Alistair Cooke Alistair Cooke (born Alfred Cooke; 20 November 1908 – 30 March 2004) was a British-American writer whose work as a journalist, television personality and radio broadcaster was done primarily in the United States.America''. Attenborough thought that the story of evolution would be a natural subject for such a series. He shared his idea with

Christopher Parsons Christopher Eugene Parsons OBE (23. August 1932 in Winchester, Hampshire – 8 November 2002 in Littleton-upon-Severn, Gloucestershire) was an English wildlife film-maker and the executive producer of David Attenborough's '' Life on Earth'', wi ...

, a producer at the Natural History Unit, who came up with a title ''

Life on Earth Life on Earth may refer to: Science * Life * Earliest known life forms * Evolutionary history of life ** Abiogenesis Film and television * ''Life on Earth'' (film) (''La Vie Sur Terre''), a 1998 Malian film * ''Life on Earth'' (TV series), a 197 ...

'' and returned to Bristol to start planning the series. Attenborough harboured a strong desire to present the series himself, but this would not be possible so long as he remained in a management post. While in charge of BBC Two, Attenborough turned down

Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in the UK for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in December 2009, his BBC Radio 2 week ...

's job application to be a presenter on the channel, stating that there weren't any suitable vacancies. The channel already had an Irish announcer, with Attenborough reflecting in 2016: "To have had two Irishmen presenting on BBC Two would have looked ridiculous. This is no comment whatsoever on Terry Wogan's talents." Attenborough has also acknowledged that he sanctioned the

wiping Lost television broadcasts are mostly those early television programs which cannot be accounted for in studio archives (or in personal archives) usually because of deliberate destruction or neglect. Common reasons for loss A significant prop ...

of television output during this period to cut costs, including a series by

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his distinguished entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two ...

, which he later regretted. In 1969, Attenborough was promoted to director of programmes, making him responsible for the output of both BBC channels. His tasks, which included agreeing budgets, attending board meetings and firing staff, were now far removed from the business of filming programmes. When Attenborough's name was being suggested as a candidate for the position of

Director-General of the BBC The director-general of the British Broadcasting Corporation is chief executive and (from 1994) editor-in-chief of the BBC. The position was formerly appointed by the Board of Governors of the BBC (for the period of 1927 to 2007) and then t ...

in 1972, he phoned his brother Richard to confess that he had no appetite for the job. Early the following year, he left his post to return to full-time programme-making, leaving him free to write and present the planned natural history epic. After his resignation, Attenborough became a freelance broadcaster and started work on his next project, a trip to Indonesia with a crew from the Natural History Unit. It resulted in the 1973 series ''Eastwards with Attenborough'', which was similar in tone to the earlier ''Zoo Quest''; the main difference was the introduction of colour. Attenborough stated that he wanted to work in Asia, because previous nature documentaries had mostly focused on Africa. That year, Attenborough was invited to deliver the Royal Institution Christmas Lecture on ''The Language of Animals''. After his work on ''Eastwards with Attenborough'', he began to work on the scripts for ''Life on Earth''. Due to the scale of his ambition, the BBC decided to partner with an American network to secure the necessary funding. While the negotiations were proceeding, he worked on a number of other television projects. He presented a series on

tribal art Tribal art is the visual arts and material culture of indigenous peoples. Also known as non-Western art or ethnographic art, or, controversially, primitive art, Dutton, Denis, Tribal Art'. In Michael Kelly (editor), ''Encyclopedia of Aesthetics. ...

('' The Tribal Eye'', 1975) and another on the voyages of discovery ('' The Explorers'', 1975). He presented a BBC children's series about

cryptozoology Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and subculture that searches for and studies unknown, legendary, or extinct animals whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated, particularly those popular in folklore, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness ...

entitled ''Fabulous Animals'' (1975), which featured mythical creatures such as

mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are sometimes ass ...

s and

unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...

s. Eventually, the BBC signed a co-production deal with

Turner Broadcasting Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (alternatively known as Turner Entertainment Networks from 2019 until 2022) was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (lat ...

and ''Life on Earth'' moved into production in 1976.

''Life'' series

Beginning with ''

'' in 1979, Attenborough set about creating a body of work which became a benchmark of quality in wildlife film-making, and influenced a generation of documentary film-makers. The series established many of the hallmarks of the BBC's natural history output. By treating his subject seriously and researching the latest discoveries, Attenborough and his production team gained the trust of scientists, who responded by allowing him to feature their subjects in his programmes. Innovation was another factor in ''Life on Earths success: new film-making techniques were devised to get the shots Attenborough wanted, with a focus on events and animals that were up till then unfilmed. International air travel enabled the series to be devised so that Attenborough visited several locations around the globe in each episode, sometimes even changing continents in one sequence. Although appearing as the on-screen presenter, he restricted his time on camera to give more time to his subjects. Five years after the success of ''Life on Earth'', the BBC released ''

The Living Planet ''The Living Planet: A Portrait of the Earth'' is a BBC nature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough, first transmitted in the UK from 19 January 1984. The sequel to his pioneering '' Life on Earth'', it is a study of t ...

''. This time, Attenborough built his series around the theme of ecology, the adaptations of living things to their environment. It was another critical and commercial success, generating huge international sales for the BBC. In 1990, ''

The Trials of Life ''The Trials of Life: A Natural History of Behaviour'' is a BBC nature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough, first transmitted in the United Kingdom from 3 October 1990. A study in animal behaviour, it was the third i ...

