Sir David Attenborough, now 100, is celebrated as the calm, trusted voice of the natural world. But his 70-year career reveals a broadcaster who repeatedly took risks, backing new technology and venturing into remote, often perilous places. From the launch of colour television to a record-breaking dive at the Great Barrier Reef at 89, he has sought new ways to show the planet and its inhabitants.
Before the honours, he was a young producer finding his way. A bored editor of science books for children, Attenborough applied for a job at BBC Radio but was rejected. Weeks later, he received a letter asking if he might be interested in the BBC’s new television service. Initially unsure, he was persuaded to join as a producer across all factual output, which was broadcast almost entirely live. He soon came up with the ground-breaking idea of Zoo Quest: the first series to combine live studio presentation with natural history footage shot on location.
Attenborough joined expeditions to find rare animals and bring them back to London Zoo, something he acknowledged would no longer be done today. “Seeing the African rainforest fauna for the first time, the sheer abundance of it, the super-abundance of it – just breathtaking,” he said. “Then, we thought the natural world was healthy, full of animals. If an animal died in the zoo, you simply went out and got another. You wouldn’t do that anymore.” These were his first opportunities to explore the wonders of nature.
Attenborough and his team were the first to film rare birds like the white-necked rockfowl and the elusive Komodo dragon. He did not own a television set when he joined the BBC in 1952, but within 15 years he became controller of BBC Two. Reflecting on that opportunity, he said: “It’s a marvellous sensation to be told: ‘Here are a few million pounds. Surely you ought to be able to think of a few programmes?’”
