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Alan Frederick Plater (15 April 1935 – 25 June 2010) was an English playwright and screenwriter, who worked extensively in British television from the 1960s to the 2000s.


Career

Plater was born in Jarrow, County Durham, although his family moved to Hull in 1938. He attended Kingston High School. Jarrow was much publicised as a severely economically depressed area before the Second World War (Plater joked that his family left Jarrow just after the Great Depression to catch Hull just before
the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...
). He trained as an architect at
King's College, Newcastle Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick unive ...
(later the
Newcastle University School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Newcastle University School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape is based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Housed in a Grade 2 listed building in the university quadrangle (built in 1913 to a design by WH Knowles and adjacent to the School of ...
), but only practised in the profession briefly, at a junior level. He later stated that it was shortly after he was forced to fend off a herd of pigs from eating his tape measure while he was surveying a field that he left to pursue writing full-time. Plater stayed in the north of England for many years after he became prominent as a writer and lived in Hull. He first made his mark as a scriptwriter for ''
Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debut ...
'' (1962–65), along with its spin-offs '' Softly, Softly'' (1966–69) and '' Softly, Softly: Task Force'' (1969–76). His subsequent credits include ''The Reluctant Juggler'' in the series ''The Edwardians'' (1972), ''
Shoulder to Shoulder ''Shoulder to Shoulder'' is a 1974 BBC television serial and book relating the history of the women's suffrage movement, both edited by Midge Mackenzie. The drama series grew out of discussions between Mackenzie and the actress and singer Georg ...
'' (1974), ''
The Stars Look Down ''The Stars Look Down'' is a 1935 novel by A. J. Cronin which chronicles various injustices in an English coal mining community. A film version was released in 1940, and television adaptations include both Italian (1971) and British (1975) ve ...
'' (1975), ''
Trinity Tales ''Trinity Tales'' is a 1975 British television series, consisting of six 50-minute programmes, written by Alan Plater and shown on BBC2. It was loosely based on Geoffrey Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales'', updated to a modern setting. The series ev ...
'' (1975), ''
Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt ''Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt'' is a British television sitcom which ran on the ITV network from 1974 to 1978. Set in the fictional Yorkshire town of Scarsdale, the series stars Bill Maynard as Selwyn Froggitt, a council labourer, hapless handy ...
'', ''The Journal of Vasilije Bogdanovic'', the musical ''Close the Coalhouse Door'' with songwriter
Alex Glasgow Alex Glasgow (14 October 1935 – 14 May 2001) was an English singer-songwriter from Low Fell, Gateshead, England. He wrote the songs and music for the musical plays ''Close the Coal House Door'' and '' On Your Way, Riley!'' by Alan Plater, and ...
from the writings of
Sid Chaplin Sid Chaplin (20 September 191611 January 1986) was an English writer whose works (novels, television screenplays, poetry and short stories) are mostly set in the north-east of England, in the 1940s and 1950s. Biography Chaplin was born into ...
, '' Get Lost!'' (1981), ''
On Your Way, Riley ''On Your Way, Riley'' is a 1982 play by Alan Plater and a 1985 Yorkshire Television drama of the same name about the private and theatrical partnership of husband and wife 'Old Mother Riley' music hall performers Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShan ...
'' (1982), '' Fortunes of War'' (1987) an adaptation based on the novels of
Olivia Manning Olivia Mary Manning (2 March 1908 – 23 July 1980) was a British novelist, poet, writer, and reviewer. Her fiction and non-fiction, frequently detailing journeys and personal odysseys, were principally set in the United Kingdom, Euro ...
, ''
The Beiderbecke Trilogy ''The Beiderbecke Trilogy'' refers to three television serials written by Alan Plater and made by Yorkshire Television for the ITV network in the United Kingdom between 1984 and 1988. Each serial centres on schoolteachers Trevor Chaplin ( James ...
'' (1985–1988), '' Misterioso'' (an adaptation of his novel, 1991), ''
Oliver's Travels ''Oliver's Travels'' is a five-part television serial written by Alan Plater and starring Alan Bates, Sinéad Cusack, Bill Paterson, and Miles Anderson. It first aired in the UK in 1995. Plot Bates plays the titular Oliver (it is never made ...
'' (1995), an adaptation of
J.B. Priestley John Boynton Priestley (; 13 September 1894 – 14 August 1984) was an English novelist, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and social commentator. His Yorkshire background is reflected in much of his fiction, notably in ''The Good Compa ...
's ''
The Good Companions ''The Good Companions'' is a novel by the English author J. B. Priestley. Written in 1929, it follows the fortunes of a concert party on a tour of England. It is Priestley's most famous novel and established him as a national figure. It won ...
'' (1980) for
Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...
, a film adaptation of George Orwell's ''
Keep the Aspidistra Flying ''Keep the Aspidistra Flying'', first published in 1936, is a socially critical novel by George Orwell. It is set in 1930s London. The main theme is Gordon Comstock's romantic ambition to defy worship of the money-god and status, and the dis ...
'', '' Belonging'' and the theatre play ''Peggy for You'', based on the life of Plater's former agent
Peggy Ramsay Margaret Francesca Ramsay (27 May 1908 - 4 September 1991) was an Australian-born British theatrical agent.Christopher Stevens ''Born Brilliant: The Life Of Kenneth Williams'', London: John Murray, 2010, p.409 Early life Peggy Ramsay was bor ...
, which was nominated in 2001 for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award. He also contributed to the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
series ''
Dalziel and Pascoe Detective Superintendent Andrew "Andy" Dalziel and Detective Sergeant, later Detective Inspector, Peter Pascoe are two fictional Yorkshire detectives featuring in a series of novels by Reginald Hill. Characterisation and style Dalziel is ...
'', and adapted
Chris Mullin Christopher Paul Mullin (born July 30, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player, executive and coach. He is a two-time Olympic Gold medalist and a two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee (in 2010 as a memb ...
's novel ''
A Very British Coup ''A Very British Coup'' is a 1982 novel by British politician Chris Mullin. The novel has twice been adapted for television; as '' A Very British Coup'' in 1988 and as '' Secret State'' in 2012. Plot Harry Perkins is the left-wing Leader of th ...
'' (1988) for television. He was the driving force behind the TV version of '' Flambards'', which under his influence was claimed to be slanted well to the political left of K. M. Peyton's original books. Jazz is a recurring motif through much of Plater's work, often referenced explicitly as well as underpinning his story structures. Among his few feature films he collaborated twice with
Christopher Miles Christopher Miles (born 19 April 1939) is a British film director, producer and screenwriter. Personal life Miles was born in London, England, the eldest of four children to Clarice Remnant (‘Wren’), a councillor, and John Miles, a consulti ...
on two successful D.H.Lawrence projects '' The Virgin and the Gypsy'' and ''
Priest of Love ''Priest of Love'' is a British biographical film about D. H. Lawrence and his wife Frieda (née Von Richthofen) played by Ian McKellen and Janet Suzman. It was a Stanley J. Seeger presentation, produced and directed by Christopher Miles and ...
''. He was a supporter of
Hull City A.F.C. Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...
His play ''Confessions of a City Supporter'' on his lifelong relationship with the club was staged during the first-ever run of performances at the new home of the
Hull Truck Theatre Company Hull Truck Theatre is a theatre in Kingston upon Hull, England, which presents drama productions, and also tours. In March 2022, the theatre's original premises on Coltman Street, Hull, was recognised by a blue plaque to coincide with the theat ...
. But before that, he had been behind the launch of the independent Hull Arts Centre in 1972, for whom he had written the play 'Tigers Are Coming' ('Tigers' is the nickname for Hull AFC).


