Fortey was educated at Ealing Grammar School for Boys and King's College, Cambridge, where he read Natural Sciences specialising in geology.

He is the author of popular science books on a range of subjects including geology, palaeontology, evolution and natural history.

[4] In 2014, Fortey presented the BBC Four three part series Fossil Wonderlands: Nature's Hidden Treasures,[5] followed by The Magic of Mushrooms, in which he showed that fungi had close but still poorly understood inter-relationships with plants and animals including man.

[6] He appeared on BBC Two's "University Challenge – The Professionals" in 2004, as a member of the Palaeontological Association team, who beat the Eden Project.

Fortey was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to palaeontology and geology.