Deirdre Hortense "Dodie" Bishop, 12 years old, along with Macie Lightfoot, makes up Ginger's inner circle of friends. Dodie is known for her big mouth and her love of gossip; she is often seen updating Ginger on the latest happenings with the popular group or on modern romance. She appears to be very needy and wants nothing more than to be popular, often doing unscrupulous things in order to achieve a high social status. For example, in the episode "Dodie's Big Break", she feigned a broken leg in order to win a much-coveted spot on the cheerleading squad, but her ruse was uncovered by Ginger and Macie. Usually, however, whenever she believes she is on the verge of becoming popular, she becomes somewhat corrupt and dishonest and always ends up back where she started. While it is difficult for her to realize when her ploys for popularity, acceptance and sometimes manipulation have gone too far, she will do all she can to apologize and repair the damage done as soon as she realizes what she's done. It is also noted that while she occasionally succumbs to the lure of being popular on her own, she usually wants her best friends included in her schemes: she is at core a loyal friend, and will usually stop herself short of harming Ginger and Macie. At the series' beginning, Courtney Gripling referred to her as "Potie" and hardly acknowledged her existence. However, as Courtney grows closer to Ginger, she ends up growing closer to Dodie, as well.