Jervis was born in Hackney, east London, England,[3][2] where he grew up in a single-parent family on an estate.[4]
In a 1996 interview with Sarita Malik, he spoke about his start in television, saying: "I actually used to make films on 16mm and Super-8mm back in the late 1970s when I had aspirations of starting my own movie company. I'd made a film called From Gospel To Soul about the life of Sam Cooke and I put it on at a local cinema and a lot of people turned up to see it including people from Channel 4, the BBC, Sam Cooke's daughter and Bobby Womack, totally uninvited. Then Channel 4 gave me a call and said we're launching this new station..., 'Would you like to come on board with a couple of productions we have at the moment?' So I did."[5] Before long, Jervis joined the BBC, where he worked for 15 years,[1] running his own department at the age of 27,[6] and counting among his successes as producer/director the comedy show The Real McCoy.[7][8] Among other widely viewed BBC programmes he created are the Black music magazine programme Behind the Beat (1987–91)[9] and Our Common Future.[10]
In 1999, Jervis set up his own production company, Jervis Entertainment Media (JEM),[2][3] continuing to provide programming that won critical acclaim.[10] Documentary shows he that directed include Raising Tennis Aces: The Williams Story, about the relationship of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams with their father Richard.[10][11] Other initiatives by Jervis included his Motown-linked record label, Down To Jam,[10][12] and animation projects such as the calypso-based Tropical Island.[13]
Jervis has also been concerned to commemorate the contributions of Africans, West Indians and other people of colour in the Second World War,[14] including former RAF officer Cy Grant.[15]
A photograph of Jervis was one of those featured in the 2019 National Portrait Gallery exhibition Black is the New Black: Portraits by Simon Frederick.[16]