Malcolm Pointon News Today

Paul Watson, who has died aged 81, was a pioneer of the “fly-on-the-wall” documentary and credited, to his disgust, though not unfairly, with being the godfather of today’s reality TV genre.

The 1974 series caused uproar by presenting an ordinary family warts and all, while a portrait of a couple afflicted by Alzheimers almost ended his career

The film-maker, who is credited with inventing the fly-on-the-wall serial in shows like The Family and Sylvania Waters, gained fame for giving voice to the working classes

Flutterama is a record of 18 jubilant indie-pop songs by John Ringhofer, investigating spiritual incompetence with lively arrangements and radiant melodies that skillfully dissolve into deterioration using herky-jerky tape manipulation, analog wow-and-flutter, and an animated orchestra of home-recorded sound effects.