Dennis Stockle is a strict care worker who was introduced in Series 3 of Tracy Beaker Returns. Dennis used to run the rough care home, Burnywood.
Dennis Stockle is a very strict and cynical man, and even though he's a care worker he doesn't seem to actually care for the kids he cares for. He acted like he was Mike's boss (even though he wasn't) and liked to push him, Gina and Tracy around. And it's highly likely he acted this way with other care workers at Burnywood. He is also unfair and never gives the kids a chance and is always quick to blame or judge them, as he thinks that all care kids are trouble no matter what.
Biography[]
Background[]
Not much is known about Dennis' past, but before he left Elmtree he said to Tracy that he used to be like her once. So it's assuming that he actually used to care about the kids he cared for, but one day something must've happened that turned him into the lazy care worker bully he became. While he was at Burnywood, it's assumed he was the head care worker there. Dennis probably played a part of why Burnywood was so rough, as he practically ran the home like it was a prison and treated the kids as if they were criminals. He even padlocked the fridge and food cupboards and made signs saying "no dancing", "no shouting", "no singing", "no fun" etc and would only allow the living room to be open from 5pm-6pm. At some point in Dennis' life, he started smoking cigarettes which he became addicted to.
Tracy Beaker Returns: Series 2[]
While he did not appear in the second series, Dennis was a care worker at Burnywood. When Sapphire, Carmen and Harry arrived at Burnywood after Elmtree House was closed for a while, Tyler for some reason decided to steal all of Carmen's stuff. When she asked for it back, Tyler punched her, giving her a black eye. Dennis did nothing about this, and never told Tyler to give Carmen her stuff back or got it back for her either.
Tracy Beaker Returns: Series 3[]
Following a fire that burnt down Burnywood (which was actually caused by Lizanne), Dennis moved Tyler, Rick, Kitty and Lizanne to Elmtree House. After ringing the doorbell to it, it was answered by Tracy, who was shocked when Dennis and the other kids barged their way in without any explanation. Dennis then saw Carmen try to get at Tyler for what he did to her. Dennis soon explained himself to Mike and later Gina when she arrived. He showed a lot of disdain for Tracy when she didn't treat Tyler like he did, objected to Dennis just telling Tracy to leave Kitty alone to "help" her and Tracy's apparent involvement in Carmen and Elektra destroying Tyler's stuff. After Johnny's money went missing, Dennis ordered a search of all the young people's rooms. Unfortunately, this led to Gus going into turmoil when Dennis was inappropriately looking in his room and Kitty accidentally pushing Tracy down the stairs. Dennis then claimed that Elmtree House was out of control because of the day's events and accused Mike of letting it happen. He soon forcefully took over Elmtree, to Mike's protests.
Soon enough, a fire occurred in the attic of Elmtree House because of cigarettes Dennis was smoking up there. Dennis however refused to admit his involvement, blamed the young people (which he seemed to be right about as everyone thought that it was started by Harry, who was up in the attic just as the fire started) and locked the door to the attic. Dennis soon angrily found the door open and that Gus had fallen through the attic floorboards due to the fire while he and Tracy were up there. This led to Dennis accusing Tracy of incompetence and fired her as care worker. He also tried to frame Kitty as the smoker that started the fire after planting cigarettes in her room and also attempted to get Rick punished as an accomplice when the two found the cigarettes. Eventually, he was filmed having a cigarette and exposed for his misdeeds. Although Dennis claimed they did not have any evidence of what he'd done, Gina suggested they phone the police concerning the matter until Mike forced him into quitting and he shortly left.
Personality[]
No one likes Dennis, and Dennis doesn't seem to like anyone else either and treats the kids like they're criminals. He would padlock the fridge, food cupboards (or any cupboards), have signs banning the young people from doing various things and only allowed the living room to be open for a limited amount of time. He did the same when he took over for a short amount of time at Elmtree. He doesn't seem to care about the kids even though he's a "CARE" worker, and he didn't seem to understand or appreciate Gus' needs as a young boy with Asperger's Syndrome.
He did not approve of the way Mike ran Elmtree, with allowing the kids freedom and attempting to give them the benefit of the doubt as well as Mike allowing Sapphire to visit even though she didn't live there anymore, and claimed that he did it poorly despite the fact that most of the issues he listed (Johnny's money getting stolen and Tracy's injury) only appeared after his arrival.
Trivia[]
- How Dennis' name is spelt appears to be up to debate; on the signs he made about the house rules, his name was spelt Dennis. However, the end credits for both "The Visitors" and "Firestarter" and how Gus wrote his name while conducting his investigation of both of the fires spelt it Denis.
Appearances[]
- Tracy Beaker Returns: Series 3
- The Visitors (first appearance)
- Firestarter (last appearance)
- Total appearances: 2