'' completed the original Life trilogy, looking at

animal behaviour Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and objectiv ...

through the different stages of life. In the 1990s, Attenborough continued to use the "Life" title for a succession of authored documentaries. In 1993, he presented ''

Life in the Freezer ''Life in the Freezer'' is a BBC nature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough, first transmitted in the United Kingdom from 18 November 1993. A study of the seasonal cycle of Antarctica, it was the first of Attenborou ...

'', the first television series to survey the natural history of

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

. Although past normal retirement age, he then embarked on a number of more specialised surveys of the natural world, beginning with plants. They proved a difficult subject for his producers, who had to deliver hours of television featuring what are essentially immobile objects. The result was ''

The Private Life of Plants ''The Private Life of Plants'' is a BBC nature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough, first shown in the United Kingdom from 11 January 1995. A study of the growth, movement, reproduction and survival of plants, it was ...

'' (1995), which showed plants as dynamic organisms by using

time-lapse photography Time-lapse photography is a technique in which the frequency at which film frames are captured (the frame rate) is much lower than the frequency used to view the sequence. When played at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus ...

to speed up their growth, and went on to earn a Peabody Award. Prompted by an enthusiastic ornithologist at the BBC Natural History Unit, Attenborough then turned his attention to birds. As he was neither an

birdwatcher Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

nor a bird expert, he decided he was better qualified to make ''

The Life of Birds ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (1998) on the theme of behaviour. The documentary series won a second Peabody Award the following year. The order of the remaining "Life" series was dictated by developments in camera technology. For ''

The Life of Mammals ''The Life of Mammals'' is a nature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough, first transmitted in the United Kingdom from 20 November 2002. A study of the evolution and habits of the various mammal species, it was the fo ...

'' (2002), low-light and

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

cameras were deployed to reveal the behaviour of nocturnal mammals. The series contains a number of memorable

two shot A two shot is a type of shot in which the frame encompasses two people (the subjects). The subjects do not have to be next to each other, and there are many common two shots which have one subject in the foreground and the other subject in the b ...

s of Attenborough and his subjects, which included chimpanzees, a

blue whale The blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of and weighing up to , it is the largest animal known to have ever existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can ...

and a grizzly bear. Advances in macro photography made it possible to capture the natural behaviour of very small creatures for the first time, and in 2005, '' Life in the Undergrowth'' introduced audiences to the world of

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s. At this point, Attenborough realised that he had spent 20 years unconsciously assembling a collection of programmes on all the major groups of terrestrial animals and plants – only reptiles and amphibians were missing. When ''

Life in Cold Blood ''Life in Cold Blood'' is a BBC nature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough, first broadcast in the United Kingdom from 4 February 2008 on BBC One. A study of the evolution and habits of amphibians and reptiles, it ...

'' was broadcast in 2008, he had the satisfaction of completing the set, brought together in a DVD encyclopaedia called ''

Life on Land ''David Attenborough's Life on Land: A DVD Encyclopaedia'' is a DVD box set of nature documentaries made by the BBC Natural History Unit. It comprises six series spread across 15 discs, all of them written and presented by David Attenborough, ...

''. He commented: "The evolutionary history is finished. The endeavour is complete. If you'd asked me 20 years ago whether we'd be attempting such a mammoth task, I'd have said 'Don't be ridiculous!' These programmes tell a particular story and I'm sure others will come along and tell it much better than I did, but I do hope that if people watch it in 50 years' time, it will still have something to say about the world we live in."''Radio Times'' 26 Jan–1 February 2008: "The Last Word", interview with Jeremy Paxman However, in 2010 Attenborough asserted that his '' First Life'' – dealing with evolutionary history before ''Life on Earth'' – should be included within the "Life" series. In the documentary '' Attenborough's Journey'', he stated, "This series, to a degree which I really didn't fully appreciate until I started working on it, really completes the set."

Beyond ''Life on Earth''

Alongside the "Life" series, Attenborough continued to work on other television documentaries, mainly in the natural history genre. He wrote and presented a series on man's influence on the natural history of the Mediterranean Basin, '' The First Eden'', in 1987. Two years later, he demonstrated his passion for fossils in '' Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives''. In 1990, he worked on the BBC's ''Prisoners of Conscience'' series where he highlighted the case of

Mahjoub Sharif Mahjoub Sharif (1 January 1948 – 2 April 2014), born as Mahjoub Muhammad Sharif Muhammad, was a Sudanese poet, teacher and Activism, activist for human rights. He became known in Sudan and other Arabic-speaking countries for his colloquial po ...

. Attenborough narrated every episode of ''

Wildlife on One ''Wildlife on One'' was, for nearly three decades, the BBC's flagship natural history programme. First broadcast in 1977, each edition ran for half an hour. The narrator was Sir David Attenborough. When repeated on BBC2 BBC Two is a Bri ...

'', a

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

wildlife series that ran for 253 episodes between 1977 and 2005. At its peak, it drew a weekly audience of eight to ten million, and the 1987 episode "Meerkats United" was voted the best wildlife documentary of all time by BBC viewers. He has narrated over 50 episodes of ''

Natural World ''Natural World'' is a strand of British wildlife documentary programmes broadcast on BBC Two and BBC Two HD and regarded by the BBC as its flagship natural history series. It is the longest-running documentary in its genre on British televis ...

'', BBC Two's flagship wildlife series. Its forerunner, ''

The World About Us ''The World About Us'' was a BBC Two television documentary series on natural history which ran from 3 December 1967 to 20 July 1986.''Encyclopedia of Television'' (2d ed.), ed. Horace Newcomb, p. 324, 620, 1363. The show was created by David At ...

