JOHN RUTHVEN is passionate about engaging everyone through film and all forms of electronic media, to tell great stories about our planet's aquatic life. He started his career as a professionally trained BBC sound engineer, and over the years has written, produced and directed fascinating, award-winning shows for BBC, Discovery, National Geographic, PBS and many other well-known broadcasters. His work on Blue Planet II, for which he produced the episode on the open oceans - 'Big Blue' - moved audiences when it depicted the death of a newborn pilot whale and the heartbreaking sounds of the calf's mother due to our own polluting of the sea with microplastics. Following this segment of the show, the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for the Environment referenced the episode in parliament and commended the programme for bringing this environmental issue to the fore. The Whale in the Living Room is his first book.