BBC
Frozen Planet II
APPLE TV
Prehistoric Planet
BBC ONE
The Green Planet
BBC ONE
Seven Worlds, One Planet
APPLE TV
The Year Earth Changed
BBC ONE
Planet Earth II
BBC Studios Natural History Unit (NHU) is the best-known and most loved producer of natural history content in the world, responsible for some of the most globally successful factual content of the past 10 years.
With ground-breaking technology and innovation we reveal to audiences around the world the extraordinary wonders of nature through excepti onal storytelling, jaw dropping imagery and cutting-edge science.
Founded in 1957, the NHU’s programmes have come to represent the gold standard for natural history filmmaking, winning multiple awards and honours. Our BBC output includes everything from breath-taking landmarks (Frozen Planet II; The Green Planet; Seven Worlds, One Planet; Dynasties II; Blue Planet II; Planet Earth II), to returning series and technically challenging live shows (Springwatch; Blue Planet Live) and award-winning children’s series (Andy’s Safari Adventures).
With an increasingly diverse portfolio of content, including Prehistoric Planet - the ground-breaking AppleTV+ Original series bringing ancient Earth’s habitats and inhabitants to life like never before, we now produce programmes for broadcasters and platforms all over the world. Current titles in production include Planet Earth III for BBC, The Americas for NBCU, and Ocean Xplorers (WT), a co-production with OceanX Media and James Cameron, for National Geographic Disney+.
Programmes made by the NHU denote quality, innovation, craftmanship and world-class storytelling....
KEY Titles
OUR TEAM
Jonny Keeling
HEAD OF NHU
Jonny Keeling took up the position of Head of the NHU in January 2022. Previously, Jonny had worked at the BBC for 25 years producing and directing wildlife and adventure documentaries. During this time, he produced some of the Unit’s most successful content, including BAFTA and Emmy award winning series like Seven Worlds, One Planet, Planet Earth and Planet Earth II, and headed the Children’s unit within the NHU. In his new role, Jonny oversees all content produced by the NHU, in particular the BBC’s latest landmark wildlife series, Planet Earth III and the recently announced Asia. ...
Mike Gunton
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Central to maintaining the NHU’s position as the world’s number one natural history production company, Mike has a global reputation for story telling excellence and innovation. He has developed and produced many award-winning and critically acclaimed series: Galapagos, Yellowstone, Madagascar, Life, Africa, Shark, Attenborough and the Giant Dinosaur, Life Story, Planet Earth II, Dynasties and The Green Planet. Mike is a fellow of the Royal Television Society. ...
Sreya Biswas
Director of Programmes
Sreya Biswas is the Director of Programmes at BBC Studios Natural History Unit. She oversees a slate of outstanding commissioned titles including Blue Planet III, and ambitious doc series Matriarch. Sreya also leads on development and digital for the Natural History Unit, where she is developing an ambitious portfolio of new innovative programmes, for multiple global clients across a variety of platforms. Prior to the Natural History Unit Sreya was the BBC’s Head of Commissioning for Natural History content, overseeing a number of major landmark series including Asia, Kingdom, Planet Earth III and Blue Planet III, as well as a broad range of Natural History content including Big Cats 24/7, Hamza’s Hidden Wild Isles p and An Hour on Earth. And feature docs including multi award-winning Silverback and Orphan and environmental thriller On Thin Ice: Putin v Greenpeace. Before commissioning, Sreya was an Executive Producer at Naked Television. Living and working in the US, Sreya oversaw and self-shot the Emmy Award Winning series The Day I Picked My Parents for A&E. Prior to her current role she was the Head of Natural History, BBC Commissioning, overseeing a number of series including: Asia, Kingdom, Planet Earth III, The Watches, Big Cats 24/7, Wild Scandinavia and Our Changing Planet and feature docs including multi award-winning Silverback, Orphan and Lion: The Rise and Fall of the Marsh Pride. Before commissioning, Sreya was an Executive Producer at Naked Television. Living and working in the US, Sreya oversaw and self-shot the Emmy Award Winning Series The Day I Picked My Parents for A&E. ...
