He first made his mark as a scriptwriter for "Z-Cars" (1962–65), along with its spin-offs "Softly, Softly" (1966–69) and "" (1969–76). His subsequent credits include "The Reluctant Juggler" in the series "The Edwardians" (1972), "Shoulder to Shoulder" (1974), "The Stars Look Down" (1975), "Trinity Tales" (1975), "Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt", "The Journal of Vasilije Bogdanovic", the musical "Close the Coalhouse Door" with songwriter Alex Glasgow from the writings of Sid Chaplin, "Get Lost!" (1981), "On Your Way, Riley" (1982), "Fortunes of War" (1987) an adaptation based on the novels of Olivia Manning, "The Beiderbecke Trilogy" (1985–1988), "Misterioso" (an adaptation of his novel, 1991), "Oliver's Travels" (1995), an adaptation of J.B. Priestley's "The Good Companions" (1980) for Yorkshire Television, a film adaptation of George Orwell's "Keep the Aspidistra Flying", "Belonging" and the theatre play "Peggy for You", based on the life of Plater's former agent Peggy Ramsay, which was nominated in 2001 for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award.