Robert Neill Dougall MBE (27 November 1913 – 18 December 1999) was an English broadcaster and ornithologist, mainly known as a newsreader and announcer.

Dougall covered the first three years of the Second World War for the corporation, before resigning in 1942 to join the Royal Naval Volunteer Service.

Dougall served as president of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) for five years, from 1970 to 1975, during which time the charity's membership increased from 50,000 to 250,000.

[5] In 1942, Dougall resigned from the BBC following the corporation's recruitment of Irish playwright Douglas Johnston as its Middle East air correspondent.

[5][10] Dougall took a short course in Russian in Harwich, where he completed his basic training, after learning that volunteers were needed for special duties at a Northern Russia base.

[8] In 1947, Dougall was appointed Programme Manager of the BBC's Far Eastern Service by the Foreign Office, a position which required him to move to Singapore.

[1][9] He was responsible for relaying Russian broadcasts to London until the Far Eastern Service became redundant soon after and went on to become a presenter of the BBC Light Programme shows Serenade for Sleep, Music for Midnight and Family Favourites.

He and other BBC newsreaders such as Kenneth Kendall and Richard Baker were not visible until the September 1955 debut of ITN led Chief News Editor Tahu Hole to agree to broadcast their faces but not their names on-screen.

[15] He was the first person to present the long-running BBC Nine O'Clock News in 1970, continuing in this role until his retirement from the newsroom on 31 December 1973.

[19] He was the narrator of two of RSPB's wildlife films and raised money for the Royal National Institute for Deaf People through television appeals.

[7][10] Dougall also appeared on television programmes and films such as The Generation Game, Russell Harty Show, Celebrity Squares,[13] Nationwide, Going for a Song, Yes Minister, Danger Tomorrow and The End of Arthur's Marriage.