John Percival (TV producer)
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John Percival (25 May 1937 – 6 February 2005), was a British television producer and documentary maker.


Biography

Percival was born in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
on 25 May 1937. He was educated at Bedford School, and read
Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...
and
Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. Percival was one of the first reporter-producers of 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. ...
...
's '' Man Alive'' programme in 1965 - the first documentary series to report on social issues by interviewing "real people" rather than experts. This was followed by his anthropological series ''The Family of Man'' (1969), which compared life in the
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with tribespeople in
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and
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, and ''Rich Man Poor Man'' (1972), exploring the consequences of globalisation. In 1978, he produced '' Living in the Past'', a
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. ...
...
fly on the wall documentary programme which followed a group of fifteen young volunteers, six couples and three children, where they sustained themselves for a year, equipped only with the tools, crops and livestock that would have been available in Britain in the 2nd Century BC. In 1980, Percival made the acclaimed series ''Africa'', with the historian Basil Davidson, for
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
. This was followed by ''The Great Famine'', ''Living Islam'' and ''All Our Children''. He also focused on horticulture as series producer of ''
Gardeners' World ''Gardeners' World'' is a long-running British gardening programme, first broadcast on 5 January 1968. The 2022 series is the 53rd. Its first series was presented by Ken Burras and came from Oxford Botanical Gardens. Up until 2020 most of its e ...
'' and
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
's ''Real Gardens''. Percival was the author of three books on the documentary subjects of his programmes, ''Living in the Past'' (1980), ''For Valour'' (a history of the
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
, 1985) and ''The Great Famine: Ireland's Potato Famine, 1845-1851'' (1995).


Personal life

Percival and his first wife, the TV presenter and author Jacky Gillott, had two sons; she killed herself in 1980. He married his second wife, Lalage, in 1984, and they had a daughter. He contracted cancer and died in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
on 6 February 2005.


References


The Independent


External links

* 1937 births 2005 deaths Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge BBC television producers English television producers People educated at Bedford School {{UK-tv-bio-stub