'', was created by Attenborough in 1969, as a vehicle for colour television. In 1997, he narrated the ''

BBC Wildlife Specials The ''BBC Wildlife Specials'' are a series of nature documentary programmes commissioned by BBC Television. The series premiered in 1995, and 22 specials have been produced to date, with most of the more recent ones consisting of multiple episo ...

'', each focussing on a charismatic species, and screened to mark the Natural History Unit's 40th anniversary. As a writer and narrator, Attenborough continued to collaborate with the BBC Natural History Unit in the new millennium.

Alastair Fothergill Alastair David William Fothergill (born 10 April 1960) is a British producer of nature documentaries for television and cinema. He is the series producer of the series ''The Blue Planet'' (2001), ''Planet Earth'' (2006) and the co-director of ...

, a senior producer with whom Attenborough had worked on ''The Trials of Life'' and ''Life in the Freezer'', was making ''

The Blue Planet ''The Blue Planet'' is a British nature documentary series created and produced by the BBC. It premiered on 12 September 2001 in the United Kingdom. It is narrated by David Attenborough. Described as "the first ever comprehensive series on t ...

'' (2001), the Unit's first comprehensive series on marine life. He decided not to use an on-screen presenter due to difficulties in speaking to a camera through diving apparatus, but asked Attenborough to narrate the films. The same team reunited for ''

Planet Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surface ...

'' (2006), the biggest nature documentary ever made for television and the first BBC wildlife series to be shot in high definition. In 2009, he co-wrote and narrated ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'', a ten-part series focussing on extraordinary animal behaviour, and narrated ''

Nature's Great Events ''Nature's Great Events'' is a wildlife documentary series made for BBC television, first shown in the UK on BBC One and BBC HD in February 2009. The series looks at how seasonal changes powered by the sun cause shifting weather patterns and oce ...

'', which showed how seasonal changes trigger major natural spectacles. In January 2009, the BBC commissioned Attenborough to provide a series of 20 ten-minute monologues covering the history of nature. Entitled '' David Attenborough's Life Stories'', they were broadcast on Radio 4 on Friday nights. In 2011, Fothergill gave Attenborough a more prominent role in ''

Frozen Planet ''Frozen Planet'' is a 2011 British nature documentary series, co-produced by the BBC and The Open University. It was filmed by the BBC Natural History Unit. The production team, which includes executive producer Alastair Fothergill and ser ...

'', a major series on the natural history of the

polar regions The polar regions, also called the frigid zones or polar zones, of Earth are the regions of the planet that surround its geographical poles (the North and South Poles), lying within the polar circles. These high latitudes are dominated by floa ...

; Attenborough appeared on screen and authored the final episode, in addition to performing

voiceover Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non- diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations. ...

duties. Attenborough introduced and narrated the Unit's first 4K production '' Life Story.'' For ''

Planet Earth II ''Planet Earth II'' is a 2016 British nature documentary series produced by the BBC as a sequel to ''Planet Earth'', which was broadcast in 2006. The series is presented and narrated by Sir David Attenborough with the main theme music composed ...

'' (2016), Attenborough returned as narrator and presenter, with the main theme music composed by

Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Oscars and four Grammys, and has been nominated for two Emmys and a Tony. Zimmer was also named on the list of Top 100 Living G ...

David Attenborough Great Barrier Reef screening

In October 2014, the corporation announced a trio of new one-off Attenborough documentaries as part of a raft of new natural history programmes. "Attenborough's Paradise Birds" and "Attenborough's Big Birds" was shown on BBC Two and "Waking Giants", which follows the discovery of giant dinosaur bones in South America, aired on BBC One. The BBC also commissioned

Atlantic Productions Atlantic Productions is a British production company based in London that produces television programmes for broadcasters in Europe and the United States. Overview Founded in 1992, Atlantic Productions leads a group of companies which make telev ...

to make a three-part, Attenborough-fronted series ''

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

'' in 2015. The series marked the 10th project for Attenborough and Atlantic, and saw him returning to a location he first filmed at in 1957. On radio, Attenborough has continued as one of the presenters of BBC Radio 4's '' Tweet of the Day'', which began a second series in September 2014. Attenborough forged a partnership with

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

, working on documentaries for the broadcaster's new 3D network,

Sky 3D The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

. Their first collaboration was ''

Flying Monsters 3D ''Flying Monsters 3D'' is a natural history documentary about the pterosaurs. It was written and presented by David Attenborough and was produced by National Geographic and Atlantic Productions for Sky 3D. Originally broadcast on Christmas Day ...

'', a film about

pterosaur Pterosaurs (; from Greek ''pteron'' and ''sauros'', meaning "wing lizard") is an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order, Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 ...

s which debuted on Christmas Day of 2010. A second film, '' The Penguin King 3D'', followed a year later. His next 3D project, '' Conquest of the Skies'', made by the team behind the BAFTA award-winning '' David Attenborough's Natural History Museum Alive'', aired on

during Christmas 2014. Attenborough has narrated three series of ''

David Attenborough's Natural Curiosities ''David Attenborough's Natural Curiosities'' is a British nature documentary series first broadcast on Eden in January 2013, Produced by Humble Bee Films, Sir David Attenborough presents the series which puts a spotlight on some of nature's evolu ...

'' for

UKTV UKTV Media Limited, simply known as UKTV, is a British multi-channel broadcaster, which, since 2019, has been wholly owned by BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide), a commercial subsidiary of the BBC. It was formed on 1 November 1992 through ...

channel

Watch A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...

