David Attenborough: A Life in Television

David Attenborough, much-loved British broadcaster, natural historian and writer, shared how his passion for collecting fossils fuelled a legendary career.

Attenborough is a natural history icon loved around the world for informative and engaging TV. He is the star of shows like The Blue Planet and Planet Earth which have captured the public’s imagination. And in his five decades in broadcasting he’s scooped four BAFTAs and been awarded a prestigious BAFTA Fellowship.

Attenborough told a packed audience at a special Life in Television event how collecting fossils as a child inspired his love of the natural world.

“It’s easy to be sniffy about collecting,” he said.

“But for a naturalist it’s the absolute bedrock – looking at natural objects and deciding that this is different from that. Charles Darwin collected beetles obsessively – it’s a great thing to collect.”

As a former controller of BBC2, Attenborough notably commissioned programmes ranging from influential documentary series The Ascent of Man to music show The Old Grey Whistle Test. But he’s best known for his huge contribution to global audiences’ understanding of the natural world.

In his career as a naturalist and broadcaster Attenborough has worked on many ground-breaking series. From 1979’s Life on Earth to Blue Planet in 2011 he has continually found new ways to inspire audiences. He says that this has been possible because every new series has been inspired by fresh technical advances.

“Almost every series has been stimulated by a particular technical advance,” he said.

“When we started you couldn’t have pictures and sound together – or film in a forest. [Advances] have been very valuable as you were able to go into new areas.”

The special Life in Television event was recorded at the Brighton Festival on 19, May 2009, with presenter Melvyn Bragg. During the talk Attenborough spoke about his experiences filming and broadcasting the wonders of the natural world over five decades. He also discussed his career highlights and the influence of Charles Darwin, 200 years after his birth.

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