The cast of ITV comedy ‘Benidorm’ have been paying their respects to their co-star Kenny Ireland, who died on Thursday morning.
Kenny, who played swinging pensioner Donald in the series since its first episode in 2007, was battling cancer when he had died at the age of 68.
Kenny Ireland
A spokesperson for ITV expressed their sadness in an official statement, which reads: “We are terribly saddened to hear that Kenny Ireland has passed away, our thoughts are with his family at this time.
"He was a much loved actor, not only by the cast and crew on ‘Benidorm’ but by the millions of fans out there.
"He appeared as Donald Stewart in Benidorm from the first episode and helped play a huge part in its success. He will be greatly missed.”
His co-stars, past and present, have also taken to their Twitter pages to pay their respects to the actor, who they sat pool-side with for a number of years as they recorded the series, with a string of moving posts.
Show creator Derren Litten invited viewers to watch a ‘Benidorm’ re-run airing on ITV that night in tribute to the “fabulous” star, led the tributes to Kenny, writing:
Other members of the cast, including some who no longer appear in the Bafta nominated show, also posted their own touching tributes and shared memories of the Scottish actor:
'Benidorm' is due to return to screens for a new series in 2015.