Sir David Attenborough, Britain's greatest national treasure, turns 100 today. His career has been marked by extraordinary adventures, from being besieged by birds to staying cool beside an erupting Icelandic volcano. As he reaches this milestone, we celebrate his most spectacular TV moments.
Attenborough's television career began at age 26, producing 'Coelacanth' about the rediscovery of an ancient fish. He made his first screen appearance on the gameshow 'Animal, Vegetable, Mineral?' and presented his first natural history series, 'Animal Patterns', in 1954. His seminal series 'Zoo Quest' started in 1954, documenting an expedition to west Africa to capture a white-necked rockfowl. The show was so popular that fans stopped him in the street to ask if they caught the bird.
In 1956, Attenborough caught a sloth in South America, likely the first time many viewers had seen one. In 1958, he captured a komodo dragon in Indonesia, though he couldn't bring it home. During 'Zoo Quest for the Paradise Birds' in 1959, he was charged at by armed tribesmen in Papua New Guinea but diffused the tension by calmly saying 'Good afternoon.'
Attenborough's later adventures included encountering a giant swarm of butterflies in Paraguay, discovering a cargo cult in Vanuatu for 'The People of Paradise', and finally coming face to face with a coelacanth in Madagascar in 1961. In 'Quest Under Capricorn', he stripped off his top and flung himself at a frilled lizard in Australia. His interview with Yehudi Menuhin about yoga also stands out.
