Nicholas Crocker
A highly respected and long-standing producer for the BBC's Natural History Unit (NHU), Nicholas Crocker was the first full-time member of production staff appointed at Bristol, in the days before the Unit had officially been created.
Nicholas had formerly been highly involved in radio work. An Outside Broadcast (OB) producer, Nicholas had worked on a range of programmes including early episodes of the hugely popular radio series, Any Questions.
Undertaking television training in 1953, Nicholas went on to work on numerous shows originating in Bristol. When the BBC NHU was formed in 1957, Nicholas moved from his position as West Television OB Producer and took over the Unit for a limited time as senior producer.
Among his other administrative tasks, Nicholas took responsibility for the Look strand, producing various episodes including the hugely successful Emperors On Ice (1965), a detailed look at the breeding habits of Antarctic penguins. Throughout this period he was also mentoring a young Chris Parsons, at that time a production assistant but destined to become the future head of the Unit.
In 1959, Bruce Campbell took over leadership of the NHU and Nicholas returned to his old post as OB producer, promptly launching the successful series News From the Zoos. Just four years later, Nicholas' wide experience meant he was once again called on to head the Unit while the management continued to search for a suitable leader.
Nicholas remained at the head of the Unit until his retirement in the mid 1960s.
