Latest news with #BBCNaturalHistoryUnit
Daily Mail
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Huge sum former BBC wildlife presenter Tony Soper left to his family in his will after dying aged 95
Former BBC presenter Tony Soper left his family a huge £628,000 fortune after his death. The author and naturalist passed away in September 2024 at the age of 95, with a host of former colleagues flocking to social media to pay tribute to him. Tony was survived by his wife Hilary, their two sons Tim and Jack, and five grandchildren, and it's now been revealed that he left the family more than £600,000. He enjoyed a long career with the BBC having joined the company at the age of just 17 as a 'youth-in-training' before progressing onto radio and producing. He later moved over to television, where his big break came when he filled in as an unofficial assistant floor manager for Wild Geese in Winter in 1954. Tony went on to found the BBC's Natural History Unit a couple of years later in Bristol where he became its first film producer alongside Patrick Beech. The unit has gone on to become known on a global scale for its iconic wildlife programmes, most notably the Planet Earth series, narrated by another wildlife great, Sir David Attenborough. The 1960s saw Tony's career really take off, beginning with a gig hosting Animal Magic alongside Johnny Morris. Tony then went on to front a number of shows including Birdwatch, Birdspot, Discovering Birds, Discovering Animals. He also presented Beside the Sea, Wildtrack, and Nature. His wildlife career took him as far as Arctic and Antarctica, with Tony also penning several wildlife books. Following his sad passing last year, those who knew Tony flocked to social media to remember who they described as a 'joy and delight'. One of those was Good Morning Britain presenter Lorraine Kelly, who wrote on X: 'On one of my very first shows presenting on TV am - this wonderful kind man came on to talk about his book on OWLS. He was a joy and a delight' While wildlife presenter Stephen Moss penned: ' Very sad news - Tony Soper was a huge influence on generations of birders and broadcasters. Taking to X, formerly known as X, she penned: 'On one of my very first shows presenting on TV am - this wonderful kind man came on to talk about his book on OWLS. He was a joy and a delight' 'I had the huge privilege of working with Tony and getting to know him. 'The last person who was there at the start of the BBC Natural History Unit. A lovely man.' Robbie Martin, a reptile specialist penned: 'RIP Tony Soper. Such a lovely inspirational man. Nature has lost a good friend.' Nick Randell, who works for BBC New wrote: 'A true pioneer of natural history output & memorably children's TV during 70s/80s. Wildtrack (co-presented by Su Ingle) took a UKcentric look at the animal world. Years later I got to work with his son, who was a fellow BBC Studio Manager. RIP Tony Soper.' With another mourner adding: 'I am saddened to hear about the death of a conservation hero of mine - Tony Soper aged 95. He inspired me as a child with his smooth knowledgeable style. He was a wonderful man. Rest in nature Tony Soper.'
BBC News
29-04-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Lemur mom has ingenious idea to save newborn from ticks
Lemur newborns are prone to tick bites, so this group of mothers invented a self-medication method to fight them by using acids from ants. Produced by BBC Natural History Unit.
BBC News
22-04-2025
- Science
- BBC News
The spectacle of a great Pelican feeding bonanza
Every spring, 22,000 American Great White Pelican arrive at Marsh Lake in Minnesota to set up nests and hunt for fish. Produced by the BBC Natural History Unit.
The Guardian
20-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Richard Brock obituary
My friend and colleague Richard Brock, who has died aged 86, was a BBC Natural History Unit producer for 35 years, and latterly a guerrilla film-maker trying to make a difference through his own means. He enjoyed sharing his passions about the natural world and our impact on it. He had a long and successful working relationship with David Attenborough, starting with Eastward with Attenborough (1973). They worked together again on the groundbreaking series Life on Earth (1979), with Richard taking responsibility for the sixth episode and amphibian segment, Invasion of the Land. He was then given the role of executive producer for the second part of Attenborough's epic Life trilogy, The Living Planet (1984), surveying the world from an ecological point of view. Richard's love for nature started early on. The son of Arthur Brock, a teacher and businessman, and Eileen (nee Scudamore), he was born in Bristol, from where the family soon moved to the edge of Dartmoor. They all loved being in the countryside, but Richard was particularly in his element, collecting and housing creatures all over. He boarded at Bryanston school in Dorset, where his teachers encouraged his interest in nature, taking him on trips where he studied migrating birds and other wildlife, which further embedded his passions. He went on to study zoology and botany at Queens' College, Cambridge, where he was also a successful squash and hockey player. After graduation, he wanted to start communicating his passions, so he approached the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol for a job. Jeffery Boswall, a natural history radio producer, gave him his first job, as a general assistant. In 1964, when Boswall moved into television, he took Richard with him, giving him his first film to produce, Masters of Movement, which aired on Peter Scott's Look series. Several years later, Attenborough, then BBC director of television programmes, decided to move back into making films. Still in his early 20s, Richard met David in London to discuss producing a series with him travelling around Borneo and south-east Asia, which became Eastward with Attenborough. A highly successful producer, Richard made many other films at the BBC NHU, including for the Wildlife on One and The World About Us series. During his time there Richard became increasingly aware of worrying changes in the natural world. He was upset that this was not being reflected in the films they were making. He left the corporation in 2006 and set up Living Planet Productions and the Brock Initiative to produce his own films. He made more than 100 films for his Wildlife Winners and Losers series, and wrote a book called Planet Crunch (2021). Richard will be greatly missed by the villagers of Chew Magna, in Somerset, where he lived. He made friends all over the world, through film-making and conservation, and inspired numerous young film-makers, whom he called 'bright green sparks'. In 1976 he married Gillie Day; they divorced in 2011. Richard is survived by his sister, Cherry, and his nephews, Julius and William, and niece, Emily.
