Ian Kennedy Martin is a British television scriptwriter renowned for creating the iconic 1970s police drama series "The Sweeney," produced by Euston Films for Thames Television. The series aired on ITV from 1975 to 1978 and inspired two feature film adaptations. His notable work also includes writing the 1975 action film "Mitchell." Kennedy Martin began his television career in the 1960s, initially serving as a script editor for the military police drama "Redcap" before contributing to series such as "The Troubleshooters" and the long-running BBC drama "The Onedin Line."
Beyond "The Sweeney," Kennedy Martin has written extensively for police and detective dramas, including the BBC's "Juliet Bravo" and "The Chinese Detective" in the 1980s, as well as ITV's "The Knock" in the 1990s. He has also ventured into literature, publishing novels such as "Rekill" and the dystopian science fiction work "The Last Crime," the latter under the pseudonym John Domatilla. In 2009, his debut play, "The Berlin Hanover Express," premiered at London's Hampstead Theatre. Kennedy Martin is the brother of fellow scriptwriter Troy Kennedy Martin, with whom he collaborated on "Redcap" and "The Sweeney."