMINATED |