Neil Oliver


1967 -

Television presenter and archaeologist. Born in Renfrew, Oliver grew up in Ayr and Dumfries before studying archaeology at University of Glasgow and graduating in 1988. He went on to train as a journalist, working for the The Scotsman, The Herald, The Guardian, The Edinburgh Evening News and The Daily Record. His television career began with his appearance in Two Men in a Trench (2002-04) for the BBC, which examined the history and archaeology of British battlefields with his friend Prof. Tony Pollard (b. 1965). Oliver has gone on to present television series such as Coast (2005-16), The History Detectives (2007), A History of Scotland (2008-09), A History of Ancient Britain (2011-12) and Vikings (2012). He has also presented Coast Australia (2013-14) and Coast New Zealand (2016-17).

Other work includes Cleopatra (2009), The Last Explorers (2011), which examined the lives of David Livingstone (1813-73), Thomas Blake Glover (1838 - 1911), John Muir (1838 - 1914) and William Speirs Bruce (1867 - 1921), and Britain's Deadliest Rail Disaster: Quintinshill (2015) which investigated the Quintinshill Rail Disaster in 1915. He has also written several books to accompany his television series.

Oliver has been awarded honorary degrees by the University of Abertay (2011) and University of Glasgow (2015). He lives with his wife and three children in Stirling.


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