Denzil Kelly was Age 15, Year 11 when he died. He attended Waterloo Road from Series 4 to the end of Series 7. He was portrayed by Reece Douglas.
Backstory & Personality[]
Denzil struggled to adjust to Waterloo Road and has behavioural problems which are a result of his chaotic family environment. He’s always been labelled ‘thick’ by peers and adults alike. Far from being stupid though, he’s actually very bright - in his own cheeky way. Denzil sometimes struggles to fit in and often finds himself ‘playing the big man’, but it’s all an act - and he’s soft as marshmallow on the inside. Denzil has a tendency to be led astray by the people he idolises and became part of Kyle’s Jackass-style gang in series six - even risking his life once he’d got in over his head. But Denzil faces even bigger problems in series seven - struggling with his sister Sam's illness and worrying about how his mum, Rose, will cope with the pressure. At the start of Series 8 Denzil is revealed to have died in the lorry crash.
Series 4[]
In the first episode of Series 4, the Kelly family arrived at Waterloo Road.
Denzil finds it hard at first, looking terrified as he struggles to read out a simple paragraph in class, but he begins to cheer up as his new English teacher, Jasmine Koreshi, offers him help outside of school. The Kellys find out that Denzil is dyslexic.
Denzil worshipped his criminal big brother, Earl – an unhealthy relationship, which resulted in Denzil carrying the can for Earl’s psychotic behaviour and spending a period in a Young Offenders Institute last year.
After Bolton and Paul confess about Earl being the one who shot the gun, Denzil is finally able to settle in at Waterloo Road and is even convinced by his sister, Sambuca, to form a choir with Lauren Fletcher, Aleesha Dillon and Danielle Harker. Together, they get other people to join the choir and with the help of their music teacher, Matt Wilding, they enter a choir competition and end up winning it.
Series 5[]
When Denzil returns for a new year at Waterlood Road, he gets off on the wrong foot with new executive head Max Tyler, who doesn't like Denzil's attitude and forces him to scrub walls as punishment.
Denzil then befriends new pupil Emily James. Even though they both come from different backgrounds, they both faced adversity at a young age which draws them together. He supports Emily during her father's death and her mother's trial.
He later performs in the school talent show with a group of boys under the name "The Waterloo Road Crew" where they dance to Dizee Rascal's "Bonkers."
Series 6[]
Denzil begins hanging out with Waterloo Road's new rebel, Kyle Stack. Reaching for attention, Denzil easily takes part in silly stunts in order to impress Kyle, for example a secret drinking competition with fizzy drinks. Denzil wins the competition, but he later throws up at the fashion show and is taken to the hospital by a furious Tom Clarkson.
In the next episode, Denzil sets up some equipment in the changing rooms to give himself powerful electric shocks. Emily tells Tom about what Denzil is going to do and Tom saves him at the last minute.
Despite promising never to do anything like it again, the next episode he walks across a thin strip of bridge over a road and gets Kyle to film it and send it to Sambuca.
Denzil tries to come down when Sambuca, Karen Fisher, Tom Clarkson and Finn Sharkey arrive, but he trips and is left hanging from the bridge, barely holding on with his hands. Finn climbs up and helps Denzil off, but he ends up falling himself and injures his back.
Series 7[]
After Sambuca is diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, Tom moves in with the Kelly's in an attempt to help them.
Denzil repeatedly becomes upset at school, notably during a maths lesson where he can't help but cry. After class, Daniel Chalk keeps Denzil back to try and console him and Denzil admits his fears about will happen next. He also confides in Chalk about the guilt he's feeling over not wanting Tom to leave after Sambuca dies, as he felt that they were finally a proper family. When Sambuca passes away, Denzil is shown sitting outside her door with their younger brother, Prince.
After Sambuca's death, he has a hard time coping with it; at one point, he tells new pupil Scout Allen to shut up and later attacks the same pupil who stole Sambuca's jacket, but he was stopped by Tom and mother Rose.
In the following term, Denzil becomes friends with Phoenix Taylor and Scout, where the three of them get caught up in mischief. He develops a crush on Scout, but Scout likes Phoenix instead. When Waterloo Road in Rochdale is closed down, Denzil took Michael Byrne up on the opportunity to join his friends at the new school in Scotland.
When they are travelling to Scotland together on the bus, Denzil asks for the bus to be stopped at the border. As everyone stands outside the sign to take a picture, Grantly Budgen proposes to Maggie Croft.
A lorry is then seen swerving on the road, speeding towards them; Denzil was killed instantly by the lorry and Tariq Siddiqui is left in a wheelchair. The driver was twice over the drinking limit.
A memorial for Denzil was held at the school. Tom is unable to talk about him because he feels guilty due to his promise to Rose that he would take care of Denzil.