David Attenborough

Adept at showcasing the wonders of the natural world with enthusiasm and knowledge, David Attenborough has earned the respect of millions in a career that has lasted over seven decades. ...

While born in Isleworth in Middlesex in 1926, Attenborough spent his childhood in Leicester, where his father was principal of the University College. The young David’s early interest in natural science was encouraged by his family and a scholarship allowed him to study the subject at Clare College in Cambridge before he completed two years of national service with the Royal Navy in North Wales and the Firth of Forth.

After a brief spell editing children’s science books Attenborough was accepted onto a training course at the BBC and found full-time employment as a producer in the Talks department in 1952. When a colleague fell ill Attenborough stepped in as presenter for Zoo Quest and fronted the show from 1954 until 1963, but when it ended it was another ten years before he once more became a regular in front of the camera – the intervening years saw him achieve a postgraduate degree in social anthropology, become controller of BBC Two and then BBC Director of Programmes.

An eagerness to return to travel, wildlife and film-making led Attenborough to resign from his post in 1973 and six years later his incredibly ambitious Life on Earth was aired. In the years that followed he continued to build a body of work that often used innovative techniques and the latest scientific discoveries to showcase the natural world at its most remarkable. With characteristic modesty, Attenborough ensured the animals were given as much screen time as possible and many of his programmes featured epilogues that revealed the skills of those working behind the scenes.

Attenborough shied away from political commentary for much of his career but a shift in his position began around 2000 with State of the Planet. Since then his work has increasingly drawn attention to environmental issues, with his 2020 book A Life on Our Planet perhaps one of his strongest written statements about the need to restore the Earth’s biodiversity.

In recognition of his achievements, Attenborough has been awarded over 30 honorary degrees and two knighthoods and tributes to his name range from a star constellation to a research vessel, a nature reserve and over forty animal and plant species.