John Irvin, the British film-maker best known for directing the BBC's acclaimed adaptation of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, has died aged 86. His career spanned an eclectic range of genres and collaborators, from war reportage and cold war espionage to Hollywood horror and action films, working with figures as varied as Harold Pinter and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Irvin's 1979 mini-series starring Alec Guinness as George Smiley was seen by more than 8 million viewers at its peak and won several awards, with Guinness later crediting Irvin's directing style as having "balls behind the camera". He went on to direct The Dogs of War (1980), Ghost Story (1981) with Fred Astaire, Champions (1984), Turtle Diary (1985) and the Schwarzenegger vehicle Raw Deal (1986), building a filmography noted for its refusal to be pigeonholed.