David Attenborough filmography

David Attenborough filmography

The following is a chronological list of television series and individual programmes where David Attenborough is credited as writer, presenter, narrator or producer. In a career spanning six decades, Attenborough's name has become synonymous with the natural history programmes produced by the BBC Natural History Unit.

Contents

1950s

Year Title Duration Subject Credit(s)
1952 Coelacanth 1x10min This short film, featuring biologist Julian Huxley discussing the rediscovery of the coelacanth, is Attenborough's first television credit Producer
1952 Animal, Vegetable, Mineral? Unknown A quiz show based on the game Twenty Questions, which ran until 1959, in which eminent scientists would try to guess the origin of specimens from museum and university collections Producer
1953 Song Hunter 6x20min Series on folk music, featuring performances by Alan Lomax Producer
1953 The Pattern of Animals 3 episodes Attenborough's first natural history series, on animal camouflage, warning signals and courtship displays, was studio-based and presented by Julian Huxley Producer
1954 Zoo Quest 6x30min An animal-collecting expedition to Sierra Leone with London Zoo curator Jack Lester and cameraman Charles Lagus, in search of the elusive Picathartes gymnocephalus Writer, presenter, sound-recordist and producer
1955 Zoo Quest to Guiana 6x30min For the second Zoo Quest expedition, Attenborough and Lagus introduced British television viewers to the natural history of South America Writer, presenter, sound-recordist and producer
1955 The Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1955-58 6x30min An occasional series following the progress of Vivian Fuchs and his Commonwealth expedition's successful overland crossing of Antarctica Presenter and producer
1956 Zoo Quest for a Dragon 6x30min This Zoo Quest series features the first known footage of the Komodo dragon Writer, presenter, sound-recordist and producer
1957 Quest for the Paradise Birds 6x30min Attenborough's first trip to the island of New Guinea in an attempt to film the courtship displays of the native birds of paradise Writer, presenter, sound-recordist and producer
1959 Zoo Quest in Paraguay 6x30min For the fifth Zoo Quest, Attenborough and Lagus returned to South America and visited the grasslands and wetlands of Paraguay Writer, presenter, sound-recordist and producer

1960s

Year Title Duration Subject Credit(s)
1960 The People of Paradise 6x30min A series on the anthropology and natural history of the South Pacific Writer, presenter, sound-recordist and producer
1960 Travellers' Tales Unknown A long-running series made by Attenborough's BBC Travel and Exploration Unit, which also featured Armand and Michaela Denis's On Safari programmes Narrator and producer
1961 Zoo Quest to Madagascar 6x30min An expedition to film and collect animals in Madagascar, including lemurs, at the time little-known in Europe Writer, presenter, sound-recordist and producer
1961 Adventure Over 150 episodes The BBC's flagship travel series from the early 1960s, for which Attenborough is credited as narrator or producer of over 30 programmes Narrator and producer
1961 Japan 7 episodes A series presented by Hugh Gibb on the history and culture of the Japanese people Producer
1962 Destruction of the Indian 3 episodes This short series looked at how contact with the modern world has affected remote Indian tribes of the South American rainforest Producer
1963 Attenborough and Animals 10x25min Attenborough's first series for children, in which different species were compared Presenter
1963 Quest Under Capricorn 6x30min The final Zoo Quest series, filmed in the Northern Territory of Australia, was also Attenborough's final natural history series before moving into BBC management Writer, presenter, sound-recordist and producer
1965 Zambezi 3x50min During a break from studying for an anthropology degree, Attenborough filmed a journey down the Zambezi Writer and presenter
1967 Life: East Africa 3 episodes A series of interviews with African conservationists, filmed during a sabbatical from management duties, for Desmond Morris's Life series on BBC Two Presenter
1969 The Miracle of Bali 3x50min Attenborough visited the Indonesian island of Bali to film the traditional music and culture Narrator and producer
1969 The World About Us Unknown Commissioned during his tenure as Controller of BBC Two, Attenborough narrated around 20 episodes of this long-running series between 1969 and 1982 Occasional narrator

