Edward William "Ed" Wilson, FRSA (13 July 1947 – 2 February 2008) was an English actor and the Artistic Director of the National Youth Theatre from 1987–2003; he later moved to Los Angeles. Early life Born in South Shields, County Durham, the son of Thomasina (née Moore), and William James Wilson, a pitman, he attended the local grammar school. While still a schoolboy, Wilson performed at the National Youth Theatre (NYT) in London during his summer holidays, having auditioned for its founder-director Michael Croft. Early career Aged 19, he established the South Shields Youth Theatre in his home town, performing in the Pier Pavilion Theatre to rave reviews from the local papers, though the town councillors were less impressed by his choice of "kitchen sink drama" repertoire. He read English at Manchester University, then went to the NYT as an actor and director in 1965. During his time at the NYT he appeared in several television series: his most important television role was young Billy Seaton in 35 episodes of When the Boat Comes In (1976–1981). He appeared briefly in the 1976 film The Likely Lads as Les Ferris, the father of Rodney Bewes' character Bob Ferris. However the claim that he appeared in the TV series appears to be mistaken, although confusingly he did play a minor character, also called Les Ferris, in a 1990 TV mini-series called A Likely Lad. Productions and performances His NYT production of Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot, performed in Christ Church, Spitalfields, St Pancras and Westminster Cathedral was widely acclaimed by audiences and praised by Eliot's widow. Ambitiously, he also arranged to take the production to Moscow Arts Theatre in 1989, where it was very well received. After the death of Michael Croft in 1986, Wilson took over the National Youth Theatre, becoming its second Artistic Director (1987–2003) and re-energising the company. There he auditioned and nurtured many notable talents, including Daniel Craig, Orlando Bloom, Catherine Tate, Jessica Hynes (Stevenson) and Little Britain stars Matt Lucas and David Walliams. Wilson also gave the now-celebrated theatre and film director Matthew Warchus his first chance at directing, when the NYT produced Coriolanus at the Glasgow Tram Shed Theatre in 1986. In 1987 and 1988, he appeared in a regular role as DI Flight in two seasons of Rockliffe's Babies. Wilson championed the musicals of Lionel Bart and brought about a revival of interest