Andrew Cooper is one of Britain’s most distinguished and influential television producers. As a broadcaster, presenter, writer and international award winning wildlife film-maker, he is a familiar face on BBC television through his documentaries and live reports on wildlife and environment issues. A biologist and anthropologist by training his work as a television producer with the BBC Natural History Unit based in Bristol consumes most of his time.

Since 1979 Andrew Cooper has been responsible for the filming and production of over forty major natural history documentaries for network television and more than a hundred other programmes. As a television broadcaster and producer working with the prestigious BBC Natural History Unit, he has travelled world-wide. In just 15 years alone he visited over 35 different countries, from Arctic Russia to Australia, and Hawaii to the Himalayas. With his background as an environment correspondent for BBC South West, he is perhaps nationally better known as the presenter and series producer of the successful, long running, BBC 'Secret Nature' television series. More recently he has been responsible for some of the most distinctive programming in the internationally renowned ‘BBC Natural World' strand. His programmes regularly feature in the top ten most watched wildlife television documentaries in Britain and have been widely sold overseas. He is also the author of eight books, some of which, published by the BBC, have ranked among the top ten best selling books in the country over the last two decades.

Among his most successful television productions was a BBC NHU special programme for New Years Day, ‘In the Eye of the Wind’ was a tribute to the late Sir Peter Scott and a celebration of the organisation he founded, the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust. Written and produced by Andrew Cooper and narrated by Sir David Attenborough, it was the one of the highest rating documentaries on British television that Christmas. Over the last few years, ‘When the North Wind Blows’, ‘The Lost Lands of Scilly’, ‘Treasure Islands’, ‘Five Owl Farm’ and ‘The Farm - that time forgot’, also ranked among the highest rating Natural World documentaries on BBC television. The latter programme, not only won a Royal Television Society award for the best Network Documentary, but at the time, provoked the biggest positive response to a wildlife documentary ever recorded by the BBC NHU. A couple of years later, ‘Five Owl Farm’ was also the highest rating BBC Natural World documentary of the year. His next film was equally popular, a natural history of one of the best known but elusive animals in Britain. 'Badgers - Secrets of the Sett' was a revelation, the first film to follow these seldom seen creatures underground to discover previously unrecorded behaviour.

Outside of television over the past 25 years, Andrew Cooper has been involved with many charities as Vice-President of the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust; Chairman of the Devon Wildlife Trust; a Trustee of the world class National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth and a Trustee of the Whitley Wildlife Trust, the owners of Paignton Zoo, Living Coasts, Newquay Zoo and Slapton National Nature Reserve. As a long serving board member of some of the  prime educational wildlife visitor attarctions in Britain and Vice- chairman and Non-executive Director of a leading Health Care Foundation Trust, he has a sought after combination of commercial talents. He has recently received a Secretary of State appoint as a board member of Dartmoor National Park and the become the chair of one of the oldest and most prestigious museums in Britain. His unique combination of skills in senior management, environment, media and marketing, have been eagerly sought by companies and organisations keen to strengthen their boards.

Andrew Cooper is perhaps better lnown as entertaining after dinner speaker on his often amusing life as a wildlife film maker. He lectures widely at Universities as well as top rated cruise ships on a variety of subjects, providing remarkable and entertaining insights into the world of wildlife documentary television and the colourful nature of his worldwide locations. He also often donates his time freely to fund raising for wildlife and medical charities.

Andrew Cooper

Andean volcano, Equador.