1970s

Year Title Duration Subject Credit(s)
1971 A Blank on the Map 1x60min A one-off programme charting an expedition to a remote part of New Guinea Writer and presenter
1973 Eastwards with Attenborough 6x30min Attenborough's first natural history series after resigning as BBC Controller took him to South East Asia Writer and presenter
1973 Natural Break 15x10min A series of short programmes based on archive footage, produced by John Sparks Presenter
1973 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 6x60min Attenborough joined a list of distinguished names who have presented the annual science lectures aimed at children, on the subject of The Language of Animals Writer and presenter
1975 The Explorers 10x50min A series of drama-documentaries recreating the voyages of famous explorers, at the time the most expensive series ever commissioned by the BBC Introducer and narrator
1975 Fabulous Animals Unknown A series for children's television which featured Attenborough reading from books on mythological creatures Presenter
1975 The Tribal Eye 7x50min A series on tribal art, of which Attenborough is a keen collector Writer and presenter
1976 The Discoverers 6x30min A series on pioneering explorers, discoverers and scientists in the field of natural history Narrator
1977 Wildlife on One 253x30min This series of half-hour natural history programmes for BBC One ran annually until 2005 Narrator
1979 Life on Earth 13x55min Covering the history of life on Earth, this acclaimed series was three years in the making and notable for its groundbreaking footage Writer and presenter

1980s

Year Title Duration Subject Credit(s)
1980 The Spirit of Asia 8x60min The cultures and religions of the people of Asia Narrator
1981 The Ark in South Kensington 1 episode A one-off programme to celebrate the centenary of the Natural History Museum in London Presenter
1982 Omnibus 1 episode Series 16, Episode 6. Attenborough interviews Lucie Rie about her studio pottery Presenter
1983 Natural World Unknown BBC Two series still on air, for which Attenborough has narrated or presented over 50 episodes Occasional narrator, writer or presenter
1984 The Living Planet 12x55min The follow-up to Life on Earth was another ambitious global series looking at the variety of habitats on the planet Writer and presenter
1985 The Million Pound Bird Book 1x60min Attenborough presents a programme on the American naturalist John James Audubon, whose book of life-size bird paintings had recently fetched £1 million at auction Writer and presenter
1986 The Queen's Christmas Message 6x10min The Queen's annual Christmas Day address to the nation, televised since 1957, which Attenborough produced between 1986 and 1991 Producer
1986 World Safari 1x90min A live television event featuring broadcasts from across the world, with contributors including The Duke of Edinburgh and Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi Co-presenter
1987 The First Eden 4x60min A series on the Mediterranean, examining the natural history of the region and the impact that successive human civilisations have had on the environment Writer and presenter
1989 Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives 4x40min A series on fossils, a passion that Attenborough has had since childhood Writer and presenter

1990s

Year Title Duration Subject Credit(s)
1990 The Trials of Life 12x50min The final part of the original Trilogy of Life deals with the animal behaviour, with each episode focussing on a particular stage of animals' lives Writer and presenter
1993 Life in the Freezer 6x30min A collaboration with Alastair Fothergill, this was the first series devoted to the natural history of Antarctica Writer and presenter
1993 Wildlife 100 Unknown To mark the 100th episode of Wildlife on One, Attenborough selected his favourite episodes from past series for this special Narrator
1994 Heart of a Nomad 1x60min Attenborough interviews the British explorer and writer Wilfred Thesiger for a Channel 4 documentary Presenter
1995 The Private Life of Plants 6x50min In the first of his more specialised Life series, Attenborough brought the world of plants to life using innovations such as timelapse photography Writer and presenter
1996 Winners and Losers 2x45min A look at how the subjects of early wildlife filmmaker Eugene Schumacher's 1960s documentary The Rare Ones have fared in the intervening years Narrator
1996 Q.E.D. "The Secret Life of Seahorses" 1x45min Attenborough lends his voice to an episode of BBC One's regular half-hour science series, featuring seahorses Narrator
1996 Attenborough in Paradise 1x50min Attenborough fulfils a lifelong ambition in New Guinea, where he finally witnesses several birds of paradise species displaying Writer and presenter
1997 BBC Wildlife Specials 16x50min After a pilot episode on the great white shark in 1995, the Wildlife Special format was developed into a six-part series to mark the Natural History Unit's 40th anniversary in 1997. Further programmes followed on an occasional basis over the following decade Narrator
1998 The Life of Birds 10x50min For this series, infrared cameras were employed for the first time to film nocturnal birds such as kiwis and shearwaters Writer and presenter
1998 The Origin of Species: An Illustrated Guide 1x30min Broadcast as part of a BBC season on evolution, this programme used library footage to help explain Charles Darwin's theory Narrator
1999 Sharks - The Truth 1x50min A programme which seeks to dispel some of the received wisdom surrounding shark behaviour, broadcast as part of BBC One's Shark Summer season Narrator
1999 They Said It Couldn't Be Done 7x60min On the eve of the millennium, Attenborough interviews a series of leading wildlife film-makers in front of an audience at the Royal Geographical Society to discover the secrets behind some of their most famous programmes Presenter

