THE screenwriter of classic police drama Z- Cars dropped in at York St John University.

Alan Plater visited film and TV students and staff at York St John University to talk about his experiences and career, and answer questions posed by the audience.

Alan's career started as a scriptwriter for Z-Cars in the 1960s.

He went on to produce work including Peggy For You, which was nominated for a Laurence Olivier award.

He has more recently been involved in shows including another police drama, Dalziel And Pascoe.

His visit came after an invitation from the university's head of programme for film and TV, Dr Robert Edgar-Hunt.

Dr Edgar-Hunt said: "It is fantastic that Alan accepted our invitation to speak to our staff and students, and we are very grateful that he has been able to spend this time with us.

"Alan is an outstanding example of what film and TV students from Yorkshire, the Humber and the north-east can aspire to, and I hope they will learn a lot from Alan's visit."

* Z-Cars first appeared on Britain's TV screens in 1962, and ran for 16 years, until 1978. Its title was derived from the type of patrol cars the police used at the time, often Ford Zodiacs and Zephyrs.

As well as providing a chance to break into screenwriting for many young writers at the time, the series was also a starting point for actors who went on to have long careers in TV and film.

Among them were Brian Blessed (PC Fancy Smith), James Ellis (Sgt Bert Lynch), Stratford Johns (DCI Charlie Barlow), Frank Windsor (DS John Watt) and Colin Welland (PC David Graham).