Colin Welland has died aged 81, he had been suffering from Alzheimer's for years
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34711578
He found fame as an actor in Z Cars. He became a writer winning the Oscar for his screenplay for Chariots of Fire in 1982.
I was on a train in February 1975. On the other side was Colin Welland (I recognised him immediately). He was giving an interview to a journalist on his writing. In those days he worked on various Play for Today screenplays and he talked about his then recent screenplay for Leeds United. The true story of a strike in 1970 by female textile-factory workers in Leeds who wanted to be paid the same as their male colleagues, but whose efforts were undermined by the trade union that they belonged to.
Easily the most interesting train journey I've ever been on.
RIP Colin