In 1996, Neville was approached by Tyne Tees Television and offered a chance to return to the commercial station. Tyne Tees offered him his own hour long news programme, "North East Tonight with Mike Neville". Neville made the switch back to Tyne Tees, which coincided with a short-lived station rebrand from Tyne Tees to "Channel 3 North East". Shortly after its launch, "North East Tonight" won the Royal Television Society's award for best regional news programme. In 1998, it won a World Service Medal in New York for "Best News Magazine Programme".