, with the third series showing in 2015. He has also narrated ''A majestic celebration: Wild Karnataka'', India's first blue-chip natural history film, directed by Kalyan Varma and Amoghavarsha. ''

Blue Planet II ''Blue Planet II'' is a 2017 British nature documentary series on marine life produced by the BBC Natural History Unit. Like its predecessor, ''The Blue Planet'' (2001), it is narrated and presented by naturalist Sir David Attenborough. After ...

'' was broadcast in 2017, with Attenborough returning as presenter. The series was critically acclaimed and gained the highest UK viewing figure for 2017 of 14.1 million. The series is thought to have triggered a long-lasting increase in public, media and political attention to

plastic pollution Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are catego ...

. Attenborough narrated the 2018 five part series ''

Dynasties A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A d ...

'', each episode dealing with one species in particular. In 2021 he presented the three part series '' Attenborough's Life in Colour'', and ''The Mating Game'', a five part series. Attenborough returned to prehistoric life with '' Dinosaurs: The Final Day'' and ''

Prehistoric Planet ''Prehistoric Planet'' is a British-American nature documentary streaming television series about dinosaurs that premiered on Apple TV+ beginning May 23, 2022. It is produced by the BBC Studios Natural History Unit with Jon Favreau as showrunn ...

'' aired in April and May 2022 respectively.

Environmentalist advocacy

By the turn of the millennium, Attenborough's authored documentaries were adopting a more overtly

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

stance. In ''

State of the Planet ''State of the Planet'' is a three-part environmental documentary series, made by the BBC Natural History Unit, transmitted in November 2000. It is written and presented by David Attenborough, and produced by Rupert Barrington. It includes inter ...

'' (2000), he used the latest scientific evidence and interviews with leading scientists and

conservationists The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental, and social movement that seeks to manage and protect natural resources, including animal, fungus, and plant species as well as their habitat for the f ...

to assess the impact of human activities on the natural world. He later turned to the issues of

global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

('' The Truth about Climate Change'', 2006) and human population growth (''How Many People Can Live on Planet Earth?'', 2009). He contributed a programme which highlighted the plight of endangered species to the BBC's ''

Saving Planet Earth ''Saving Planet Earth'' is a season of nature documentaries with a conservation theme, screened on BBC Television in 2007 to mark the 50th anniversary of its specialist factual department, the BBC Natural History Unit. The series featured fil ...

'' project in 2007, the 50th anniversary of the Natural History Unit. In 2019, Attenborough narrated ''

Our Planet ''Our Planet'' is a British nature documentary series made for Netflix. The series is narrated by David Attenborough and produced by Silverback Films, led by Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey, who also created BBC documentary series ''Plane ...

'', an eight-part documentary series, for

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

. In contrast to much of his prior work for the BBC, this series emphasised the destructive role of human activities throughout the series. Before, he would often note concerns in a final section of the work. He also narrated ''

Wild Karnataka ''Wild Karnataka'' is a 2019 Indian natural history documentary on the Indian state of Karnataka's rich biodiversity, most of which is still unknown to the general public. Produced by Amoghavarsha JS and Kalyan Varma in collaboration with ...

'', a documentary about the

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

forest area. In 2019, Attenborough's one-off film documentary about climate change for BBC One called ''

Climate Change – The Facts ''Climate Change – The Facts'' is a 2019 British documentary presented by David Attenborough that discusses climate change and possible solutions to counteract it. The one-hour programme made its debut on BBC One in the United Kingdom at 9pm ...

'' was aired; the tone of the documentary was significantly graver than previous work for the BBC. This was followed by '' Extinction: The Facts'', which is partly based on the 2019

IPBES The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is an intergovernmental organization established to improve the interface between science and policy on issues of biodiversity and ecosystem services. It ...

report A report is a document that presents information in an organized format for a specific audience and purpose. Although summaries of reports may be delivered orally, complete reports are almost always in the form of written documents. Usage In ...

on the decline of biodiversity. In 2020, Attenborough narrated the documentary film '' David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet''. The film acts as Attenborough's witness statement, reflecting on his career as a naturalist and his hopes for the future. It was released on Netflix on 4 October 2020. Further work for Netflix includes the documentary titled '' Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet'', released on 4 June 2021. In October 2020, Attenborough began filming in Cambridge for '' The Green Planet''. In 2021, Attenborough narrated ''

A Perfect Planet ''A Perfect Planet'' is a 2021 five-part earth science series presented by David Attenborough. The first episode premiered on 3 January 2021 on BBC One. Filming took place over four years, across 31 countries, with crew navigating difficulties ...

'', a five-part earth science series for BBC One. Attenborough was a key figure in the build-up to the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), and gave a speech at the opening ceremony. In his speech he stated that humans were "the greatest problem solvers to have ever existed on Earth" and spoke of his optimism for the future, finishing by saying "In my lifetime I've witnessed a terrible decline. In yours, you could and should witness a wonderful recovery." In 2022, the

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...

recognised Attenborough as a Champion of the Earth "for his dedication to research, documentation, and advocacy for the protection of nature and its restoration".

Views and advocacy

Environment

Attenborough's programmes have often included references to the impact of human society on the natural world. The last episode of ''The Living Planet'', for example, focuses almost entirely on humans' destruction of the environment and ways that it could be stopped or reversed. Despite this, he has been criticised for not giving enough prominence to environmental messages. In 2018 while promoting ''Dynasties'', he said that repeated messages on threats to wildlife in programming could be a "turn-off" to viewers. Some environmentalists feel that programmes like Attenborough's give a false picture of idyllic wilderness and do not do enough to acknowledge that such areas are increasingly encroached upon by humans. However, the increased urgency of environmental messaging in films such as '' Extinction: The Facts'', which depicts the continuing

sixth mass extinction The Holocene extinction, or Anthropocene extinction, is the ongoing extinction event during the Holocene epoch. The extinctions span numerous families of bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, ...

