Trivia / The Dumping Ground

• Dawson Casting: It's not uncommon that the child actors are a few years older than their characters are, such as Sid and Taz being 12 in Series 9, while their actors were 14-15 and 13-14 respectively at the time of filming. However, it's also averted as some characters like Liam and Frank are the same ages as their actors.
• Disabled Character, Disabled Actor: Chloe's casting call specifically called for a genuine wheelchair user to play the part.
• Executive Meddling: It was CBBC's idea to have Mike leave The Dumping Ground at the end of Series 7.
  • As some of the actors have said, some of them didn't choose to leave in Series 10.
• The Other Darrin: Liam's brother, Jack, was played by Calum Callaghan in his first appearance in Tracy Beaker Returns. In The Dumping Ground, he is instead played by Chris Finch.
  • Sasha's brother Murphy is played by twins Thomas and Oliver Waldram in Series 3 and Fred Montgomery Scott in Series 4 for his appearances as a baby but when he appears in Series 9 as a child, he is now played by Lenny Rush.
• Out of Order: Series 8B is this. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and delays in filming for Series 9, the episodes are aired out of order (this can be seen through Nazeer making cameos before disappearing and later being written out and Max being introduced and then absent for a number of episodes) and the Christmas special, which was confirmed to be the intended finale for the series (plus refers to Floss being related to Ross, Bird having known that Jay isn't his real brother, and has no mention of Nazeer before he was officially written off the show), airing before the rest of the series.
• Playing Their Own Twin: In the Series 7 episode "Reunion", Connor Byrne plays both Mike and his twin brother Peader.
• Real-Life Relative: Kiki Brooks-Truman (who played Maude in the opening of Series 3), is the daughter of Charlie Brooks.
  • Warwick Davis (who guest starred as Lou in the Series 4 episodes "Perfect Match" and "Doris") is the father of Annabelle Davis, who plays Sasha.
  • Jon Pegg makes a cameo in "Far From The Tree" as Jody's trainer in the opening scene. He is the father of Kia Pegg, who plays Jody.
  • A small example but Tyler's mum in a photograph in Series 1 and the animated Imagine Spot of her is Miles Bulter-Hughton's mum in real life.
• Real Life Writes the Hairstyle: Jody having a Tomboyish Ponytail (which she would later wear in some episodes of Series 2 before it became her default hairstyle from Series 3 onward) in "Jody in Wonderland" was done to make it easier for the green screen that was used for the special effects.
  • According to a live Instagram Q&A Kia Pegg did in 2020, the ponytail became her default hairstyle because of her tendency to fiddle with her hair between takes.
• Real Life Writes the Plot: Elektra leaves The Dumping Ground after Series 1 because Jessica Revell joined a drama school and wasn't allowed to work as an actor during her time there.
  • Word of God also stated that Gus was written out half-way through Series 1 because Noah Marullo wanted to move on.
  • Rick left after Series 2 of The Dumping Ground because Daniel Pearson wanted a break from acting.
  • The former La Sagesse school which had been used as the set for Elm Tree House since Tracy Beaker Returns was demolished in 2013 for redevelopment, necessitating the move to Ashdene Ridge between Series' 1 and 2.
  • Finn's screentime was significantly reduced in Series 9 owing to the fact that Ruben Reuter was shielding during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
  • Mo leaves after Series 4 due to Reece Buttery wanting to leave for personal reasons.
  • Viv is absent from Series 9 due to Chloe Lea filming another show at the time.
  • An emotional scene from "Go Your Own Way" with Jody and Tyler bonding over their chocolate stash one last time (that was mentioned by Jody at the end of the previous episode) wasn't filmed due to Kia Pegg and Miles Bulter-Hughton eating the chocolates that were going to be used.
  • Due to the COVID Pandemic, Series 9 has the characters distanced for a majority of the series and has little to no physical touch due to the cast having to follow health guidelines.
  • Johnny leaves in Series 3 because most of the cast agreed that Joe Maw was starting to look too old to be playing a kid.
  • According to Joe Maw, Rick wears more long-sleeves because Danny Pearson had gotten a tattoo and the character would have been too young to get one.
• Release Date Change: Series 8B was meant to be released in its entirety between September and December 2020. However, due to the delay in filming Series 9 caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic, the series was put on hold again after five episodes. The Christmas special intended for the end of the series was released in December, and the rest of the series aired from January to February 2021.
• What Could Have Been: Kia Pegg confirmed in an interview and on Instagram that CBBC wanted to have Jody return again for Floss's leaving episode but Kia declined, having moved on from the show and feeling that it was too soon to come back.
• Word of Gay: Subverted. Word of God revealed that Elektra is a lesbian after she had left the show, however, this is explored in the web series spin-off After The DG with her meeting and expressing her feelings for a girl. Plus, Elektra had a rainbow flag in her room, which hinted at her sexuality.

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