BBC Children in Need Lenny Rush’s life, family and health after spending four months of life in hospital
The Children in Need star spent the first four months of his life in hospital
Lenny Rush made history as Children in Need’s first ever child presenter(Image: BBC Children in Need)
Children in Need is back for another year with a special programme on BBC One this Friday. Lenny Rush, Mel Giedroyc, Rochelle Humes, Vernon Kay, Paddy McGuinness and Big Zuu will front the three-hour-long show, which will be broadcast on BBC One and iPlayer from 7pm.
Lenny Rush has quickly become a household name after winning a TV Bafta in 2023. He won the award for best male comedy performance for his role as Ollie in Daisy May Cooper’s acclaimed series Am I Being Unreasonable?
The 16-year-old actor from Essex kicked off his TV career on CBeebies with roles in ‘Apple Tree House’ and ‘The Dumping Ground’. He then went on to make history as the first child presenter for Children in Need in 2023, and returns on Friday for a third year in a row.
He has also starred in Doctor Who, playing Morris Gibbons, a scientific advisor for UNIT. Beyond his impressive career, what else is there to know about Lenny? Below we take a look at his life behind the cameras, from his health to his family.
Lenny Rush’s health condition
Lenny was born with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SEDC), a form of dwarfism. Lenny spent the first four months of his life in hospital.
His medical journey has included leg surgeries, a procedure to repair a cleft palate, and spinal surgery. Discussing his care under a doctor at Great Ormond Street Hospital, he said how the physician “changed my life”.
He explained his condition can impact various aspects of health, such as vision, mobility, endurance, coordination, and hearing.
Speaking about his role in Am I Being Unreasonable? he commended the series for its approach to his disability, characterising it as “refreshing”. He continued: “Even if people do know I have a disability, that’s fine. My mum always says, ‘Because you’ve got your disability and you’re different, people remember you’.”
He won a BAFTA TV Award in 2023 for Best Male Comedy Performance for his role in Am I Being Unreasonable?(Image: Kate Green/BAFTA/Getty Images for BAFTA)
Talking to the BBC about being seen as a role model, Lenny said: “It’s an honour. For someone to see another person with the same thing as them on the telly – I think it gives them hope that it will be all right, you know.”
Lenny receives considerable encouragement from Warwick Davis, who has the same condition. Recalling their connection, which deepened when Lenny worked with Davis’s daughter Annabelle in The Dumping Ground, he said: “Warwick’s lovely. He does a convention for people with dwarfism called Little People UK. We all go there and we have a disco in the night, it’s great.”
In an interview with The Guardian about diversity on screen, he said: “Dwarfism covers a large scale and he [Warwick] 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.”
Lenny Rush family
Making his mark at seven years old, Lenny first appeared on television in the CBeebies documentary “Our Family”, following his mum Lisa’s initiative to involve them in the programme highlighting diverse family dynamics.
Lenny previously shared: “So mum signed us up for a CBeebies documentary called Our Family, which was on the telly years ago now, I think I was seven and I’m 15 now. I just really enjoyed being in front of the camera and then I went to acting classes on a Saturday and it just went from there.”
Lenny lives an ordinary life with his supportive family in Essex. His dad Steve owns a kitchen design business, and his mum Lisa, a former dental nurse, paused her career to provide care for Lenny and his younger sibling Bobby.
Lenny’s parents are keen for his to live a “normal” life despite his acting career, with his mum Lisa stressing to The Guardian the importance of balance.
She said: “It’s a fine balance, because Lenny would do this full-time if he could he absolutely loves it and he’s living the dream at the moment but he is young, and he needs to have that time where he keeps his feet on the ground.”
In addition to his acting gigs, Lenny also juggles school work. He shared how it can get pretty hectic: “It’s a weird one because one week I’m on set filming and having to do school work on top and then the next I’m back in school with 30 other kids. I think it is tricky on set sometimes because obviously I have to have a set amount of hours of tutoring.”
He explained the need for good preparation to manage the workload. He said: “It can be a long one but it’s just being prepared, having everything with you. Then when I go back to school I’m kept up to date and I know what I’m doing.”
