She is one of the most popular characters in children's literature, created by one of the most celebrated children's authors of the 20th and 21st century.

And now Kingston resident Dame Jacqueline Wilson has revealed the inspiration behind young tear-away Tracy Beaker - the Surrey Comet.

Dame Jacqueline was speaking at the Wimbledon BookFest on Tuesday, when she recalled how she had seen adverts printed in this newspaper for children in children’s homes waiting to be fostered or adopted.

There were photos of children, with information about them for prospective parents to read.

Speaking to hundreds of school children on Tuesday, October 7, Dame Jacqueline, a former Coombe Girls' School pupil, said: "I was fascinated by this.

"I thought what would it feel like to be advertised like this, with your photos in the paper.

"What would happen if the home wrote things about you."

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The famous Tracy Beaker series 

Tracy Beaker is one of the most successful and well-loved characters of Dame Jacqueline's 100 books.

The series of books about the little girl who lives in a care home and breaks all the rules is said to be the most borrowed book from UK libraries between 2000 and 2010.

The story was turned into a television series starring Dani Harmer who went on to compete in Strictly Come Dancing and a stage play where the wild child was played by Sarah Churm.

Dame Jacqueline said: "I was in two minds whether [advertising] was a good thing or a bad thing so I thought I would write about a child in this situation."

She explained the name Tracy came to her naturally, but it was only when enjoying a long bath at her Kingston home that the surname struck her.

She used a Snoopy beaker to wash her hair and when she picked it up, she thought ‘beaker’ would be a perfect surname for her character danme Jacqueline is about to publish her 100th book, Opal Plumstead, and said she has already written number 101 to get over the jinx of such a significant number.