BBC's Tony Soper left wife eye-watering sum as will revealed year after his death

BBCTV presenter Tony Soperleft his family £628,000 in his will following his death last year at the age of 95. Tony, who specialised in presenting wildlife TV shows, had instructed his legal team to leave the six-figure sum to his wife, Hilary, with whom he shared a home in Devon.

Tony first launched his career with the broadcaster in 1947 when he landed a job as a trainee engineer. He then progressed to starting to navigate his way within radio and producing.

Through determination, Tony's first break into the world of wildlife presenting came when he stepped in as an assistant floor manager for Wild Geese in Winter, in 1954.

But he finally made his debut as a TV presenter when he landed a slot on Animal Magic alongside Johnny Morris during the sixties.

Tony then became a co-founder of the broadcaster's Natural History Unit which was launched in 1957 and went on produced a host of wildlife TV shows.

The unit was responsible for creating shows including Planet Earth, which was narrated by the iconic Sir David Attenborough.

The Sun reported that according to Tony's website he worked as a freelancer from 1963 in order to be close to the sea in Devon, where he lived until his death.

Tony's career took on many avenues as he not only became a film producer, led wildlife cruises to the Artic and Antartica, but was also an author.

Following his death last year, a string of celebrities and friend rushed to social media to pay their respects.

Lorraine Kelly posted a message on her social media that read: "On one of my very first shows presenting on TVam, this wonderful kind man came on to talk about his book on owls."

She added: "He was a joy and a delight." Wildlife TV presenter wrote: "Very sad news - Tony Soper was a huge influence on generations of birders and broadcasters."

He went on to add: "I had the huge privilege of working with Tony and getting to know him. "The last person who was there at the start of the BBC Natural History Unit - a lovely man."

Tony has left behind his wife and two sons Tim and Jack, along with his five grandchildren.

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