BAFTA Winner Lenny Rush Joins Buzzy 'Doctor Who' Season 14 Guest Cast

Although Doctor Who's 14th season technically won't air until 2024 — we've still got to get through the three-part 60th-anniversary celebration in November and the forthcoming festive special that will technically serve as the start of the Ncuti Gatwa era — news about the upcoming slate of episodes continues to arrive at what can only be described as a fast and furious pace.

Bonnie Langford is coming back as classic companion Melanie "Mel" Bush! Jonathan Groff is not only guest-starring but looking great doing it whilst wearing Regency dress! Indira Varma and Jinkx Monsoon appear to have major (and most likely villainous!) roles. Returning showrunner Russell T. Davies is not playing around and seems more than happy to drizzle out information on what feels like a near-weekly basis to the fans obsessively watching news reports at home. And, to be clear, we love him for this. Aren't these official announcements loads more fun than pouring over grainy set photos on Twitter?

The latest addition to Season 14's starry guest slate is BAFTA winner Lenny Rush, a 14-year-old actor who just took home the BAFTA for Best Male Performance in a Comedy for his scene-stealing performance in Am I Being Unreasonable? The young star will play a character named Morris. And while details surrounding the character are slim, it sounds as though the TARDIS fam will be getting a new member (at least for a short time). 

“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!” Rush said in a statement following the announcement of his casting. 

Gatwa’s first episode as the Doctor will reportedly be the franchise’s first Christmas special since Peter Capaldi’s regeneration episode “Twice Upon a Time.” (The BBC coyly doesn’t refer to this as Gatwa’s first appearance as the Doctor, so we should assume that, at the very least, his regeneration will occur during the 60th anniversary.) Season 14, which will feature Millie Gibson as new companion Ruby Sunday will follow at an as-yet-undetermined point in 2024. 

“This is what Doctor Who’s all about, brand new talent from the next generation, and no one’s more talented than Lenny!” Davies added. “He joins the TARDIS team just in time for the Doctor’s greatest nightmare, so hold on tight!”

Doctor Who will return this November for a three-part 60th-anniversary adventure starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate, with guest appearances by Yasmin Finney and Neil Patrick Harris, alongside the returns of Jaqueline King, Karl Collins, and the late Bernard Cribbins as Donna’s family. And while no airdate for these specials has been confirmed yet, it seems safe to assume they’ll air on and/or around the actual anniversary date, November 23. (Which, by the way, is a Thursday this year -- and the Thanksgiving holiday in America --- so don’t be surprised if you see a multi-night event scheduled across that weekend!)