Sir David Attenborough at 100: ‘the most consequential broadcaster of our times’

{"text":[[{"start":8.55,"text":"For more than seven decades, Sir David Attenborough has been both the face of natural history programming and a shrewd innovator who has broken boundaries to define modern broadcasting. "}],[{"start":19.65,"text":"Attenborough, who turns 100 on Friday, first appeared on British TV screens in the 1950s as the host of wildlife show Zoo Quest, setting him on a career path that would make him one of the most feted television producers in the world."}],[{"start":34.349999999999994,"text":"His staying power has allowed him to show uniquely the passage of time and the impact of global warming on natural habitats, and the devastating effects it has had on species in every corner of the globe."}],[{"start":46.199999999999996,"text":"Along the way, Attenborough has become the benchmark of quality British broadcasting, whose career — in front of the camera and behind the scenes — has mirrored the evolution of TV itself. "}],[{"start":56.349999999999994,"text":"He is credited as the only person to have won a Bafta for shows produced in black and white, colour, high-definition, 3D and 4K resolution, which is cinema quality."}],[{"start":68.39999999999999,"text":"“He is, without a shadow of a doubt, the most consequential broadcaster of our times,” said BBC interim director-general Rhodri Talfan Davies."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":77.85,"text":"Attenborough’s programmes have proven their enduring appeal, drawing in huge audiences, particularly for the BBC as it struggles to maintain relevance in the age of streaming and faces questions over the licence fee. "}],[{"start":90.64999999999999,"text":"His close collaborator and friend of 30 years, the documentary maker Alastair Fothergill, describes him as “absolutely critical” to Britain’s TV industry."}],[{"start":101.35,"text":"“He pioneered wildlife filmmaking with Zoo Quest and then went back into BBC management as the most important controller of BBC Two, where he dreamt up the whole concept of the landmark series.”"}],[{"start":113.19999999999999,"text":"At the helm, he helped to usher in the era of colour TV and championed a golden period for British programme-making, commissioning groundbreaking content such as Civilisation, written and presented by art historian Kenneth Clark, and Monty Python’s Flying Circus."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":129.79999999999998,"text":"Mike Gunton, creative ⁠director of the Natural History Unit at the BBC who worked with Attenborough on progrmmes such as Planet Earth, The Green Planet and Dynasties, explained some of the ways his influence has endured. "}],[{"start":143.2,"text":"“[He put] snooker on TV because of the colour balls — a perfect thing for colour TV — and the reason why the tennis balls in LTA tennis are yellow is because they showed up better on TV at the time,” said Gunton. “He was at the moment when it was all being discovered and invented.”"}],[{"start":160.1,"text":"Despite being a potential contender to become the BBC’s director-general, Attenborough quit management to return to programme-making as a producer and presenter in 1975, adopting innovations from the talented filmmakers he had worked with to turn the modern natural history documentary into must-watch TV."}],[{"start":180.7,"text":"This led to the BBC’s Life on Earth in 1979, the seminal series that brought animals in their natural habitats to hundreds of millions of people worldwide. "}],[{"start":191.75,"text":"He became a household name as the man who befriended the mountain gorillas of Rwanda and has described sitting near and playing with the gorillas as “one of the most memorable experiences of my life”."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":203.1,"text":"Tim Davie, former director-general of the BBC, said Attenborough had set the “gold standard for public service broadcasting” and “shaped how generations across the world understand and appreciate the natural world”."}],[{"start":216.95,"text":"When he fronted the award-winning Planet Earth in 2006, the show was the most expensive nature documentary ever commissioned by the BBC and the first to be filmed in high definition. "}],[{"start":228.89999999999998,"text":"Attenborough has continued to reach new audiences, narrating shows on Netflix, starting with Our Planet in 2019. "}],[{"start":236.54999999999998,"text":"From January 2023 to December 2025, Attenborough titles had generated nearly 320mn hours of viewing, Netflix said. Six years on, Our Planet attracted 30mn views in 2025 alone."}],[{"start":251.04999999999998,"text":"Adam Del Deo, Netflix’s vice-president of original documentary, film and limited series, said Attenborough’s body of work had become a “personal witness statement to the radical changes that he saw on the planet, and a call to action for humans around the world to pay attention to what was happening and to make changes in their life”."}],[{"start":270.9,"text":"He said Attenborough’s voice with its unmistakable timbre was often the star of the show, meaning that even shows in which he did not appear had his stamp of authority. "}],[{"start":280.84999999999997,"text":"“His ability to talk to audiences globally about the planet, about so many different types of species and habitats, as well as the science, in a way that makes it incredibly digestible, emotional and resonant, is so special,” Del Deo added."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":296.24999999999994,"text":"Fothergill remembers that the BBC raised concerns about the lack of Attenborough in person on The Blue Planet (2001) but it went on to be one of his biggest successes. "}],[{"start":306.8999999999999,"text":"“Because his voice was so powerful,” said Fothergill. “He’s actually thanked me a number of times since then for extending his career because obviously as he got older international travel was harder, but his narrations have continued and they’re arguably better than ever.”"}],[{"start":323.19999999999993,"text":"Yet Attenborough has continued to push his physical limits. Fothergill added: “He teases me that I’ve nearly killed him three times.”"}],[{"start":331.3999999999999,"text":"Gunton, who was part of the crew that had Attenborough in a hot-air balloon for Planet Earth 2, recalled: “He was nearly 90. And it was two miles up. But he was going for it. And that’s always been the thing: he understands that there’s a lot of theatre in television.”"}],[{"start":355.24999999999994,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1778321677_4603.mp3"}