, ''

'' and ''A Life on Our Planet'' from 2019 and 2020 received praise. In ''

Seven Worlds, One Planet ''Seven Worlds, One Planet'' is a documentary series from the BBC Natural History Unit. The seven-part series, in which each episode focuses on one continent, debuted on 27 October 2019 and is narrated and presented by naturalist Sir David Atten ...

'', Attenborough discusses the devastating impact that

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

is having on the planet and the species. In 2005 and 2006, Attenborough backed a BirdLife International project to stop the killing of albatross by

longline fishing Longline fishing, or longlining, is a commercial fishing angling technique that uses a long ''main line'' with fish bait, baited fish hook, hooks attached at intervals via short branch lines called ''snoods'' or ''gangions''.< ...

boats. He gave support to WWF's campaign to have 220,000 square kilometres of

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...

's rainforest designated a protected area. He serves as a vice-president of

The Conservation Volunteers The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) is a British community volunteering charity focused on environmental conservation through practical tasks undertaken by volunteers. Until 1 May 2012, it traded as BTCV – British Trust for Conservation Volunte ...

, vice-president of

Fauna and Flora International Fauna & Flora International (FFI) is an international conservation charity and non-governmental organization dedicated to protecting the planet's threatened wildlife and habitats. Founded in 1903, it is the world's oldest international conserv ...

, president of Butterfly Conservation and president emeritus of

Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust The Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT) is one of 46 wildlife trusts across the United Kingdom. It manages nature reserves in Leicestershire and Rutland, and was founded in 1956 as the Leicestershire and Rutland Trust for Nature Con ...

. In 2003, he launched an appeal on behalf of the

World Land Trust The World Land Trust is a UK registered charity. It raises money to buy and then protect environmentally-threatened land in Africa, Asia, and Central and South America. In 2018 it claimed to have raised more than £25 million and to have bought ...

to create a rainforest reserve in

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

in memory of Christopher Parsons, the producer of ''Life on Earth'' and a personal friend, who had died the previous year. The same year, he helped to launch ARKive, a global project instigated by Parsons to gather together natural history media into a digital library. ARKive is an initiative of Wildscreen, of which Attenborough is a patron. He later became patron of the World Land Trust. In 2020, he backed a Fauna and Flora International campaign calling for a global moratorium on deep sea mining for its impact on marine life. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Attenborough advocated on behalf of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and its conservation efforts, which have been impacted by the economic fallout from the pandemic. In 2020, Attenborough was named as a member of the Earthshot prize Council, an initiative of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Prince William to find solutions to environmental issues. He is a patron of the Friends of Richmond Park and serves on the advisory board of BBC Wildlife, BBC Wildlife magazine. Attenborough was initially sceptical about the human influence on climate change, and stated that a 2004 lecture finally convinced him humans were responsible. He remained silent on the issue until 2006. Attenborough attended and spoke at 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26 as the "People's Advocate" for the event, and urged world leaders to act to reduce emissions. He supported Glyndebourne in their successful application to obtain planning permission for a wind turbine in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and gave evidence at the planning inquiry arguing in favour of the proposal. In his 2020 documentary film ''David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet'', Attenborough advocates for people to adopt a vegetarian diet or to reduce meat consumption to save wildlife, noting that "the planet can’t support billions of meat-eaters."

Human population

Attenborough has linked anthropogenic effects on the environment with human population growth. He has attracted criticism for his views on human overpopulation and Human population planning, human population control. He is a patron of Population Matters, a UK charity advocating for family planning, sustainable consumption and proposed Sustainable population, sustainable human population. In a 2013 interview with the ''Radio Times'', Attenborough described humans as a "plague on the Earth", and described the act of Aid, sending food to famine-stricken countries as "barmy" for population reasons. He called for more debate about human population growth, saying that since he "first started making programmes 60 years ago, the human population has tripled." According to Attenborough, improving women's rights around the world is an effective way "to limit our birth rate." He said that "anyone who thinks that you can have infinite growth in a finite environment is either a madman or an economist."

Religious views

Attenborough considers himself an agnostic. When asked whether his observation of the natural world has given him faith in a creator, he generally responds with some version of this story, making reference to the ''Onchocerca volvulus'' parasitic worm:

My response is that when Creationists talk about God creating every individual species as a separate act, they always instance hummingbirds, or orchids, sunflowers and beautiful things. But I tend to think instead of a parasitic worm that is boring through the eye of a boy sitting on the bank of a river in West Africa, [a worm] that's going to make him blind. And [I ask them], 'Are you telling me that the God you believe in, who you also say is an all-merciful God, who cares for each one of us individually, are you saying that God created this worm that can live in no other way than in an innocent child's eyeball? Because that doesn't seem to me to coincide with a God who's full of mercy'.

