BBC One documentary looks at photographer Martin Parr

A sharply satirical eye and uncanny ability to find the extraordinary in the ordinary have made eccentric British photographer Martin Parr a figure of international repute. This snapper of seaside scenes and suburban semis has come a long way since his days as a photographer at Butlins. Today he is considered by many to be the most influential British photographer of his generation.

Capturing thirty years of radical social change, he has trained a distinctly ironic lense to convey a vision of Britain that is both disturbing and amusing by turns. His retrospective, recently at the Barbican, is currently on a world tour of cities as diverse as Madrid, Tokyo and Mexico. This exhibition demonstrates how unerringly his pictures have captured three decades of quintessentially British life.

Parr has published more than thirty-six well-received photographic books, executed numerous influential magazine commissions, shot a video for the Pet Shop Boys, and directed a series of high profile commercial campaigns.

Imagine follows Martin Parr with his camera and at his home, to paint a portrait of this former train spotter, and darling of commercials and media, who sees his lifes work as cataloguing the world. Along the way, he takes Alan Yentob on a tour of the diverse collections that vye for space in his cluttered Bristol home, amongst them Saddam Hussein watches, Spice Girl crisp packets, and assorted wall papers.

Switch on to BBC One Wednesday 3 December 2003 10.35-11.15pm for Imagine.... The World According to Parr