Neil Nightingale is a senior producer at the BBC's Natural History Unit, the largest wildlife film-making production unit in the world, and was its Head from February 2003 until January 2009. In November 2009 his successor, Andrew Jackson, appointed him to the new position of creative director of BBC Earth, alongside his programme production rôle.
Nightingale attended the University of Oxford and graduated with a first class degree in zoology. After working as a freelance science journalist for New Scientist, he joined the BBC in 1983 as a researcher and assistant producer in a variety of television genres, including current affairs, regional programmes, science and education.
His first natural history production credits were for a number of programmes in the Wildlife on One series. He later moved on to the challenges of engaging audiences with series on fossils and plants, both collaborations with veteran broadcaster David Attenborough.
In 1995, Nightingale took on the role of Series Editor for The Natural World, BBC Two's long-running flagship natural history series. Under his editorship, The Natural World's programmes won awards at every major international wildlife film festival as well as the Royal Television Society award for Best Documentary Strand.