Juli Porter
Director of Commercial and Operations
Juli has over 20 years’ industry experience in the UK and the US and has worked on a vast range of top-rated and award-winning programmes including Strictly Come Dancing and Top Gear as well as flagship sports coverage of Formula 1 and the NFL and groundbreaking natural history series’ for National Geographic and Disney+. For 10 years Juli was COO at The Whisper Group which she grew from a tiny start-up into an award-winning group of six companies boasting a vast slate of sports, entertainment and documentary output. More recently she was COO of Wildstar Films where she oversaw production of Underdogs with Ryan Reynolds and Sentient with Darren Aronofsky and saw the company win multiple awards for its premium wildlife and adventure programmes. Juli’s career has covered Super Bowls, the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, six seasons of F1 and the number one rated show in America, but one of her proudest achievements is prioritising culture and inclusivity, helping her last two companies rank highly in Broadcast Magazine’s Best Places to Work. With a track record of successful start-ups, collaboration with some of TV’s best production teams, and work across a variety of genres, Juli enjoys new challenges and leading teams to create and deliver engaging, innovative and memorable programming. ...
Maria Norman
HEAD OF PRODUCTION
As Head of Production at BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit, Maria oversees the logistical & operational execution of some of the most ambitious wildlife storytelling in the world. With a career spanning over 25 years in factual and natural history filmmaking, Maria is part of the senior team that leads large-scale productions from conception to global distribution, ensuring the highest standards of editorial integrity, innovation, and sustainability. ...
Jessica Colman
Head of Development
Jess Colman is Head of Development at the Natural History Unit, with over 20 years’ industry experience in production and development across a range of genres, including natural history, factual entertainment, live programming and documentaries. She brings this experience to the NHU’s expanding slate, securing commissions across a variety of platforms, including Hidden Planet (BBC), Green Planet II (BBC), Generation Wild (BBC), Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age(Apple TV+), Lion (Nat Geo/Disney+), The Making of Life on Earth: Attenborough’s Greatest Adventure (BBC), Matriarch with Jane Goodall (BBC), Big Cat 24/7 (BBC), Tiger Island (BBC), as well as forthcoming series for National Geographic/Disney+ and NBCUniversal, among others. ...
Sarah Anthony
Head of Business and Legal Affairs
Sarah heads up Business and Legal Affairs for the NHU, where she leads on legal, commercial and strategic support across the Unit’s world-class natural history slate. With extensive experience across unscripted production at BBC Studios, Sarah works closely with editorial, production and senior management teams to enable ambitious, globally significant programmes while carefully balancing creative ambition with legal, commercial and reputational risk. Sarah has led on negotiations with major UK and international broadcasters and streaming platforms including National Geographic/Disney + and Amazon, advised on complex co-productions and partnerships, and supported landmark productions and unique development arrangements. ...
Holly Spearing
Executive Producer
Holly has nearly three decades of experience working in natural history television, across a diverse slate of landmark, presenter-led and live programming. Most recently Holly led the team on the groundbreaking and Emmy-nominated series The Americas, narrated by Tom Hanks, the first collaboration between the NHU and NBCUniversal. Her previous work includes Springwatch, the self-commissioning BBC Two strand The Natural World, as well as the popular series Nature's Weirdest Events, Animals Behaving Badly, and World's Sneakiest Animals. Holly is currently the Executive Producer for Hidden Planet, as well as another a yet-to-be announced landmark series for an international client. ...
Tom Jarvis
Executive Producer
Tom Jarvis is an Executive Producer at BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit with over 20 years’ experience creating ambitious unscripted television. Originally from West Yorkshire, he specialises in observational documentaries with broad audience appeal and has filmed around the world, from the UK coast to South Sudan. Working across both production and development, Tom leads a diverse slate of natural history projects for UK and international broadcasters. His credits include Attenborough & the Giant Sea Monster (BBC One/WNET), Big Cats 24/7 (BBC iPlayer/PBS), Predators (Discovery), Matriarch: A Jane Goodall Story (BBC One/PBS), Baby Animal Rescue (National Geographic), Deadly Mission Shark (CBBC), Bears About the House (BBC Two) and Green Planet II (BBC/PBS). He is passionate about telling powerful wildlife stories that engage global audiences and drive impact for the natural world. ...
Mike Davis
Executive Producer
Mike is a BAFTA-winning Executive Producer at BBC Studios who has worked across its Science, Natural History and Specialist Factual units. He was recently showrunner on the Morgan Freeman-narrated Netflix series Our Universe. In a career that started over twenty years ago at world-renowned animation studio Framestore, where he worked across feature films and series like the original Walking with Dinosaurs, Mike has gone on to become a highly respected creative producer with a specialism in science and natural history and expertise in ambitious storytelling and technological innovation. His credits include the BBC One series Great Barrier Reef with David Attenborough and Galapagos, the award-winning Natural History Museum Alive 3D for Sky and giant screen, and compelling single films like David Attenborough Meets President Obama and Belsen: Our Story. ...
