David Attenborough: A Life in Television

23 December 11

The world's leading natural history filmmaker discusses his extraordinary television career in this BAFTA Guru video.

_{The full length David Attenborough lecture
is available to watch now on BAFTA Guru.}

Attenborough’s career as a naturalist and broadcaster has spawned many ground-breaking series - from the groundbreaking Life on Earth (1979) to Frozen Planet (2011). Together they comprise the most ambitious and comprehensive survey of terrestrial life ever undertaken.

As a former Controller of BBC2, Attenborough's commissioning output ranged from The Ascent of Man to The Old Grey Whistle Test. Yet his lasting legacy is his peerless contribution to our understanding of the natural world, first in terms of ecology, taxonomy and habitat, and increasingly in the light of man's environmental impact on the planet.

Before Darwin, natural history and zoology was largely stamp collecting.

In the full video, recorded at the Brighton Festival and available to watch now on BAFTA Guru, Sir David Attenborough speaks about his experiences filming and broadcasting the wonders of the natural world over five decades. Melvyn Bragg asks the him about his career highlights, the dramatic impact of new technologies on wildlife programming and the influence of Charles Darwin, 200 years after his birth.