A little-known actor is celebrating after landing a plum role in the Doctor Who Christmas special.

Danny Horn has just finished filming the special episode of the cult show, which will be watched by millions on Christmas Day.

And the 21-year-old had to pinch himself after acting alongside the Doctor, Matt Smith, and the likes of Sir Michael Gambon and singer Katherine Jenkins, less than a week after leaving drama school.

Now, the actor from Ilkley could become a household name for his part in the cult show, which will certainly be another Christmas hit.

Until the role in Doctor Who came along, the former member of the Ilkley Upstagers had only performed in front of the cameras for a short film.

But after a successful audition, Mr Horn was whisked off to Cardiff to play a younger version of Mr Gambon in the one-off special.

“It’s been like a bizarre dream,” he said.

“I finished the Central School of Speech and Drama on the Friday, had the audition on the Monday and by Thursday I was filming in Cardiff.

“I was very excited about the audition but didn’t think I’d get it.

“It took a month to film and I’ve been up and down to Cardiff. It’s a relatively good part.

“I’m a big fan of the show and hopefully it won’t lead to any arguments about what to watch on Christmas Day!”

Although Mr Horn is not able to give away too many details about the show, he did say it is based loosely on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and he spent most of his time acting with Matt Smith, Sir Michael and, in particular, Miss Jenkins, who was making her acting debut.

“It was a bit of an alien world to both of us, if you’ll pardon the pun,” Mr Horn said.

“We were together for a lot of the episode – let’s just say I might be a bit of a hero with the boys.

“Working with Michael was fantastic as he’s one of my heroes, and Matt is brilliant to work with – absolutely fantastic.”

The former Ilkley Grammar School pupil now lives in north London, but his family still live in West Yorkshire and his sister Ellie, 19, is preparing to scale Mount Kilimanjaro.

Mr Horn, who has also been filming a role in the children’s show MI High for CBBC is now looking ahead to some more big projects.

He says acting has been his dream since he was a child in Ilkley. “So far it’s going well,” he said. “I’ve got a couple of really exciting opportunities ahead.

“I’m down to the final two for the lead in a big film.”