Originally Posted by
Littlegirl
They have been called Nigels much longer than that. The team that wrote that show, chose the name Nigel for the pilot because they knew this was the case.
It is a semi derogatory term dating back decades when many of the pilots were ex RAF and quite a few were actually called Nigel.
Over the years it has just become a term used to refer to pilots and is not really derogatory nowadays.
I think the (historic) point was that they were RAF and therefore not exactly out of the top drawer. Nigel is definitely not an Army name, and certainly not one of the smart Regiments. Catering Corps or Corps of Transport perhaps.
Over time it’s lost the overt snobbery and is now more of a mildly humorous generalisation.