[1] Born in Southwest London, he undertook his National Service with the Royal Air Force, having his career extended at the start of World War II.
[1] In 1955 he joined the BBC as a runner, later becoming a production assistant on various series including Girl at the Window, The Black Brigand, The Railway Children, Thompson Family, Secret Garden, Great Expectations, Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Treasure Seekers and The Balloon and the Baron for which Dowling also composed the music.
This was followed by attachments across various departments, including BBC Sport, Light Entertainment and finally Further Education where he produced the first series of the programme Working With Computers.
During the production run of Vision On, Dowling had also produced other series for BBC Children's Television, including Price to Play, I want to be a Pilot and Code in the Head.
Dowling eventually found that the flow of new ideas became more and more difficult to sustain, and after twelve years decided to close Vision On while it was still at its height.