Yours celebrates the extraordinary life of Britain’s favourite naturalist Sir David Attenborough, who turns 100 in May
Entertaining royalty
Despite being told his teeth were too big to be a TV presenter, David joined the BBC and appeared on screen for the first time in 1954. Here he is, four years later, introducing Cocky the jungle cockatoo to Prince Charles and Princess Anne.
Since then, David has enjoyed a close relationship with many members of the royal family including the late monarch who knighted him in 1985. In 2022 he was awarded the higher honour of Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George by Prince Charles.
Between 1986 and 1991 he produced the Queen’s Christmas address. She was reportedly once displeased with him, though, when he asked her to change her acid green dress for a brown one!
Beside the sea
When remembering his first scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef way back in 1957, Sir David recalled, ‘I was so taken aback by the spectacle before me I forgot, momentarily, to breathe.’
Since then, his passion for the ocean has only got stronger. ‘After living for nearly a hundred years on this planet, I now understand that the most important place on Earth is not on land but at sea. If we save the sea, we save our world. After a lifetime of filming our planet, I’m sure nothing is more important,’ he has said.
Family time
When his children, Susan and Robert, were growing up, David’s work took him away from home for months at a time and he has praised his late wife Jane for being ‘very understanding’ about it. Here they are pictured in their Surrey garden with dad, mum and the family’s pet tortoise.
Following in their father’s footsteps, Robert became a lecturer in biological anthropology in Australia, and Susan, a former primary school headteacher, now works alongside their dad.
After Jane died of a brain haemorrhage in 1997 when he was away in New Zealand, David, spoke of losing his ‘anchor’. He’s recently shown some concern about his own health, particularly about ‘becoming helpless’ in the face of diseases such as Alzheimer’s. A grandfather, he does not want to become a burden to his family.
Joint honours
Long before becoming film royalty, David and his late Oscar-winning actor-director brother, Richard, were raised and schooled in Leicester along with their other late brother, John, who became a motor executive and financial expert.
Their father, Frederick, was the second principal of University College, which became the University of Leicester. The brothers lived on the campus and continued to enjoy a long association with the university, both receiving distinguished honorary fellowships in 2006.
Making history, naturally
David’s astonishing encounter with gorillas in the mountains of Rwanda for his groundbreaking BBC series Life on Earth is frequently voted one of the top TV moments of all time.
The three-year, round-the-world trip, which began production in 1976, involved visiting 40 countries and filming 600 species. It was the first natural history series of its kind and not without danger, including being shot at and threats from Saddam Hussein’s army in Iraq.
While he has ultimate respect for animals larger and smaller than himself, there’s one creature Sir David has a profound loathing for… ‘I really, really hate rats,’ he’s admitted. ‘I’ve handled deadly spiders, snakes and scorpions without batting an eyelid but if I see a rat, I’ll be the first to run.’
Happy on home turf
With his new series, Secret Garden, airing on Easter Sunday, David highlights the hidden wildlife worlds on our own doorstep. Here he is observing his treasured garden in Richmond, Surrey, where he has spent more time since lockdown after a joyous lifetime ‘swanning round the world looking at the most fabulously interesting things’.
After a heart scare at 99, David, who has a pacemaker fitted, announced on social media, ‘I’m not afraid of d.e.a.t.h… I’m afraid of not living enough.’
Carole Richardson is a journalist and ghostwriter who has contributed to Yours magazine for over fifteen years, interviewing celebrities and extraordinary everyday people. She began ghostwriting nearly a decade ago, with her first book becoming a Sunday Times top ten bestseller.