2000s

Year Title Duration Subject Credit(s)
2000 State of the Planet 3x50min Attenborough's first overtly environmental series examines the detrimental impact that modern man is having on the natural world Writer and presenter
2000 Living with Dinosaurs 1x50min A profile of crocodiles, turtles and other modern reptiles whose ancestry can be traced back to the dinosaurs Narrator
2000 The Song of the Earth 1x50min A scientific look at the musicality of animals, including the songs of birds, whales and gibbons Writer and presenter
2000 The Greatest Wildlife Show on Earth 1x50min A Christmas special in which Attenborough travels to some of the world's wildlife hotspots to view spectacular natural events Presenter
2000 The Lost Gods of Easter Island 1x50min Attenborough traces the provenance of a small wooden carving in his possession back to Easter Island, and recounts the island's troubled past Writer and presenter
2000 Bowerbirds: The Art of Seduction 1x50min A look at how different species of the male Bowerbirds attract a mate Writer and presenter
2001 The Blue Planet 8x50min A landmark series on the natural history of the world's oceans, executive-produced by Alastair Fothergill Narrator
2002 Life on Air 1x60min Michael Palin interviews Attenborough at his home and looks back at highlights from his 50-year television career Interviewee
2002 The Life of Mammals 10x50min To follow up The Life of Birds, Attenborough turned his attention to the mammals, the most successful group of modern animals Writer and presenter
2002 Great Natural Wonders of the World 1x60min A sequel to The Greatest Wildlife Show on Earth, this programme featured natural wonders such as the Grand Canyon and was again screened at Christmas time Presenter
2004 The Amber Time Machine 1x50min Attenborough investigates the stories behind the insects captured in Amber millions of years ago Narrator
2004 Satoyama: Japan's Secret Water Garden 2x52min Documentary about how the local residents of a village in 'Satoyama' live in harmony with nature. Narrator
2005 Animal Crime Scene 5x60min A series which combined the traditional wildlife documentary format with that of a crime drama Narrator
2005 Life in the Undergrowth 5x50min Developments in macro and close-up film technology enabled the world of invertebrates to be brought to the screen for the first time Writer and Presenter
2006 Planet Earth 11x50min Billed as "the ultimate portrait of our planet" by the BBC, this is the most expensive documentary series ever made Narrator
2006 The Truth about Climate Change 2x60min Attenborough is convinced by the evidence for man-made global warming, and uses archive footage from his previous series along with contemporary film to show how climate change is affecting the world Writer and presenter
2006 Gorillas Revisited 1x60min The story of Rwanda's mountain gorillas reunites Attenborough with the crew who filmed his famous encounter in Life on Earth Presenter
2007 Climate Change: Britain Under Threat 1x60min Following his recent documentary on the global issue of climate change, Attenborough fronted this programme on the implications for Britain Presenter
2007 Trek: Spy in the Wildebeest 2x60min A BBC One series which used camouflaged mobile cameras to bring new insight to the Serengeti wildebeest migration Narrator
2007 Tom Harrisson: The Barefoot Anthropologist 1x60min Part of a season on anthropologists screened on BBC Four, this programme profiled Tom Harrisson, famous for discovering early human remains in Borneo Presenter
2007 Sharing Planet Earth 1x60min This programme launched the BBC's Saving Planet Earth season, culminating in a live telethon from Kew Gardens to raise funds for endangered species conservation Writer and presenter
2007 Attenborough Explores... Our Fragile World 1x60min Broadcast on digital channel UKTV Documentary, this specially commissioned programme saw Attenborough again tackle the global environmental crisis Writer and presenter
2008 Life in Cold Blood 5x50min Attenborough concluded his globetrotting documentaries with the final part of the specialised Life series, featuring reptiles and amphibians Writer and Presenter
2008 Tiger: Spy in the Jungle 3x60min Series following a mother tiger and her three cubs in India, filmed using cameras hidden in the jungle and others carried by elephants Narrator
2008 Humpbacks: From Fire to Ice 1x50min A documentary made for Australian television on the humpback whale Narrator
2009 Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life 1x60min Attenborough presents a personal study of the theory of evolution Writer and presenter
2009 Nature's Great Events 6x50min The film techniques of Planet Earth are deployed to dramatise some of the greatest annual wildlife events on the planet Narrator
2009 Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor: The Link 1x60min A special documentary to coincide with the announcement of a 47 million-year-old primate fossil Writer and narrator
2009 Life 10x50min A landmark series documenting some of the more unusual survival strategies that animals and plants around the globe have evolved Writer and narrator
2009 Horizon Special: "How Many People can Live on Planet Earth?" 1x60min A special episode of BBC Two's science strand looking at the issue of global population growth Presenter

