A Woman of Substance star Lenny Rush: How he made TV history, and the rare health condition that affects his growth
A BAFTA, a role in Doctor Who, and an upcoming Slow Horses coup – not bad for a teenager!
Lenny Rush is currently playing
The young actor has already made quite the mark in TV and film, and even managed to outshine his very famous co-stars in the BBC comedy Am I Being Unreasonable?
In 2023, Lenny Rush became the first ever child presenter on Children in Need, and it was the icing on the cake of a short but already impressive career.
So what is he most famous for, how old is he, and what’s the rare condition that affects his growth? Here’s everything you need to know about the brilliant A Woman of Substance star Lenny Rush.
Actor Lenny Rush became the first child presenter of Children in Need
Child star Lenny Rush became the first ever child to present Children in Need in 2023. He returned to host again the next year in 2024, and again in 2025. He’s a charmer that’s for sure.
The charity telethon has been on air since 1980, and was first hosted by TV legend Terry Wogan. But, after more than four decades, teenager Lenny finally co-presented the event. He joined regular faces Ade Adepitan, Mel Giedroyc, Chris Ramsey, Alex Scott, and Jason Manford.
In an interview with The Guardian at the time, Lenny said he was nervous to be presenting the live show but that the “excitement outweighs the nervousness”.
He added: “If I’d said no, and then I watched it that night, I would be gutted I wasn’t there.”lenny
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How old is Lenny Rush? Where is he from?
Lenny Rush was born on March 18 2009. He is currently
The teenager is from Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex.
Was Lenny Rush in Am I Being Unreasinable?
Lenny Rush stole the show in Daisy May Cooper’s series Am I Being Unreasonable? It was one of our favourite comedies of 2022, and Lenny was perfectly cast as Daisy’s long-suffering onscreen son Ollie. To say he was more mature than his mum is to state the bleeding obvious.
Am I Being Unreasonable? tells the story of Nic, who’s grieving a loss she can’t share with anyone. Stuck in a depressing marriage, one thing keeps her going – her son, Ollie. Unsurprisingly, the BBC renewed it for a second series.
While this was arguable Lenny’s most famous role at the time, he’s actually been on our screens since 2018.
How did A Woman of Substance star Lenny Rush become famous?
Lenny Rush first appeared on camera on the CBeebies docu-soap Our Family. He began acting at the Pauline Quirke Academy in Essex, and his first acting role was playing a school boy in the film Old Boys. That same year, he portrayed Eli in the kids TV series Apple Tree House. In 2019, he starred as Tiny Tim Cratchit in Steven Knight’s gothic adaptation of Charles Dickens’ iconic ghost story A Christmas Carol.
He played Tiny Tim again in the TV movie Old Vic in Camera: A Christmas Carol, starring Andrew Lincoln as Ebenezer Scrooge. Between 2020 and 2021, Lenny played Murphy in the spin-off of the British hit TV series The Story of Tracy Beaker.
Audiences fell in love with his performance as Ollie in Am I Being Unreasonable? He then went on to play Crossing Sweeper in the BBC Oliver Twist series called Dodger.
In 2023, he portrayed George in the heartbreaking Sharon Horgan drama Best Interests, and Lukas Calder in the 18-rated horror film The Queen Mary. Not a bad CV for a boy who was only 14!
Unsurprisingly, Lenny Rush won the Breakthrough Award, and Comedy Performance (Male) Award, for Am I Being Unreasonable? at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards in March 2023. He’s also won the BAFTA for
More recently, he’s played Morris Gibbons in Doctor Who, and Chris in the TV movie Finding Father Christmas. In November 2023, he was the winner of Taskmaster New Year’s Treat 2024.
Was A Woman of Substance’s Lenny Rush in Doctor Who?
In June 2023, it was announced that Lenny Rush would portray Morris Gibbons in Doctor Who.
Lenny joined the 14th season of the re-booted series as a mysterious figure called Morris. He starred alongside Ncuti Gatwa, who took over the mantle from David Tennant as the new Timelord. Millie Gibson played Ruby Sunday.
Lenny said of the prestigious role: “It’s an absolute honour to be part of Doctor Who, one of the most iconic shows on television and wow what a dream come true!”
Who does Lenny play in A Woman of Substance?
In April 2025, it was announced that Lenny would join Brenda Blethyn and Emmett J. Scanlan in the Channel 4 reboot of the Barbara Taylor Bradford bestselling novel, A Woman of Substance.
A Woman of Substance follows Emma Harte, an iconic character from the novel of the same name. Channel 4 describes her as “a housemaid-turned-mogul, daughter, mother, lover, and fighter”. She’s also “a 20th century feminist icon who refused to know her ‘place'”.
Set in 1911, we meet Emma Harte, an impoverished ambitious maid in Yorkshire. A synopsis tells us: “Emma goes on a dizzying journey to become the world’s richest woman, gazing down from a sprawling luxury New York penthouse.”
Lenny plays Emma’s brother Frank in the rags-to-riches tale. Will Mellor plays Frank and Emma’s dad.
What is Lenny doing next after A Woman of Substance?
After playing Frank Harte in A Woman of Substance, Lenny Rush will appear in The Reluctant Vampire, based on the novel by comedian Eric Morecambe. The story follows a reluctant vampire prince living in a quaint English village. He makes a startling discovery about his true nature, forcing him to question everything he knows about himself and his supernatural community.
In a huge coup, he will also be joining the cast of Slow Horses season 6. There’s no stopping Lenny.
What condition does Lenny Rush have? How tall is he?
Lenny Rush has a condition called Spondyloepiphyseal Dysplasia congenita (SEDc), which affects bone growth while causing aches and pains. The condition affects his height, resulting in a rare form of dwarfism. He is reportedly 3 feet 3 inches in height.
Appearing on GMB in 2019, the actor insisted that “anybody can play a role” regardless of whether they have a disability or not. He has said that he’s “very proud” of what he’s accomplished, and explained that disability should not be a factor when considering somebody for a part.
He feels that all actors should have “the same opportunities” before revealing he’d love to eventually play a “crime boss”.
Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita is an inherited bone growth disorder that results in short stature (dwarfism), skeletal abnormalities, and problems with vision and hearing.
Lenny discovered he was in the running for a BAFTA when he was in hospital recovering from spinal surgery. When Lenny Rush was growing up, the only actor he saw with his condition was Warwick Davis.
He now says he’d like to inspire others. Lenny says: “Dwarfism covers a large scale and he has got the exact same type as me. There weren’t too many people out there; there is Warwick, and I remember Verne Troyer, and there’s Peter Dinklage, but they are the only actors I know, which is a shame. There should be more.”
He added: “I think it is good for parents to see me, to know that you’ll make it out at the end and it will be the best life ever.”
