BBC Natural History Unit

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The BBC Natural History Unit (NHU) is a department of the BBC, dedicated to making programmes with a natural history or wildlife theme.

Co-founded in 1957 by Tony Soper, it is based in Clifton, Bristol. Its many success include the various major David Attenborough series, numerous Bill Oddie programmes, and episodes of (the now discontinued) Wildlife on One (variously retitled Wildlife on Two, BBC Wildlife and BBC TWO's ongoing strand Natural World.

The Unit is presently headed by Neil Nightingale as part of the BBC's Factual & Learning Division. In 2006, it showcases its next major landmark series, Planet Earth, a sister project to the previous The Blue Planet and the unit's first programme to be shot entirely in high definition.

A commercial arm of the NHU, Wildvision, produces a variety of programmes for both the BBC and external broadcasters, notably Discovery's Animal Planet digital channel, in which the BBC is a joint partner with Discovery Networks.