Elizabeth White
Executive Producer
Elizabeth White is an Executive Producer at the Natural History Unit, overseeing Blue Planet III. She has worked at the Natural History Unit for 22 years, firstly on presenter-led and fast-turnaround series, later turning to landmarks. Her previous expertise as a biologist, specializing in marine and polar subjects, led her to work across both Frozen Planet titles (most recently as Series Producer of Frozen Planet II) and she was the Producer of BAFTA and Emmy-award winning Planet Earth II’s Islands episode, which earned TV moment of the year, 2016, for its snakes and iguanas scene. ...
Roger Webb
Executive Producer
Roger has led some of the BBC’s most high-profile natural history projects, including the BAFTA-winning Blue Planet Live and the BAFTA-nominated Wild Alaska Live. His credits also include Waterhole: Africa’s Animal Oasis, Earth’s Great Rivers, and Cities: Nature’s New Wild. From 2013 to 2019, Roger was Commissioning Editor for the iconic Natural World strand, guiding the long-running series through a period of continued success, earning Grierson, RTS and Emmy Awards. More recently, he oversaw two BBC landmark series — the RTS-winning and Emmy-nominated Mammals and the Emmy-nominated Asia — both premiering in 2024. He also co-executive produced OceanXplorers for Disney+ with filmmaker James Cameron, and executive produced the triple Emmy-winning The Secret Lives of Animals for Apple TV+. Roger was executive producer of the first series of Big Cats 24/7, taking it from development into production. His latest series, Tiger Island, has been delivered and will air later in 2026. He also oversaw the giant screen film Wild Asia: Life at Extremes, narrated by Oscar winner Colin Firth. He is currently executive producer of the award-winning children’s series Deadly 60, a three-part NDA’d expedition-led series for Disney+, a five-part NDA’d BBC natural history landmark, and series three of Big Cats 24/7 ...
Rosemary Edwards
Executive Producer
Rosemary joined the Natural History Unit in 2014 to work on the flagship brand Springwatch. Since then, she has worked across Live Events, Digital, topical documentary and formatted series. Previously, Rosemary worked in BBC Factual Production delivering live studio and OB shows as well as premium high end and high volume, fast turnaround content. She has managed both new and notable on-screen talent and worked across co-production partnerships, delivering to BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Earth, PBS, WNET, CBBC, SVT, UKTV, All 3 Media. Titles she has manged include the BAFTA Award winning series Springwatch, and Autumnwatch, Winterwatch, Autumnwatch New England, Springwatch in Japan, Our Changing Planet, Wild; Scandinavia, Big Little Journeys, Earth’s Great Rivers II, Chris Packham’s Animal Einsteins, Deadly Mission Shark. ...
Simon Blakeney
Executive Producer
After studying biochemistry at university, Simon decided life in a lab wasn’t for him, and a love of the natural world and photography led him into wildlife filmmaking. He has worked at the BBC Natural History Unit since 2006, first on the behavioural series ‘Life’, and since then on several more ambitious blue-chip series, including ‘Africa’, ‘Shark’, ‘Great Rivers’, ‘Dynasties I’, ‘Dynasties II’ and ‘Kingdom’. ...
Sue Aartse Tuyn
Production Executive
With a career at the BBC spanning over 25yrs, Sue has worked across multi genre productions from Documentary and Live Events, Natural History to Factual Entertainment. In 2018 Sue joined BBC Studios NHU as Production Executive with an extensive slate of productions which included Live event series such as The Watches and Blue Planet Live, a portfolio of blue chip and presenter led titles for BBC and PBS. Her most recent deliveries include The Americas for NBCU and The Secret Life of Animals for Apple TV and she was key to the development and delivery of BBC’s newest NH returning strand Big Cats 24/7. Her work is defined by an instinct for balancing editorial ambition with production practicality, turning innovative ideas into fully formed, commissionable and deliverable series. ...
