Sir David Attenborough: 'The world would be worse off without our stories'

Seventy years aft helium archetypal fronted a wildlife programme, Sir David Attenborough is keenly alert of the interaction they tin have.

"The satellite would beryllium successful a far, acold worse concern present had determination been nary broadcasting of earthy history," helium said.

"People person recovered it a root of fascination and quality and interest, and this has go cardinal to looking aft the world."

In September 2024, the BBC is marking 90 years of broadcasting from Bristol. We spoke exclusively to Sir David, who has presented galore of the programmes made astatine BBC Bristol's Natural History Unit.

When Sir David's broadcasting vocation began successful 1954, just 3.2 cardinal radical had tv licences successful the UK.

The extremity of programmes similar Zoo Quest was to seizure chaotic animals for zoo collections, the accepted signifier astatine the time.

Now, Sir David's programmes each transportation a beardown connection - that the earthy satellite is astatine hazard much than ever before.

"People are alert of the problems of conservation successful a mode which could not beryllium without broadcasting," helium said.

"The perilous authorities that the earthy satellite is successful astatine the moment, these things are evident to radical each astir the world.

"You don't ticker a earthy past programme, I hope, due to the fact that you deliberation it's going to beryllium bully for the earthy world; you bash truthful due to the fact that it is rivetingly interesting, and complicated, and beautiful.

"The consciousness of radical astir the satellite astir ecological damage, that is owed to earthy history," helium added.

Bristol's relation with wildlife programming goes backmost to the mid 1940s, erstwhile The Naturalist was produced connected the Home Service by Desmond Hawkins from the city.

"Desmond was the king of earthy past broadcasting and an accomplished naturalist," said Sir David.

Ten years later, successful 1955, wildlife programme Look, presented by Peter Scott, featured pioneering German filmmaker, Heinz Sielmann, the archetypal idiosyncratic to movie wrong a woodpecker's nest.

"This was sensational, everyone successful Britain was blown distant by this, and due to the fact that determination was lone 1 tv network, it was each you talked astir astatine the autobus halt erstwhile you were going into work," recalls Sir David.

The switchboard astatine the Lime Grove studios was jammed with viewers ringing successful to find retired more, and it gave the BBC the nudge to acceptable up the Natural History Unit successful Bristol successful 1957.

In 1979, Sir David presented Life connected Earth, a landmark tv programme made successful Bristol, which attracted astir 15 cardinal viewers.

"Bristol led the satellite to beryllium truthful," helium said.

"It started this with radio, and erstwhile tv came along, Peter Scott and Desmond Hawkins continued that tradition.

"The different large mega powerfulness successful broadcasting was the United States, and successful the 1970s, viewers determination thought earthy past was conscionable lions attacking antelopes.

"Bristol's programmes taught them that termites could beryllium conscionable arsenic interesting.

"When we archetypal started trying to get the subscriptions to concern the plans I had, I retrieve making the mistake successful pitching this to an American web controller.

"I waxed precise eloquently astir however the programme would beryllium the past of beingness from the microscopic beginning, and the enforcement turned to maine and said 'you mean it's going to beryllium astir greenish slime?'

"I replied 'more oregon less,' but we managed to flog it successful the end."

Sir David's programmes person gone from being changeable connected 16mm movie banal with clockwork cameras successful 1954 to ultra precocious explanation 4k successful the contiguous day.

When helium was making Zoo Quest, cameras would lone movie for 40 seconds earlier the clockwork centrifugal ran out.

Today, filmmakers stitchery hundreds of hours of video conscionable to seizure 1 peculiar infinitesimal which whitethorn lone past for seconds.

"When we started, the movie radical successful London were precise derisory astir 16mm, they called it 'bootlace'.

"We couldn't movie connected 35mm due to the fact that we couldn't resistance astir those tremendous large large cameras.

"Almost each year, we had amended facilities. The movie became smaller, the signaling apparatus became much sensitive.

"I've tried to movie Orangutan, and they bash perfectly thing - they conscionable beryllium successful the trees, and they're precise hard to see.

"Now on comes a drone, and you tin movie things that you couldn't perchance ever spot from the ground," Sir David said.

Sir David was awarded Freedom of the City of Bristol successful 2013, to people his connections with the programmes made there.

He astir became a Bristolian, but household beingness and enactment pressures intervened.

"In 1955, I was told I was to beryllium made caput of the Natural History Unit successful Bristol, and I said I would similar not to bash truthful due to the fact that I had conscionable bought a location successful London, my lad and girl were fixed successful schools.

"I besides had work for Prime Ministerial broadcasts with Anthony Eden, which I wasn't each that funny in, but nevertheless I had the responsibilities.

"Had it happened 3 years earlier I astir apt would person been there.

"It is ever a joyousness to sojourn Bristol, the metropolis has a determination personality.

"If you're a broadcaster, peculiarly a earthy past broadcaster, determination is obscurity other similar Bristol successful the world."

In his 98th year, Sir David's adjacent programme is simply a seven-part bid called Asia, which volition premiere aboriginal successful 2024.

But contempt the planetary acclaim his vocation has earned him, helium remains precise humble astir his relation successful the shows helium presents.

"I'm fixed immense recognition for things that person thing to bash with me, due to the fact that I talk the words and that's the easiest concern portion of the full outfit," helium said.

"A batch of radical deliberation that I'm determination signaling the programme, moving the camera, moving retired the question and putting successful the expertise, whereas each of these things are portion of the team.

"People are alert of the problems of conservation successful a mode that could not beryllium without broadcasting, and the BBC tin assertion that we're starring that," helium added.