King of drama: Playwright and Hull ambassador Alan Plater dies: Audio tribute

ALAN Plater, award-winning, Hull-raised writer for stage and screen, has died, aged 75.

Click the green PLAY button to hear a Yorkshire Post interview with Alan Plater on the Golden Age of Yorkshire Television. Read more

Mr Plater had been battling pancreatic cancer for the past year. His agent confirmed today that he died after being admitted to the Marie Curie Hospice in North London earlier this week.

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The Bafta-winning screen writer began his career as an architect, but wrote in his spare time, sometimes contributing book reviews to the Yorkshire Post.

His writing career began to take off in the late 50s with radio plays being broadcast, but his big break came when famed literary agent Peggy Ramsey recruited him to write for Z Cars.

Mr Plater went on to write shows for television including The Beiderbecke Affair, Fortunes of War, Last of the Blonde Bombshells, Barchester Chronicles, A Very British Coup, and Lewis, during a career spanning half a century.

During his career he received awards from Bafta, the Broadcasting Press Guild and the Royal Television Society as well as an International Emmy.

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Mr Plater's most recent television work was a recently-filmed ITV period drama titled Joe Maddison's War, starring Robson Green and Kevin Whately and set in Newcastle.

He also wrote for the stage, in the last five years seeing his plays premiere at West Yorkshire Playhouse, Halifax Viaduct theatre and Hull Truck Theatre, for which he write Confessions of a City Supporter, an autobigraphical play about his love for Hull City.

Married to Shirley, and a grandfather, he was awarded the CBE in 2005 and received a lifetime achievement award from the Writers' Guild of Great Britain in 2007.

He was president of the Writers' Guild from 1991 to 1995 and was awarded honorary degrees from the University of Hull, the University of Northumbria, the Open University and the University of Newcastle.

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Mr Plater explained last year why Joe Maddison's War meant so much to him, saying: "My family background is strictly Tyneside - the earlier generations worked in and around the shipyards, my favourite uncle was in the Home Guard, and my head is still full of family anecdotes from the period."

Mr Plater's first plays were written for radio. The Journal of Vasilije Bogdanovic scooped the 1983 Sony Radio Award.

A short story written for Bernard Cribbins to perform was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 over Christmas in 2007.

His TV career began with a string of single plays as well as contributions to the Z Cars series.

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Plater's work in the theatre includes the 1968 musical Close the Coalhouse Door.

His first film for the big screen was The Virgin and the Gypsy, from DH Lawrence's novel and he also wrote a screenplay for George Orwell's Keep the Aspidistra Flying.

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