2010s

Year Title Duration Subject Credit(s)
2010 Genius of Britain 5x60min A Channel 4 series celebrating the achievements of British scientists. Attenborough contributed pieces on Christopher Wren and Joseph Banks Guest presenter
2010 Horizon: "The Death of the Oceans" 1x60min An edition of Horizon revealing the first findings of the Census of Marine Life Presenter
2010 Attenborough's Journey 1x60min Attenborough tells anecdotes from his broadcasting career as the cameras follow him filming First Life Presenter
2010 David Attenborough's First Life 2x60min BBC Two series on the earliest-known complex organisms, referencing the latest fossil evidence Writer and presenter
2010 Flying Monsters 3D 1x60min Attenborough's first collaboration with Sky, a 3D film about pterosaurs Writer and presenter
2011 Madagascar 3x60min The natural history of Madagascar Narrator
2011 Attenborough and The Giant Egg 1x60min The story of aepyornis and its implications for the modern-day conservation efforts Presenter
2011 Desert Seas 1x60min Wildlife filmmakers are given unprecedented access to the coastal seas off Saudi Arabia Narrator

Other programmes

In addition to writing, presenting, narrating and producing his own and other film-makers' documentaries, David Attenborough has made regular appearances as an on-screen participant on numerous television programmes. The following list includes some of his more notable appearances:

  • A Zed & Two Noughts, narrator in film drama (1985)
  • State of the Ark, participant in on-screen debate about zoos (1994)
  • 2000 Today, guest, interviewed about the environmental state of the planet (2000)
  • Robbie the Reindeer, voice of the museum commentary in episode "Legend of the Lost Tribe" (2002)
  • Attenborough the Controller, archive footage and interviewee (2002)
  • Attenborough in Conversation with Mark Lawson, interviewee (2002)
  • Great Wildlife Moments, introduces library footage on a DVD compilation (2003)
  • The Way We Went Wild, archive footage and interviewee (2004)
  • Selfish Green, participant in on-screen debate on the environment (2004)
  • How Art Made The World, interviewee (2005)
  • Time Shift, episode "The Lost Road: Overland to Singapore", on-screen participant (2005)
  • Favourite Attenborough Moments, archive footage (2006)
  • Suez: A Very British Crisis, interviewee (2006)
  • Planet Earth: The Future, interviewee (2006)
  • Watching Desmond Morris (2007), on-screen participant
  • 100 Years of Wildlife Films, archive footage (2007)
  • Fossil Detectives, interviewee (2008)
  • Happy Birthday OU: 40 Years of the Open University, interviewee (2009)
  • The Big Fat Quiz Of The Year 2009, guest question master (2009)
  • The Born Free Legacy, interviewee (2010)
  • Jane Goodall: Beauty and the Beasts, interviewee (2010)
  • Birds Britannia, interviewee (2010)

Sources



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