John Purdie, who has died aged 82 after suffering from dementia, was one of the pioneers of fly-on-the-wall television documentary series. Film-makers such as Denis Mitchell and Norman Swallow had made single documentaries in the style, and Paul Watson broke new ground in the UK by taking it to a series with The Family in 1974. Purdie soon afterwards followed in his footsteps with Sailor (1976), in which he charted the daily lives of those aboard HMS Ark Royal as it sailed from Plymouth to the US.
It gave viewers an insight into the much-loved British aircraft carrier and its crew as it set off on what proved to be its penultimate voyage before being decommissioned in 1979. The series showed the workings of a Royal Navy ship with fighter and bomber aircraft, and helicopters, and the differing lives of the 2,500 officers and ratings above and below deck.
