Mike Salisbury, the acclaimed BBC wildlife television producer who worked on Sir David Attenborough's landmark 'Life' series and edited 'The Natural World', has died aged 84 after a brief illness.
Salisbury was series producer of some of the BBC Natural History Unit's most groundbreaking programmes, including 'Kingdom of the Ice Bear' (1985), 'The Private Life of Plants' (1995), 'The Life of Birds' (1998), 'The Life of Mammals' (2002) and 'Life in the Undergrowth' (2005). During the 1990s, he was series editor of 'The Natural World', steering it towards hard-hitting conservation issues.
Born in Derry, Northern Ireland, and raised in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, Salisbury developed a passion for wildlife from his mother, who taught him the names of birds, plants and insects. After school, he volunteered with VSO in Swaziland, teaching Nelson Mandela's children and working as a mechanic, before joining his father's lawnmower business.
His television career began after persistent efforts to gain work experience with the BBC's 'Horizon' programme. He later worked on light entertainment, booking guests for Michael Parkinson's chat show, before joining the Natural History Unit as studio director on 'Animal Magic'. His big break came as assistant producer on Attenborough's 'Life on Earth' (1979).
Salisbury was awarded the OBE in 2007 and received the Wildscreen Panda award for outstanding achievement in 2006, a moment he famously did not realise was about him until Attenborough announced his name.
