Kenny Ireland

George Ian Kenneth "Kenny" Ireland (7 August 1945 - 31 July 2014) was a Scottish actor and theatre director. Ireland was best known to television viewers for his role in Victoria Wood As Seen on TV in the 1980s, and for playing Donald Stewart in Benidorm from 2007 until his death in 2014. Born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland had been prominent in the theatre where he spent ten years as director of the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh. When he left the post in 2003 he controversially attacked the Scottish arts establishment for providing "theatre on the cheap" and the Scottish Executive for putting plans for a National Theatre of Scotland on "the back burner". The National Theatre of Scotland was finally launched in 2006. He also appeared in an episode of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet as a journalist. In some early TV appearances (e.g. the BBC's "Five Red Herrings") he was credited as "Ian Ireland". Ireland's directing credits include Guys & Dolls, A View from the Bridge, Romeo and Juliet,