He has explained that he feels the evidence all over the planet clearly shows evolution to be the best way to explain the diversity of life, and that "as far as [he's] concerned, if there is a supreme being then he chose organic evolution as a way of bringing into existence the natural world". In a BBC Four interview with Mark Lawson, he was asked if he at any time had any religious faith. He replied simply, "no". He said "It never really occurred to me to believe in God". In 2002, Attenborough joined an effort by leading Clergy, clerics and scientists to oppose the inclusion of creationism in the curriculum of UK state-funded independent schools which receive private sponsorship, such as the Emmanuel Schools Foundation. In 2009, he stated that the Book of Genesis, by saying that the world was there for people to control, had taught generations that they can "dominate" the environment, and that this has resulted in the devastation of vast areas of the environment. He further explained to the science journal ''Nature (journal), Nature'', "That's why Darwinism, and the fact of evolution, is of great importance, because it is that attitude which has led to the devastation of so much, and we are in the situation that we are in". Also in early 2009, the BBC broadcast an Attenborough one-hour special, ''Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life''. In reference to the programme, Attenborough stated that "People write to me that evolution is only a theory. Well, it is not a theory. Evolution is as solid a historical fact as you could conceive. Evidence from every quarter. What is a theory is whether natural selection is the mechanism and the only mechanism. That is a theory. But the historical reality that dinosaurs led to birds and mammals produced whales, that's not theory." He strongly opposes creationism and its offshoot "intelligent design", saying that the results of a survey that found a quarter of science teachers in state schools believe that creationism should be taught alongside evolution in science lessons was "really terrible". In March 2009, Attenborough appeared on ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross''. Attenborough stated that he felt evolution did not rule out the existence of a God and accepted the title of agnostic saying, "My view is: I don't know one way or the other but I don't think that evolution is against a belief in God". Attenborough has joined the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and other top scientists in signing a campaign statement co-ordinated by the British Humanist Association (BHA). The statement calls for "creationism to be banned from the school science curriculum and for evolution to be taught more widely in schools".

BBC and public service broadcasting

Attenborough is a lifelong supporter of the BBC, public service broadcasting and the television licence. He has said that public service broadcasting "is one of the things that distinguishes this country and makes me want to live here", and believes that it is not reducible to individual programmes, but "can only effectively operate as a network [...] that measures its success not only by its audience size but by the range of its schedule".“The future of public service broadcasting”
. BBC. Retrieved 15 September 2019

... the BBC per minute in almost every category is as cheap as you can find anywhere in the world and produces the best quality. [...] The BBC has gone through swingeing staff cuts. It has been cut to the bone, if you divert licence fee money elsewhere, you cut quality and services. [...] There is a lot of people who want to see the BBC weakened. They talk of this terrible tax of the licence fee. Yet it is the best bargain that is going. Four radio channels and god knows how many TV channels. It is piffling.

Attenborough expressed the view that there had often been people wanting to remove the BBC, adding "there's always been trouble about the licence and if you dropped your guard you could bet our bottom dollar there'd be plenty of people who'd want to take it away. The licence fee is the basis on which the BBC is based and if you destroy it, broadcasting... becomes a wasteland." He expressed regret at some of the changes made to the BBC in the 1990s by its Director-General, John Birt, who introduced an internal market at the corporation, slimmed and even closed some departments and outsourced much of the corporation's output to private production companies. Although he said Birt's policies had poor results, Attenborough also acknowledged "the BBC had to change." In 2008, he criticised the BBC's television schedules, positing that the two senior networks,

and BBC Two – which Attenborough stated were "first set up as a partnership" – now "schedule simultaneously programmes of identical character, thereby contradicting the very reason that the BBC was given a second network."

Politics

In 1998, Attenborough described himself as "a standard, boring left-wing liberal" and expressed the view that the market economy was "misery". In 2013, Attenborough joined rock guitarists Brian May and Slash (musician), Slash in opposing the government's policy on the Badger culling in the United Kingdom, cull of badgers in the UK by participating in a song dedicated to badgers. Attenborough was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''The Guardian'' expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in the 2014 2014 Scottish independence referendum, referendum on that issue. Prior to the 2015 United Kingdom general election, 2015 UK general election, Attenborough was one of several celebrities who endorsed the parliamentary candidacy of the Green Party of England and Wales, Green Party's Caroline Lucas. In a 2020 interview, Attenborough criticised excess capitalism as a driver of ecological imbalance, stating "the excesses the capitalist system has brought us, have got to be curbed somehow", and that "greed does not actually lead to joy", although he added "That doesn't mean to say that capitalism is dead". He also lamented the lack of Politics of climate change, international cooperation on climate change, and said "there should be no dominant nation on this planet." In 2021, Attenborough told the leaders of the 47th G7 summit that "tackling climate change was now as much a political challenge as it was a scientific or technological one" and urged more action. Attenborough also stated that "(we) are on the verge of destabilising the entire planet."

Achievements, awards and recognition

Attenborough's contribution to broadcasting and wildlife film-making has brought him international recognition. He has been called "the great communicator, the peerless educator" and "the greatest broadcaster of our time." His programmes are often cited as an example of what public service broadcasting should be, even by critics of the BBC, and have influenced a generation of wildlife film-makers.

Honorary titles

By January 2013, Attenborough had collected 32 honorary degrees from British universities, more than any other person. In 1980, he was honoured by the Open University, with which he has had a close association throughout his career. He has honorary Doctor of Science degrees from Durham University (1982) and the University of Cambridge (1984) and honorary Doctor of Philosophy degrees from the University of Oxford (1988) and the University of Ghent (1997). In 2006, the two eldest Attenborough brothers returned to their home city to receive the title of Distinguished Honorary Fellows of the University of Leicester, "in recognition of a record of continuing distinguished service to the University." David Attenborough was previously awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by the university in 1970, and was made an honorary Freedom of the City, Freeman of the City of Leicester in 1990. In 2013, he was made an Honorary Freeman of the City of Bristol. In 2010, he was awarded Honorary Doctorates from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and Nottingham Trent University. Attenborough has received the title Honorary Fellow from Clare College, Cambridge (1980), the Zoological Society of London (1998), the Linnean Society (1999), the Institute of Biology (Now the Royal Society of Biology) (2000), and the Society of Antiquaries of London, Society of Antiquaries (2007). He is Honorary Patron of the North American Native Plant Society and was elected as a Corresponding Member of the Australian Academy of Science.

