In the vertebrate neural tube, dorso-ventral cell identity is regulated by Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) signalling: increasing pathway activity promotes progressively more ventral fates. Shh signal transduction involves primary cilia, where several of the key pathway components are localised. Now (p. 2291), Kim Dale and colleagues report a role for Notch signalling in regulating Shh activity in the neural tube. Through experiments in cell culture, chick explants and mouse embryos, the authors find that Notch modulates responsiveness to the Shh signal: activating the Notch pathway renders cells more sensitive to Shh. Notch appears to act by promoting ciliary localisation of the key Shh pathway component Smoothened, as well as increasing levels of the activator form of the transcriptional effector Gli3. Moreover, cilia are longer upon Notch pathway activation. Together, these data provide an unexpected connection between the Notch and Shh pathways in the vertebrate neural tube, which impacts on neuronal fate.