Playwright & Screenwriter Alan Plater Dies at 75

Born and raised in the north east of England (first Jarrow, then Hull), he rose to prominence as a scriptwriter for police drama Z Cars before writing for TV series including Armchair Theatre, Softly, Softly, The Stars Look Down, The Good Companions (from the novel by JB Priestley) and The Barchester Chronicles. He won a Bafta for A Very British Coup in 1989.

His numerous plays include Close the Coalhouse Door, Sweet Sorrow, Shooting the Legend, All Credit to the Lads, I Thought I Heard a Rustling, Peggy for You (a tribute to his former literary agent Peggy Ramsay), Only a Matter of Time and The Blonde Bombshells Of 1943 (a prequel to the 2000 TV series starring Judi Dench).

A passionate Hull City fan, his play Confessions of a City Supporter, plotting the history of the club, premiered to critical acclaim at Hull Truck in 2004. He was awarded a CBE the following year.

In a recent interview with the Writers Guild (of which he was president from 1991-95), Plater said: “In the past few years the health has not been too terrific but the writing has given me a focus … Shirley and I had a big joint 70th birthday party a few years ago. We made threescore years and ten. We smoke, we still drank a bit then. Everything else is a bonus. I am quite biblical that way.”

He also revealed that he received a message from Anthony Minghella (who died in 2008) when he first got ill. It read: “We need for you to tell us what to feel and how to think. Ant.”