Recognition

Weston Library Opening by John Cairns 20

Attenborough has been featured as the subject of a number of BBC television programmes. ''Life on Air'' (2002) examined the legacy of his work, and ''Attenborough the Controller'' (2002) focused on his time in charge of BBC Two. He was also featured prominently in ''The Way We Went Wild'' (2004), a series about natural history television presenters, and ''100 Years of Wildlife Films'' (2007), a programme marking the centenary of the nature documentary. In 2006, British television viewers were asked to vote for their ''Favourite Attenborough Moments'' for a UKTV poll to coincide with the broadcaster's 80th birthday. The winning clip showed Attenborough observing the mimicry skills of the superb lyrebird. Attenborough was named the most trusted celebrity in the UK in a 2006 ''Reader's Digest'' poll, and in 2007 he won ''The Culture Shows Living Icon Award. He has been named among the 100 Greatest Britons in a 2002 BBC poll and is one of the top ten "Heroes of Our Time" according to ''New Statesman'' magazine. In September 2009, London's Natural History Museum, London, Natural History Museum opened the Attenborough Studio, part of its Darwin Centre development. In 2012, Attenborough was among the British cultural icons selected by artist Sir Peter Blake (artist), Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his most famous artwork – the Beatles' ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' album cover – to celebrate the British cultural figures of his life. The same year, Attenborough featured in the BBC Radio 4 series ''The New Elizabethans'' to mark the diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. A panel of seven academics, journalists and historians named him among the group of people in the UK "whose actions during the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant impact on lives in these islands". A British polar research ship was named RRS Sir David Attenborough, RRS ''Sir David Attenborough'' in his honour. While an Internet poll suggesting the name of the ship had the most votes for ''Boaty McBoatface'', Science Minister Jo Johnson said there were "more suitable names", and the official name was eventually picked up from one of the more favoured choices. However, one of its research sub-sea vehicles was named "Boaty" in recognition of the public vote.

Species named after Attenborough

At least 20 species and genera, both living and extinct, have been named in Attenborough's honour. Plants named after him include an alpine hawkweed (''Hieracium attenboroughianum'') discovered in the Brecon Beacons, a species of Ecuadorian flowering tree (''Blakea attenboroughi''), one of the world's largest-pitchered carnivorous plants (''Nepenthes attenboroughii''), along with a genus of flowering plants (''Sirdavidia''). Several Arthropods are named after Attenborough including a butterfly, Attenborough's black-eyed satyr (''Euptychia attenboroughi''), a dragonfly, Attenborough's pintail (''Acisoma attenboroughi''), a millimetre-long goblin spider (''Prethopalpus attenboroughi''), an ornate Caribbean smiley-faced spider (''Spintharus davidattenboroughi''), an Indonesian flightless weevil (''Trigonopterus attenboroughi''), a Madagascan ghost shrimp (''Ctenocheloides attenboroughi''), and a soil snail (''Palaina attenboroughi''). The Monogenean ''Cichlidogyrus attenboroughi'', a fish parasite, parasite from a deep-sea fish in the Lake Tanganyika, is probably the only parasite species named after him. Vertebrates have also been named after Attenborough, including a Namibian lizard (''Platysaurus attenboroughi''), a bird (''Polioptila attenboroughi''), a Peruvian frog (''Pristimantis attenboroughi''), a Madagascan Stumpffia, stump-toed frog (''Stumpffia davidattenboroughi''), and one of only four species of long-beaked echidna (''Zaglossus attenboroughi''). Sitana attenboroughii David Raju

In 1993, after discovering that the Mesozoic reptile ''Plesiosaurus conybeari'' did not belong to the genus ''Plesiosaurus'', the palaeontologist Robert Bakker renamed the species ''Attenborosaurus conybeari''. A fossilised armoured fish discovered in Western Australia in 2008 was named ''Materpiscis attenboroughi'', after Attenborough had filmed at the site and highlighted its scientific importance in ''Life on Earth''. In 2015, a species of tree from Gabon (in the Annonaceae family) ''Sirdavidia'' was named with his title. The ''Materpiscis'' fossil is believed to be the earliest organism capable of internal fertilisation. A miniature marsupial lion, ''Microleo attenboroughi'', was named in his honour in 2016. The fossil grasshopper ''Electrotettix attenboroughi'' was named after Attenborough. In March 2017, a 430 million year old tiny crustacean was named after him. Called ''Cascolus ravitis'', the first word is a Latin translation of the root meaning of "Attenborough", and the second is based on a description of him in Latin. In July 2017, the Caribbean bat ''Myotis attenboroughi'' was named after him. A new species of fan-throated lizard from coastal Kerala in India, southern India was named ''Sitana attenboroughii'' in his honour when it was described in 2018. In 2018, a new species of phytoplankton, ''Syracosphaera azureaplaneta'', was named to honour ''The Blue Planet'', the TV documentary presented by Attenborough, and to recognise his contribution to promoting understanding of the oceanic environment. The same year, Attenborough was also commemorated in the name of the scarab beetle ''Sylvicanthon attenboroughi''. In 2021 an extinct species of horseshoe crab was named ''Attenborolimulus, Attenborolimulus superspinosus.'' In July 2022, a fossil of a 560-million-year-old creature named ''Auroralumina attenboroughii'', which researchers believe to be the first animal predator, was named after Attenborough. Attenborough is also recognised by ''Guinness World Records'' as having the longest career as a natural historian and presenter in television.

