Force of Nature

12th December 2012

With an extraordinary TV career spanning over half a century, Sir David Attenborough is a force of nature, and the luminary of wildlife filmmaking. He is the only person to have won a BAFTA in black and white, colour, HD and 3D: accolades in themselves.

He has been at the heart of natural world television since the 1950s, beginning with BBC shows like The Pattern of Animals and Zoo Quest. With such a remarkable onscreen gravitas and an obvious, all-consuming love for our planet’s wildlife, Attenborough soon found himself researching, writing and presenting the BBC’s ground-breaking Life series. His measured tones also accompanied Planet Earth, The Blue Planet and Nature’s Great Events, culminating in the seminal Frozen Planet.

Fans will no doubt be delighted to hear Attenborough will once again be gracing our screens in the New Year with his brand new Africa series. Promising a new perspective on the world’s wildest continent, from the Atlas Mountains, through the Savannah lands to the Roof of Africa and on to the Kalahari. With a natural history bar already high, this new show is set to be stratospheric.

The series will introduce previously un-filmed destinations, as well as rarely seen animal behaviour: lizards hunting on the backs of lions and exploding insects are just a couple of examples of the phenomenal footage Attenborough has tucked up his well-travelled, corn blue sleeves.

He remains humble; considering himself “blessed” to have worked through the "golden age of natural history filmmaking" and a strong voice speaking on behalf of our Earth: "…the natural world is changing. And we are totally dependent on that world. It provides our food, water and air. It is the most precious thing we have and we need to defend it."

In this, his 60th year of broadcasting, the BBC celebrated Attenborough’s Diamond Jubilee with a special three-part documentary series, Attenborough: 60 Years in the Wild, showcasing the great man’s most extraordinary wildlife encounters.

If you have missed any of Attenborough’s landmark moments over the years, (where have you been - living in a cave?), the good news is you can catch up with BBC iPlayer’s archive of Attenborough footage.

By Natasha Preston