Plater on his own work

In an interview with
Richard Whiteley John Richard Whiteley (28 December 1943 – 26 June 2005) was an English presenter, and journalist, best known for his twenty-three years as host of the game show ''Countdown''. ''Countdown'' was the launch programme for Channel 4 at 4:4 ...
, Plater claimed he had never intended to write sensational plot-driven sagas with outlandish characters and that he had never intended to make the sort of "rubbish programmes featuring high-speed car crashes of which there are too many on television". Plater said that he had always tried to make his characters normal people, whose normal lives are interrupted when the outside world comes into their lives. Plater claimed his two best-known characters, Trevor Chaplin and Jill Swinburne in the ''Beiderbecke'' series, were based on himself. Trevor represented his personal interests, jazz, football and snooker (the parallel of someone from the northeast in Yorkshire also fitted) while Jill represented his political beliefs such as conservationism, environmentalism and socialism. The couple were based on his earlier characters of Neville Keaton and Judy Threadgold in ''Get Lost!'' (1981).


Personal life and honours

Plater was married to Shirley Johnson (1958–85), with whom he had two sons and a daughter, and later Shirley Rubinstein (from 1986) gaining three stepsons. Plater was president of the
Writers' Guild of Great Britain The Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), established in 1959, is a trade union for professional writers. It is affiliated with both the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds (IAWG). History The un ...
from September 1991 until April 1995. He received honorary degrees from the
University of Hull , mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £18.8 million (2016) , budget = £190 million ...
and Northumbria University in
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
. In the New Year's Honours List published 31 December 2004, he was created a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
for services to drama. He is commemorated with a green plaque on
The Avenues, Kingston upon Hull The Avenues is an area of high status Victorian housing located in the north-west of Kingston upon Hull, England. It is formed by four main tree-lined straight avenues running west off the north-north-east/south-south-west running ''Princes Ave ...
.


Death

Plater died of cancer at a London hospice at the age of 75. His death was announced on 25 June 2010.


References


Further reading

* (play) * (novel) * (play) * (play) * (play) * (novel) * (memoir)


External links

*
"Alan Plater profile"
a
"British Film Institute's Screenonline website"The Golden Age of Yorkshire TV – Alan Plater speech (available as podcast)Diversity Website: Alan Plater's Radio Plays
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plater, Alan 1935 births 2010 deaths Writers from Kingston upon Hull People from Jarrow Writers from Tyne and Wear Alumni of Newcastle University English screenwriters English male screenwriters English television writers Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Deaths from cancer in England English male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English male writers British male television writers