Awards

In addition, he is the only person to have won BAFTA awards for programmes in black and white,

colour Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are assoc ...

, high-definition, 3D, and 4K resolution, 4K.

Filmography

David Attenborough's television credits span eight decades and his association with natural history programmes dates back to ''The Pattern of Animals'' and ''Zoo Quest'' in the early 1950s. His most influential work, 1979's ''Life on Earth'', launched a strand of nine authored documentaries with the BBC Natural History Unit which shared the ''Life'' strand name and spanned 30 years. He narrated every episode of the long-running BBC series ''Wildlife on One'' and in his later career has voiced several high-profile BBC wildlife documentaries, among them ''The Blue Planet'' and ''Planet Earth''. He became a pioneer in the 3D documentary format with ''Flying Monsters'' in 2010.

Bibliography

David Attenborough's work as an author has strong parallels with his broadcasting career. In the 1950s and 1960s, his published work included accounts of his animal collecting expeditions around the world, which became the ''Zoo Quest'' series. He wrote an accompanying volume to each of his nine ''Life'' documentaries, along with books on tribal art and Bird-of-paradise, birds of paradise. His autobiography, ''Life on Air'', was published in 2002, revised in 2009 and is one of a number of his works which is available as a self-narrated audiobook. Attenborough has also contributed forewords and introductions to many other works, notably those accompanying ''Planet Earth'', ''Frozen Planet'', ''Africa'' and other BBC series he has narrated. * ''Zoo Quest#Books, Zoo Quest to Guyana'' (1956) * ''Zoo Quest#Books, Zoo Quest for a Dragon'' (1957) – republished in 1959 to include an additional 85 pages titled ''Quest for the Paradise Birds'' * ''Zoo Quest#Books, Zoo Quest in Paraguay'' (1959) * ''Zoo Quest#Books, Quest in Paradise'' (1960) * ''People of Paradise'' (1960) * ''Zoo Quest#Books, Zoo Quest to Madagascar'' (1961) * ''Zoo Quest#Books, Quest Under Capricorn'' (1963) * ''Fabulous Animals'' (1975) * ''The Tribal Eye'' (1976) * ''

'' (1979) * ''Discovering Life on Earth'' (1981) * ''

'' (1984) * ''The First Eden: The Mediterranean World and Man'' (1987) * ''The Atlas of the Living World'' (1989) * ''

'' (1990) * ''

'' (1994) * ''

'' (1998) * ''

'' (2002) * ''Life on Air: Memoirs of a Broadcaster'' (2002) – autobiography, revised in 2009 * '' Life in the Undergrowth'' (2005) * ''Amazing Rare Things: The Art of Natural History in the Age of Discovery'' (2007) – with Susan Owens, Martin Clayton and Rea Alexandratos * ''

'' (2007) * ''David Attenborough's Life Stories'' (2009) * ''David Attenborough's New Life Stories'' (2011) * ''Drawn From Paradise: The Discovery, Art and Natural History of the Birds of Paradise'' (2012) – with Errol Fuller * ''Adventures of a Young Naturalist: The Zoo Quest Expeditions'' (2017) * ''Journeys to the Other Side of the World: Further Adventures of a Young Naturalist'' (2018) * ''Dynasties: The Rise and Fall of Animal Families'' with Stephen Moss (2018) * ''A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future'' (2020)

References

External links

BBC Books David Attenborough website

David Attenborough
at the British Film Institute *
David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet

*

People and Planet: David Attenborough
video of the 2011 Royal Society of Arts, RSA President's Lecture
David Attenborough
interview on BBC Radio 4 ''Desert Island Discs'', 27 December 1998
David Attenborough: humanity must come to its senses or face environmental disaster
''Radio Times''. 13 October 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Attenborough, David David Attenborough, 1926 births 20th-century English historians 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English non-fiction writers 20th-century English scientists 20th-century essayists 20th-century naturalists 20th-century British photographers 20th-century Royal Navy personnel 21st-century English historians 21st-century English male writers 21st-century English non-fiction writers 21st-century English scientists 21st-century essayists 21st-century naturalists 21st-century memoirists 21st-century British photographers Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Alumni of the London School of Economics Articles containing video clips Attenborough family, David Audiobook narrators BAFTA fellows BBC television presenters BBC television producers BBC Two controllers British anti-capitalists British Book Award winners British male essayists English male non-fiction writers English social commentators Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Critics of creationism Critics of religions Cultural critics English activists English agnostics English autobiographers English broadcasters English conservationists English documentary filmmakers English environmentalists English essayists English explorers English memoirists English nature writers English non-fiction writers English photographers English scientists English television personalities Environmental journalists Environmental writers Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Fellows of the Linnean Society of London Fellows of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society Fellows of the Royal Society (Statute 12) Fellows of the Royal Society of Biology Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Fellows of the Zoological Society of London Green thinkers International Emmy Founders Award winners Kalinga Prize recipients Knights Bachelor Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Literacy and society theorists Living people Members of the Order of Merit Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Nature photographers Non-fiction environmental writers Outstanding Narrator Primetime Emmy Award winners People associated with the University of Leicester People educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys People from Isleworth People from Leicester Presidents of the British Science Association Primetime Emmy Award winners Social critics Sustainability advocates Theorists on Western civilization Underwater filmmakers Writers about activism and social change Writers about globalization Writers about religion and science

Life and family

Career

Early years at the BBC

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