Playwright Alan Plater loses cancer battle

Alan Plater, the writer of TV shows from Z Cars to The Last of the Blonde Bombshells, died today aged 75.

His agent Alexandra Cann said he had been ill with cancer and his condition deteriorated suddenly this week. His wife, Shirley Rubinstein, was with him during his final days in the Marie Curie Hospice in Hampstead near his home in north London.

Ms Cann said: "He had fought the cancer but suddenly started failing earlier this week. He was a magical person with a towering talent."

Born in Jarrow, he grew up in Hull and trained as an architect. He first made his mark writing for Z Cars and went on to become a prolific television dramatist whose love of jazz infused much of his work, most famously in the comedy The Beiderbecke Affair.

His hits included Oh No, It's Selwyn Froggitt!, work on another police show, Dalziel and Pascoe, adaptations of the Flambards novels by KM Peyton and A Very British Coup by Chris Mullin.

He also adapted George Orwell's Keep the Aspidistra Flying for film and wrote a play, Peggy For You, about the life of his former agent, Peggy Ramsay.

For many years, he fought on behalf of the rights of fellow writers as president of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain. He was made a CBE for services to drama five years ago.

Although he stayed in the north of England for many years, he and his wife moved to London in 1984.