Remembering Nick Pope: 1965 - 2026
The late Nick Pope made his name as a top UFO expert on Sky HISTORY’s Ancient Aliens. Here’s how he went from the UK’s Ministry of Defence to TV fame.
Is extraterrestrial life really out there? It’s a question that has flummoxed generations of UFOlogists, but some have come much closer than others to solving the mystery. There’s one particular voice many of our viewers will have heard quite often when the possibility of alien existence is discussed on TV…
It’s Nick Pope, the author and former civil servant who recently passed away at the age of 60 on 6th April 2026. The British-born media commentator was a regular on TV screens, appearing on a wealth of Sky HISTORY and BLAZE shows, most famously Ancient Aliens.
What made Nick especially watchable was his inside knowledge from years of manning the UFO desk at the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD). So, how did Nick develop his passion for exploring the unexplained, and cement his reputation as the UK’s leading UFO expert?
Nick Pope joins the Ministry of Defence
Nick Pope was born on 19th September 1965 to aeronautical engineer George Pope and his wife Rosemary. It seems like a future at the MoD was in the young Nick’s blood, as his father worked at the Farnborough base of the ministry’s Royal Aircraft Establishment.
Nick started his own MoD career in 1985, working as a civil servant. He was transferred between several positions during his time at the MoD, eventually boarding its UFO programme in 1991.
Nick later recalled that this programme lacked its own formal, catchy name, unlike its equivalent in the United States, ‘Project Blue Book’. This is reportedly because the UK government wanted to play down the true extent of its own interest in investigating UFO sightings.
In secret, though, ministers feared that UFOs (or UAPs – ‘Unidentified Aerial Phenomena’) could actually have major implications for British national security. Nick stayed at the UFO desk for three years, scrutinising UFO reports to identify potential defence risks to the UK.
Nick’s rise as a media personality
In 1996, Nick brought out the ufology book Open Spies, Closed Minds
. Even long after leaving the UFO desk, Nick remained keenly interested in the subject. When the MoD decided to declassify and release its UFO files in the Noughties, Nick was even approached to help with the publicity drive.
By doing interviews with the media, Nick essentially became the face of the MoD’s new-found transparency concerning its UFO projects. The MoD eventually closed its UFO desk in 2009, having deemed it surplus to the UK’s defence requirements.
Nick Pope finds new fame on TV
Since it started airing in 2010, the Sky HISTORY series Ancient Aliens has extensively explored the ‘ancient astronaut’ theory. Have aliens really been among us for millennia? Nick Pope has had his say on that question as one of the show’s frequent guests.
One fan-favourite moment came in the 12th season, when Nick accompanied fellow series regular Giorgio A Tsoukalos on a trip to see Rudloe Manor. This Wiltshire site has been dubbed ‘Britain’s Area 51’, as it is alleged to have held downed alien spacecraft.
Nick has also contributed to many other UFO shows. He has spoken about the Rendlesham Forest incident, ‘Britain’s Roswell’, on Sky HISTORY’s History’s Greatest Mysteries. Nick has also appeared on the BLAZE shows UFO Encounters UK and Indistinguishable From Magic.
Nick Pope dies after cancer diagnosis
In February 2026, Nick broke some devastating news on social media. ‘A while ago, following some digestive issues, I was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer. Unfortunately, it’s Stage 4 and has metastasized to my liver.’ The sadly meant that the cancer was incurable.
Nick took the opportunity to reflect fondly on his ‘amazing’ life and career. ‘The things I’ve done; the places I’ve been; the people I’ve met; and the secrets I’ve been privy to. I wouldn’t have swapped it for the world.’
The following 6th April, Nick’s wife Elizabeth Weiss revealed on social media: ‘My heart is breaking. Nick passed away this afternoon at our home.’ Noting that Nick had been doing interviews even in the last few weeks of his life, she enthused: ‘I was so lucky to have met and to have married Nick. He was a wonderful husband.’