Dulcie Arnold
Production Executive
Dulcie Arnold is a Production Executive with over 25 years of industry experience across natural history, documentary, and factual television. She has delivered high‑profile, complex productions for multiple broadcasters while at BBC Studios Natural History Unit and in indies. She has overseen a wide range of production, including feature docs, live and childrens content alongside natural history landmark Credits include: Blue Planet III, Lion: The Rise and Fall of the Marsh Pride, Endangered, The Watches and Deadly 60 and Andy’s Adventures. Known for her collaborative leadership and meticulous coordination, Dulcie brings clarity, creativity and resilience to every project. Dulcie also leads on Sustainability across the Natural History Unit, championing sustainable practices both behind the scenes and on screen. ...
Amanda Brown
Production Executive
Amanda Brown is an accomplished production leader with a rich breadth of experience delivering high‑profile factual and natural history programming for major broadcasters and global platforms. Her career spans an impressive range of landmark natural history commissions - including Prehistoric Planet for Apple TV+, The Blue Planet, and Planet Earth - as well as some of the BBC’s most enduring and best‑loved factual titles, such as Countryfile, Antiques Roadshow, and the Chelsea Flower Show. Amanda collaborates with an extensive portfolio of clients, including National Geographic, PBS, BritBox, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Discovery, pairing her production expertise with deep knowledge of broadcast technology and a particular strength in VFX‑driven storytelling. ...
Caroline Cox
Production Executive
A strong advocate of the Production Management community, Caroline has worked across multi genre TV production for over 20 years, from Natural History to Factual Entertainment, Daytime to Children’s output. As Production Executive in BBC Studios NHU her broad portfolio includes recent BBC1 landmark titles ‘Planet Earth III’, ‘Asia’ and ‘Kingdom’ as well as the much anticipated series ‘HOME’ for National Geographic/Disney +. She also oversees ‘Project Songbird’ a £1m BBC Studios initiative to accelerate diversity, equity and sustainability within the industry by providing training and development opportunities for aspiring natural history filmmakers around the world. She was recently recognised at the prestigious Women in Film and TV Awards as winner of the Production Management Award 2025. ...
Sas Bonser
Head of Talent
Sas serves as the Talent Executive for Editorial Talent within the Natural History Unit, bringing more than two decades of experience in factual production. She is highly regarded for her expertise in identifying, developing, and supporting editorial talent across the natural history genre. Throughout her career, Sas has played a central role in assembling and guiding teams that deliver innovative and impactful storytelling about the natural world. She is committed to embedding equity and inclusion throughout the creative process, ensuring that opportunities within the industry are accessible and that a broad range of perspectives is represented. Sas is particularly dedicated to creating pathways for underrepresented voices in natural history filmmaking. By combining extensive industry knowledge with a people‑centred approach, she works to cultivate collaborative, high‑performing teams and to foster an environment in which diverse talent can thrive. Her professional focus is grounded in a clear objective: to support the creation of stories that reflect the richness, complexity, and diversity of the planet we share. ...
For Press and Publicity Enquires please contact - Jo-Anna.parkinson@bbc.com
Project Songbird
In 2022 BBC Studios Natural History Unit launched Project Songbird, a new talent initiative to develop and support aspiring natural history filmmakers around the world. The initiative is part of BBC Studios’ ongoing commitment to nurture, diversify and attract new production talent, and is advancing the NHU’s drive towards a more sustainable and inclusive global wildlife filmmaking industry.
In places where the NHU is filming, the initiative funds opportunities for locally based production talent to access in-country training, offers field experience working with NHU teams on location, and invests in local talent to attend UK-based training courses. Building further on in-country collaborations, there is also an allocation of funds to ensure local language versions of NHU productions are made available for local viewings in communities who would otherwise have no means of accessing this content.
The investment is building on BBC Studios Natural History Unit’s long-standing commitment to provide production and craft training, including over 50-years of camera bursaries that have launched the careers of some of the industry’s leading wildlife camera talent – and the unit’s successful 14-year collaboration with the University of West England to deliver the BBC-accredited MA in Wildlife Filmmaking, featuring mentoring and masterclasses provided by NHU staff.
Since launching Project Songbird has supported training for over 35 talented filmmakers in more than 16 countries, created and screened local language versions of NHU content in six languages, and funded four full scholarships on the BBC partnered Wildlife Filmmaking MA at the University of the West of England. The initiative has also sponsored the expansion of Wildscreen Festival to improve access for global filmmakers, with events held in Kenya (2023), Tanzania (2024) and Botswana (2025).
Here are the latest profiles for the talented Project Songbird recipients
