Veteran documentary maker Roger Graef has died aged 85.
Channel 4 has announced the sad news on behalf of Roger's family on Wednesday.
The award-winning producer and writer enjoyed a successful career both stateside and on UK soil. He made a host of films on a wide range of social justice topics for every major British broadcaster.
Channel 4 confirmed that Roger died peacefully on Wednesday while surrounded by members of his family.
Roger was best known for documentaries such as One Of Them Is Brett, State Of The Nation: A Law In The Making and Police.
In all, he created over 30 documentaries which focused on the police and judicial system in the UK.
In 2004, Roger was awarded the prestigious Bafta Fellowship in 2004.
As well as hard-hitting documentaries, he also directed a number of TV specials, including the first three Amnesty International Comedy Galas which aired between 1976 and 1979.
He directed the first Secret Policeman's Ball and co-produced the first Comic Relief with Richard Curtis in 1985.
As well as being a visiting professor at the University of Oxford, Roger often wrote for a selection of UK publications and contributed on the likes of BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 5 live.
In 1982, he became a founding Board member of Channel 4 and was also on the Board of Trustees of the Media Standards Trust.
Alex Mahon, chief executive of Channel 4, described him as "one of broadcasting's most original and influential documentary film-makers".
He said: "(Graef) believed in its remit that, in his own words, was 'committed to creativity and risk-taking in cinema, drama, comedy, documentaries and current affairs'.
"Beyond his contribution to Channel 4, his extensive legacy of documentaries has helped to inform and change people's views on some of the most challenging aspects of British society and its private and public institutions.
"Roger was a delight to chat to, to be pushed and provoked by and his love for television and culture shone through in every conversation.
"He once said that he wanted his epitaph to be that he made a difference. Without doubt, Roger did exactly that."
Born in New York in 1936, Roger made the move to the UK in 1962 and became a British citizen in 1992.
Among those paying their respects to Roger on social media was BBC's Katie Razzall who wrote a lengthy message, beginning: "In amongst all the news, this might not get the prominence it deserves, but the acclaimed documentary maker Roger Graef has died.
"He was a legend who made so many incredible films, including his ground-breaking 'fly on the wall' 'A Complaint of Rape'."
She concluded her thread: "He will be remembered by so many in the industry who knew him well & by all those others who may not know his name but remember his programmes that shone a spotlight into many of the dark corners of life RIP."
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