British playwright and screenwriter Alan Plater has died of cancer.
Plater, 75, produced numerous works for the stage and screen, including the television police drama Z Cars and an adaptation of The Barchester Chronicles.
He also wrote 30 episodes of Softly, Softly, a follow-on series of Z Cars.
His work included an adaptation of the Second World War trilogy The Fortunes of War for television.
Plater, who also wrote six novels, was honoured with a CBE in 2005.
The BBC reports his later work included Last of The Blonde Bombshells which starred Dame Judy Dench.
