[1] He joined the BBC at age 17 as a "youth-in-training", subsequently graduating by way of studio manager to features producer in radio, then moved into television.
Soper co-founded the BBC Natural History Unit as its first film producer, with Patrick Beech the then South West Controller.
[3][4] As Expedition Leader and a pioneer of wildlife cruising, he spent twenty years between 1992 and 2012 exploring both the North and South polar regions.
[1] Soper was a recipient of the British Naturalists' Association's Peter Scott Memorial Award.
[7][8] A single 23-minute episode of Wildtrack is available as a bonus feature on the DVD and Blu-ray release of David Attenborough's 1979 series Life on Earth.