Sir David Attenborough hailed a 'gift to humanity' days before 99th birthday

Metro

01-05-2025

Sir David Attenborough fans are celebrating his mammoth legacy ahead of a new documentary coinciding with his birthday.
The beloved broadcaster, who turns 99 in just days, recently opened up about 'nearing the end of his life' as he continues his decades-long mission to protect the Earth with a new film about the health of the world's oceans, aptly called Ocean with David Attenborough.
As an acclaimed documentarian and seasoned biologist, Attenborough's work has proved an invaluable source of knowledge, hope and inspiration about our ever-changing world and the threats it faces due to climate change.
Metro readers have taken to Facebook to applaud his contribution to British television over the past seven decades and counting.
'Diane Allison wrote: 'Absolutely love his programmes and attitude towards the planet and climate change. He has worked tirelessly to spread the word about the importance of the environment and the impact this has on our earth.
'So much respect for him and he should get recognised for all his hard work. It will be a sad day for us when he leaves our world!!'
Carlos Arias echoed: 'Absolutely a star in our hearts he is! 99 years and still leaving one of our greatest heritage as humans and is the privilege to share life with such amazing wildlife that we do not know enough about as individuals! Thanks for such wonderful work!'
'Absolutely Love this man. He's brought nothing but sheer joy into my life and billions of others on the planet !!!' Helen Shine shared.
Elizabeth Petty praised: 'Easily one of my favourite presenters ever and every single one of his documentaries are incredible pieces of film.'
'Sir David Attenborough has truly been a great asset to the natural world. His contributions to showing us all the wonders and diversity of life forms have been second to none. He's such a talented man and will be impossible to replace,' Kausar Abbas agreed.
'You've been a gift to humanity sir,' Saj Iqbal declared.
In the trailer for his upcoming documentary, the Blue Planet star explained: 'When I first saw the sea as a young boy, it was thought of as a vast wilderness to be tamed and mastered for the benefit of humanity.
'Now, as I approach the end of my life, we know the opposite is true. 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.'
'The thing that he brings when he's on camera, on-screen is [that] he's not interested in himself at all.
'He's just interested in telling you, in the most interesting and joyful and intense way, what's exciting and interesting about this piece of natural history. That's unfakeable – that only comes from fantastic knowledge and fantastic passion,' he told Metro in July 2024.
Planet Earth III also had a Live in Concert edition (the soundtrack is created by the inimitable Hans Zimmer).
The combination of Sir Attenborough's firm commitment to uncovering the natural world and his mastery over documentaries will hopefully inspire generations to come to 'do something'.
At it's core, Sir Attenborough's shows like Planet Earth are all about 'embracing the animals, the planet, the environments, the ecosystems, and try to do things that nobody else attempts or has done before'.
Sir David Attenborough has had a decorated career which started in the 1950s when he joined the BBC as a trainee producer, where he quickly climbed the ranks.
In 1954, he became the writer and presenter of a new nature show called Zoo Quest which ran for seven series and visited locations including Sierra Leone and Guyana before coming to a halt in 1963.
Just two years later, he was promoted to Controller of BBC Two and by the end of the decade, he was the BBC Director of Programmes.
Despite his grand title, Sir Attenborough's passion lay in filmmaking and so he resigned his position to continue his vital work within the field of natural history.
Zoo Quest; Life On Earth; Blue Planet; Planet Earth; Frozen Planet and their respective sequels are all available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
Ocean with David Attenborough will arrive on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on May 8.
His next major documentary was the culmination of four years of work – 1979's Life on Earth – which traced the entire history of the planet and launched his Life series spanning several years.
A handful of years later, in 1983, he bagged an appointment as Fellow of the Royal Society. Then, In 1985, he received his first of two knighthoods where he was appointed Knight Bachelor by Queen Elizabeth II.
Sir Attenborough's three-part documentary, State of the Planet, was released in 2000 and 'examined the ecological and conservation crises that threaten the world, kickstarting his vocal advocacy around global warming and its dangers.
The most expensive documentary series ever made – Planet Earth – was released in 2006 and was filmed over the course of five years. His other major documentary series, Blue Planet, had already come out, with Frozen Planet following a handful of years later in 2011.
In 2016, he turned 90 and was the subject of a BBC documentary with broadcaster Kirsty Young reflecting on his extraordinary career highlights that have taken him around the world.
Just two years later, in 2018, he received his second Knighthood, this time with an even higher honour as Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael And St George.
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As a close friend to the royal family, Prince William said of his legacy: 'Every generation, you know, after yours, David, has grown up listening and seeing all the things that you've shown them. And, hopefully, each generation listens a little bit more.' More Trending
He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 with the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) for 'their efforts to inform about, and protect, Earth's natural diversity, a prerequisite for sustainable and peaceful societies.'
Now he is returning with a new documentary, Ocean with David Attenborough, with his most urgent plea yet – to save the Earth's oceans before it is too late.
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Ocean with David Attenborough is releasing as a Global Cinema Event from May 8. It will also be made available on National Geographic, Disney Plus, and Hulu later this year.
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