Doctor Who guest star Lenny Rush was originally cast in a different role
The BAFTA winner was cut from Space Babies – but for a very good reason.
Why would Doctor Who cast BAFTA-winning child actor Lenny Rush, only to then drop him from his episode and recast the role? Turns out there was a very good reason...
On companion show Doctor Who Unleashed, it was revealed that Rush was originally set to voice Eric – one of the space babies – in the appropriately-titled episode Space Babies.
Rush even took part in the read-through and visited the set, as can be seen in the Unleashed episode now streaming on BBC iPlayer.
But his performance so impressed the Doctor Who production team that they opted to cut Rush from Space Babies – Sami Amber voices Eric in the final episode – in order to bring him back in a larger role in a future episode.
As fans will know, Rush will now play Morris Gibbons, UNIT's new scientific advisor, later in the new season.
Explaining the switch, showrunner Russell T Davies said: "Lenny Rush was one of the voices of the space babies, and he’d been so good as a space baby voice that at that read through we kind of sat there and went 'It’s a shame. It’s a shame he’s just a voice and we’re not going to actually see Lenny.'
"So this chance came along to cast a new scientific adviser and I was like, 'Oh my God, let’s get Lenny'."
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Rush was announced to be playing Morris in June 2023. "This is what Doctor Who's all about, brand new talent from the next generation, and no one’s more talented than Lenny," said Davies. "He joins the TARDIS team just in time for the Doctor’s greatest nightmare, so hold on tight!"
Rush joins a string of notable guest stars in Doctor Who's 2024 season, including Jonathan Groff, Aneurin Barnard, Indira Varma, and RuPaul's Drag Race star Jinkx Monsoon.
Doctor Who continues on Saturday 18th May on BBC iPlayer and BBC One. Previous seasons are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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Authors
Morgan Jeffery is the Digital Editor for Radio Times, overseeing all editorial output across the brand's digital platforms. He was previously TV Editor at Digital Spy and has featured as a TV expert on BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 5 Live and Sky Atlantic.
